After noticing waning effort levels in her year 12 group, Geography teacher, Laura Wolfe, decided to shake things up a bit…
Year 12 have mainly worked well in their geography lessons, however their effort levels sometimes varied. This changed when the task I set was a debate. We had discussed at the start of the lesson the different types of coastal management strategies, with pros and cons for each. I then split the class into two teams, due to a relatively small class size, everyone has a specific role.
Having run debate mate previously, I could explain the formal way a debate should run, with speakers on each side having a chance to make their point in turn, without people just shouting out.
The debate worked better than expected, as I chose the teams and whether they were opposition of proposition, I was surprised to see how well they worked together and came up with convincing arguments, even if it wasn’t the view they would have naturally taken. I set up the tables and chairs to represent the correct debate format so that they could face each other and sit in a specific order.
All of the students took their roles seriously and came up with some fantastic arguments, wanting to fight for their team. Engagement and enthusiasm was shown by all, even those that may have previously taken more of a back seat in lessons.
This is an activity that I will definitely be repeating.
If you have tried something that worked a treat, tell us about it!
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