Improve Debate's Impact
By International Debate Education Association
IDI is a podcast by the International Debate Education Association.
A list of further sources accompanying the podcast can be found here: drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lar5XRgFi-eQOUfD_2StAb2_YhIFfzOj?usp=sharing
Improve Debate's ImpactOct 28, 2021
Evidence-based ways to teach debate | interview with Przemek Stolarski of TASA Academy
Prefer watching this episode as a YouTube video? Go to: https://youtu.be/Df7iFDCOnys
How do we actually help people to improve at debating? Debating is a form of non-formal learning. Most of the time, debate is not taught by teachers or professionals – but by people who debate themselves. Now, this can be very powerful! But at the same time it is important to recognise that there is a difference - and that the best debaters don't always make the best teachers. That is why I was delighted to have Przemek Stolarski on for this podcast. Przemek is a succesful coach, a Harvard postgraduate researcher into education, and the co-founder of the Think and Speak Academy, which offers online debate courses for high school students. He brings a wealth of practical coaching experience with a strong overview of the academic literature on improving how we teach debate. So this is a very important jumping-off point on how to get better at debating.
Find out more about TASA Academy here: https://www.tasacademy.pl/
Read the full essay on why we should teach kids to debate https://www.currentaffairs.org/2021/10/why-we-should-teach-kids-to-debate
Do you want to offer feedback on this show? Mail us at podcast@idebate.nl
This podcast was made possible by a grant from Europe for Citizens.
The Georgian Debate Revolution
Georgia (no, not the state - the country) is buiding debate across the country. What is the secret to its success? Join me to find out...
Learn more about GIDE here: https://debate.edu.ge/
Do you want to offer feedback on this show? Mail us at podcast@idebate.nl This podcast was made possible by a grant from Europe for Citizens.
Improve's Debate Impact is back for a second season!
Want to join in on this show?
Mail us at podcast@idebate.nl
Improving the mental health and wellbeing of debaters, with Jessica Musulin
Prefer listening to this episode as a YouTube video? Go to: https://youtu.be/AdcUielm0Q0
Debating can be a stressful activity. A deeply competitive affair for some, and a passion for others. How do you deal with debating when you are frustrated with your progress? How do you maintain a happy face if you have to sandwich debate in between your busy school schedule? And how do you manage the transition to only seeing your friends from behind a screen? Jessica Musulin wrote a well-received note with three other debaters that opened up these conversations. Today she's on the show to talk about what we can do to take better stock of mental health and well-being in the debating community.
You can read the original note here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HFvPcwhmVF58h7HU2hXqZMtmHuvqFCXDUm-K3IVbpQo/edit?pli=1&fbclid=IwAR2wC_hYmNZVJggGDggioAB8LvovEnEcysQhaUeWsutz_NVBg8fS3wzKP80#
The secret projects are:
Debating Pop Posting: https://www.facebook.com/groups/855875501844942/
Humans of Debating https://www.facebook.com/humansofdebating
Do you want to offer feedback on this show? Mail us at podcast@idebate.nl This podcast was made possible by a grant from Europe for Citizens.
Organising a Coronaproof Debating Tournament
Prefer listening to this episode on YouTube? Go to: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCreGaWZL6hQ5ffFTytXlMow
Przemek Stolarski and Daniel Maier-Gant tell us all about how they organise coronaproof debating events - and how the advent of online debating has allowed for a unique experiment called "hybrid" tournaments, which could hold the key to unlocking globally inclusive and accessible tournaments.
Do you want to offer feedback on this show? Mail us at podcast@idebate.nl This podcast was made possible by a grant from Europe for Citizens.
Interview with the Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League, Rolland Janairo
Prefer listening to this episode on YouTube? Go to: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCreGaWZL6hQ5ffFTytXlMow
Today we speak with Rolland Janairo.
When you think of Sillicon Valley, the thing that comes to mind are Google, Apple, Facebook and the tech billionaires that direct them. But what is less known is that there are many people living in the valley who have less starry futures ahead of them. The Urban Debate League wants to change these students' outlook. Through their debate and mentorship programs they increase their students' chance to go to college and land a dream job. And many also become determined activists. How does the Urban Debate League work? And what can other programs learn from their approach?
Want to learn more? Go to: https://www.svudl.org/all-the-latest.
Do you want to offer feedback on this show? Mail us at podcast@idebate.nl This podcast was made possible by a grant from Europe for Citizens.
How to be a Chief Adjudicator, with Monica Forman (CA of Astana EUDC)
Today we speak with Monica Forman. Monica was the Chief Adjudicator of Astana EUDC. Having organised such a large - and online - event, you'll learn everything you need to know for organising such an event from a motion-setter's perspective. But being a CA is more than coming up with motions. It is about finding and training the best judges. And it is about making everyone have a great time. It also helps if the person who you are setting a motion about personally agrees with the motion and watches the debate!
