Debates can be a great way to motivate learning. However, traditional debates may emphasize competition, not learning. Cooperative Debate is a CL technique that can show a different, friendlier, more enjoyable way to debate, with an emphasis on learning with others and using learning to make the world a better place. Cooperative Debate highlights the CL principle of group autonomy because the groups depend on their members for points to raise, and points to disagree with.

Cooperative Debate consists of seven steps.

Step 1: The class decides on a debate topic. For example, a debate topic might be “To improve nutrition and health worldwide, should people eat food from animals (Position 1), or should we get protein and other nutrients from plants, not from animals who were raised for food (Position 2)?”

  Students form groups of four that then divide into two pairs. Each pair spends time researching points supporting their assigned position, either Position 1 (favoring food from animals, such as fishes, meat, eggs, and dairy)  or Position 2 (favoring food from beans, lentils, grains, and plant-based meats). Then, each pair member chooses half of the researched content to use in the coming steps. This encourages the CL principle of individual accountability.

Step 2: Each foursome member has a fixed amount of time to present their points (e.g., two minutes). The other pair are Timekeepers. Every speaker tries to take no more or less than the assigned amount of time. Students take notes while the other pair is presenting.

Step 3: Students have two minutes to talk to their partners and think of what to say to disagree with the points raised by the other pair in Step 2. Then, each student has a fixed amount of time, perhaps one minute, to disagree politely with points raised by the other pair in Step 2. After everyone has had a chance to disagree politely, the group has more time to continue their polite disagreement exercise freely.

Step 4: Next, students change their assigned position. In this example, the pair in favor of food from animals is now in favor of protein alternatives to meat, eggs, and dairy; the pair who favored alternatives now favors nutrition from food from animals. Again, each pair has time to research points and divides the information equally with their partners. Students try to think of new conversation points and new ways to deliver the points (e.g., drawings or mind maps).

Steps 5 and 6: Identical to Steps 2 and 3, but with their newly assigned positions.

Step 7: Students no longer have assigned positions and are no longer in pairs. Instead, in each foursome, each student tells groupmates their actual opinions on the debate topic. This could be one of the two assigned positions or something different. They try to convince their groupmates.

Reflective Break

For your students, what are two topics that your students might debate? Choose one topic related to your school and one topic beyond your school.

Sample Response

A school-focused topic might be: Most students at our school eat healthy diets – agree or disagree. For beyond the school, a topic could be: Wars create more problems than they solve – agree or disagree.