Want to learn more? Use this accompanying list of links: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1smMTV6I7cxnVZAs3QbdNKeprzxBxhbqJ?usp=sharing
Do you want to offer feedback on this show? Mail us at podcast@idebate.nl This podcast was made possible by a grant from Europe for Citizens.
Tshiamo Malatji on rethinking the development of debate circuits
In the final episode of IDI's special focus on making debating inclusive, we speak with Tshiamo Malatji.
Tshiamo puts forward an important argument in reframing "development". We should not consider "developing" a debate circuit to mean that those with all the knowledge come to a community to dump their knowledge. Rather, he suggests, it is a mutual learning process, where the external trainer gets as much from the process as the people they train.
And Tshiamo's implication is that this horizontal development can radically alter how we develop circuits, suggesting that developing circuits can reach out to each other and learn and share together.
We start this conversation with developing debate in Bloemfontein. But the contours of Tshiamo's approach to developing debate means we learn from a debate network that stretches from Latin America to the Middle East.
Want to learn more? Use this accompanying list of links: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s47KmlT7IrgzmviEq3mJiMrVnQwAcazd
Check out this video on UFS debate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h80dw8aEd-E&feature=youtu.be
Do you want to offer feedback on this show? Mail us at youtube@idebate.nl or podcast@idebate.nl
Teacher and debater Paidamwoyo Takayoto: how to improve inclusivity in schools debating
Prefer listening to this episode as a podcast? https://anchor.fm/ididebate
Thus far the discussion about inclusion has focused a lot on university debate. And whilst the lessons are applicable across debate as a whole, prepare to expand your horizons by a lot in this conversation. Like, not just about schools debating. We're going to look at making debating more inclusive from Sweden to South Africa. Paidamwoyo has a clear and structured mind, and this conversation lays down the groundwork of all the work we need to do to make sure everyone can reap the benefits of debate education. He's also incredibly constructive in his suggestions. We've managed to analyse the problems in depth, provide suggestions for solving outreach and funding, as well as offer another compelling framework for having the difficult conversations about perceptions and bias that need to become commonplace. Listen and watch if you want to know more about issues of perceptions and economic exclusion - and how we can do more to solve these problems.
Want to learn more? Use this accompanying list of links:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s47KmlT7IrgzmviEq3mJiMrVnQwAcazd
Do you want to offer feedback on this show? Mail us at youtube@idebate.nl
This podcast has been made possible through the Operational Grant of Europe for Citizens.
Argument Antrenant founder Nae Șovăială: "Turn debate into a gym for your brain"
Prefer listening to this episode on YouTube? https://youtu.be/YSTguOVIwbk
All of us got into debating because we were inspired by someone. We saw a great speech or heard a new argument, and thought: "I want to do that too!" So how do you become that person who inspires others?
There's perhaps no better person to answer this question than Nae. Nae was a talented debater, but he is a truly remarkable debate trainer. He brings in fresh perspectives from pedagogy, and has helped to truly revolutionise training in Romania. And he would argue that the proof of that is nót in the fact that the Romanian national schools team is dominant across Europe. Rather, it is in how many students in Romania engage in debate and find it deeply meaningful and inspiring.
But in the second half of the interview we move beyond debate in an educational setting. We talk about Argument Antrenant, the debate company he founded and which offers a refreshing perspective on using debate in a for-profit setting. And it shows all of us what whe can do with our skillset once we move out of university and into the 'real world'.
Want to learn more? Use this accompanying list of links:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s47KmlT7IrgzmviEq3mJiMrVnQwAcazd
Learn more about Argument Antrenant:
About the company: https://argumentantrenament.wordpress.com/what-is-it-about-english-version/
The brochure: https://argumentantrenament.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/argument-antrenament_brochure_en.pdf
Follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/argumentantrenament/
Follow IDEA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iDebate
Want to give feedback on the podcast? Do you want to be featured on this show? Mail to podcast@idebate.nl
IDI has been made possible by the Operational Grant of Europe for Citizens
Start your Debate Club in the right way! with Vangel Gorgiev of YEF
Prefer watching to a taping of this episode? https://youtu.be/VIt7jCdtEsE
Vangel used to be a debater. Now he's more. A senior coach at North Macedonia's Youth Educational Forum, he knows better than most how to make a success of your debate club. With debate clubs moving more and more online, understanding what works is more important than ever. This case study tells us how to make debate fun and educational. Its template can be used for people starting out the year in fall.
Want to learn more? Use this accompanying list of links:
Learn more about YEF:
https://www.facebook.com/MOFedu/
https://mof.mk/
Folder with trainings and pracical advice:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s47KmlT7IrgzmviEq3mJiMrVnQwAcazd?usp=sharing
IDI has been made possible by the Operational Grant of Europe for Citizens
Brian Wong on the dilemmas communities face when they confront prejudice
in this special miniseries we are hosting conversations with some of global debate's leading voices on making debate a more inclusive space. In this episode we speak with Brian Wong. Brian is DPhil (PhD) candidate at the University of Oxford and the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford Political Review. As a judge they have judged nearly every final in competitive debate, whilst also reaching the semi finals of the European Universities Debating Championships as a speaker.
This conversation was wide-ranging and complex. I feel like you should come away from this conversation with more questions in your head than when you entered it. At its core, this is a conversation about how we as individuals and communities should listen, adapt, grow, and remain open throughout difficult debates about inclusion and discrimination.
Topics include:
* How cross-circuit discrimination materialises and the role ethnicity plays in failing to recognise talent ; how reductive argumentation about minorities makes minorities feel unwelcome whilst at the same time being a succesful strategy in winning a competive debate, and how we can stop this vicious cycle.
* How we can go beyond "performing" progressive attitudes to actually incorporating them in our practice. How this 'performative' attitude means people avoid self-criticism whilst stifling voices at the fringe of the community.
* The role of anger and exhaustion in political conversation, a framework for when it is effective or apt to be angry about racism and discrimination, and a recognition of the hard emotional labour we currently and often ask minorities to do in combatting racism.
IDI hosts conversations about making debate education better. Debate Education is a crucial 21st-century tool to improve young people's critical thinking, civic participation, and public speaking. We talk with leading experts in the field to unlock debate's potential. IDI is a podcast by the International Debate Education Association. This podcast is co-funded by the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Union.
A list of further sources accompanying the podcast can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lar5XRgFi-eQOUfD_2StAb2_YhIFfzOj?usp=sharing
The paper mentioned by Brian in the end can be found here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237269740_Deliberation_before_the_Revolution_Toward_an_Ethics_of_Deliberative_Democracy_in_an_Unjust_World
The Oxford Political Review can be found here:
http://oxfordpoliticalreview.com/
Want to offer feedback? Do you want to be featured on this show? Mail podcast@idebate.nl
Learn and Improve based on Evaluation | With Expert Bob van der Winden
Prefer listening to this episode on YouTube? https://youtu.be/hxu0O8ucMXA
Bob van der Winden has a long and storied career. From studying physics to advising radio stations in Southern Africa. His Sensemapping approach helps you think deeply about your project, and find out what works, and why. Join us for this conversation about the use and misuse of evaluations, and learn how to improve your program! Evaluation is the missing piece for so many of our activities: from being a debater, to being a coach, to a programme manager. Understanding evaluation is the key to improve, and this conversation will be insightful no matter your link to debate.
Want to learn more? Use this accompanying list of links:
www.sensemapping.nl
For a Debate Impact Evaluation, go to: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zvmnHnRU7HpIwamBfkRKxY0AX1OtzvvJ?usp=sharing
IDI has been made possible by the Operational Grant of Europe for Citizens
Build Debate at the Core of Your Community, with Nathania Engelhardt
Prefer listening to this episode as a YouTube video? https://youtu.be/l6TbE4AUECI
Improve Debate's Impact! In this session we are joined by Nathania Engelhardt, founder of Debat.ed, the first-ever debate organisation of Curaçao. She presents a radical and inclusive vision for debate education: outside of the walls and classrooms of universities, bringing debate directly into the community. She also likes to dream big, as she can attest by her plans to organise PanAms and CMUDE (Spanish World Championships) with her fledgling organisation.
Want to learn more? Use this accompanying list of links:
Debat.ed website https://debated.cw/
TEDxCuracao | How Debate Education can reshape communities https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAJoNP6YMXs
IDI has been made possible by the Operational Grant of Europe for Citizens
Involve your alumni, with Ondrej Schutz
Want to watch the video recording? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdvoxbEr0gQ
In this session we are joined by Ondrej Schutz, Executive Director of the Slovak Debate Association. We will learn how you can use the alumni of your debate program to make an impact on your current activities.
Want to learn more? Use this accompanying list of links: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1lar5XRgFi-eQOUfD_2StAb2_YhIFfzOj
IDI has been made possible by the Operational Grant of Europe for Citizens
How to have better conversations and debates about race, with Martha Muir
Prefer listening to this episode as a video? https://youtu.be/IYWAH2o_Ccc
In this special miniseries we are hosting conversations with some of global debate's leading voices on making debate a more inclusive space. In this episode we speak with Martha Muir. Martha is currently finishing her undergraduate degree in politics at Durham University. Whilst there she was the Director of Debates at Durham Union and a breaking participant at the European and Universities Debating Championships.
We discussed the following topics;
* How stereotyping and essentialising language about minority groups in debate is offputting and harmful, even when employed by people in good faith; what better ways exist to argue about topics concerning minority groups; and how we can improve learning about social justice topics in the community.
* How to have more productive conversations about racism and equity in the community; the damaging role of social media in current discussions; and the importance of patience, of checking your own role in a conversation, and listening to each other.
IDI hosts conversations about making debate education better. Debate Education is a crucial 21st-century tool to improve young people's critical thinking, civic participation, and public speaking. We talk with leading experts in the field to unlock debate's potential. IDI is a podcast by the International Debate Education Association. This podcast is co-funded by the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Union.
A list of further sources accompanying the podcast can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lar5XRgFi-eQOUfD_2StAb2_YhIFfzOj?usp=sharing
Want to offer feedback? Do you want to be featured on this show? Mail podcast@idebate.nl
How to include new people into your debate community, with Esinam Osei-Bonsu
Prefer listening to this series as a video? https://youtu.be/sXyO3ebt8Wo
In this special miniseries we are hosting conversations with some of global debate's leading voices on making debate a more inclusive space.
In this episode we speak with Esinam Osei-Bonsu. Esinam is a prominent debater in the Ghanaian debating community, where she helped set up a Women's Tournament to allow women to join ánd stay in debating. She herself felt the hurdles of entering and staying in the debate community whilst moving to Cambridge University for her postgraduate degree.
This episode includes the following topics:
* How the majority in a space can be blind to the adjustments needed to make everyone feel welcome into their club, and how concrete steps can - and must - be made to include this majority;
* How representation in adjudication cores and in organisation, learning from each other's backgrounds, taking complaints seriously, and reaching out to student communities beyond your own can make a real difference to increase the representation of minorities in the debate community;
* how ignorance by the majority in a space can be broken down by patient and good-faith conversation on both ends;
* what we can learn from the rise of women's debating in Ghana.
IDI hosts conversations about making debate education better. Debate Education is a crucial 21st-century tool to improve young people's critical thinking, civic participation, and public speaking. We talk with leading experts in the field to unlock debate's potential. IDI is a podcast by the International Debate Education Association.
A list of further sources accompanying the podcast can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folder...
Combatting Racism Interviews | How to make Worlds more inclusive, with Noluthando Honono
In this special miniseries we are hosting conversations with some of global debate's leading voices on making debate a more inclusive space.
In this episode we speak with Noluthando Honono. Noluthando is a prominent voice in the South African debating community. This community organised the Worlds Universities Debating Championships in Cape Town in 2019, and based on some sobering experiences at the tournament Black debaters launched an important conversation on making Worlds far more accessible to all.
This episode includes the following topics:
* Some important proposed adjustments to how Worlds is run, including redistribution of reg fees and votes on Council, to make sure debaters from the Global South can actually participate;
* The persistent lack of recognition for second-language debaters by the community, and a suggestion to host a parallel Worlds in French;
* The need to target implicit biases that occur in debate rounds, and the need to improve adjudicator training on this topic;
* The importance of having an open mindset and active listening on conversations surrounding race, prejudice and discrimination.
IDI hosts conversations about making debate education better. Debate Education is a crucial 21st-century tool to improve young people's critical thinking, civic participation, and public speaking. We talk with leading experts in the field to unlock debate's potential.
IDI is a podcast by the International Debate Education Association, and is co-financed by the Europe for Citizens programme of the European Union.
A list of further sources accompanying the podcast can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lar5XRgFi-eQOUfD_2StAb2_YhIFfzOj?usp=sharing
The proposal for WUDC reform can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/mighti-jamie/access-for-africa/10157761430935070/
The video recording of this podcast can be found here: https://youtu.be/fm3Oy7zhAts
How to organise a succesful debate event
Improve Debate's Impact! In this session IDEA staffers Daan Welling and Mojmír Stehlík run you through a step-by-step guide to organise a succesful project. Including that one time a convenor had to drive all across The Netherlands on Christmas to print out some barcodes...
Want to set up your own club, event, or training program? Want to learn more about Project Cycle Management? Use this accompanying list of links: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lar5XRgFi-eQOUfD_2StAb2_YhIFfzOj?usp=sharing
IDI has been made possible by the Operational Grant of Europe for Citizens
Please mail us at podcast@idebate.nl for any feedback or suggestions for future episodes! Or fill in this quick survey: https://forms.gle/Vte7nFucFJpr8VFB7
Trailer: Improve Debate's Impact
In this two-weekly episode, we'll bring you information on how to improve debate education.
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Mail us for feedback, tips, or questions: podcast@idebate.nl