Author: Lawrence Zhou, University of Wyoming debate coach & head lab leader for the Lincoln-Douglas lab of the Wyoming Forensic Institute The Lincoln-Douglas lab is a one week session for students of all experience levels. It will be taught by Lawrence Zhou. This lab is oriented around success at the local, regional, and national levels. There are three guiding principles that will guide the curriculum:
Nothing beats preparation. Oftentimes, people treat debate as if it’s a skill that’s somehow distinct from other extracurriculars, and while they are right that debate is a unique and distinctive event that affords opportunities and teaches content that no other extracurricular can hope to rival, it is not distinct from other sports or activities in which preparation determines success. People often balk at the idea of spending hours a day doing debate preparation but find it perfectly reasonable for athletes to train for hours a day.
As with any other activity, effort counts more than any other variable (Duckworth, 2016). Hard work and focus triumph over natural talent. Therefore, this lab will emphasize hard work and preparation. This means a focus on:
Content knowledge creates skills. The traditional focus of schooling has been instilling skills in students, e.g., reading comprehension, at the expense of content knowledge. Recent surveys of the relevant empirical literature suggests this emphasis is misplaced (Wexler, 2020). Thus, each day of lab, we will focus on learning the basics of moral and political philosophy. Additionally, we will sample introductory lessons in several other fields such as psychology, international relations, political science, and economics. Learning the basics of a wide variety of different fields helps improve the range and knowledge base from which debaters can draw from to enhance their understanding of the world (Epstein, 2021). Practice and practice. We all know the traditional lecture mode of teaching is outdated; a few years of Zoom learning has made this obvious to both teachers and students alike. Instead of focusing on trying to dump as much information into students as possible, students will spend significant parts of lab time engaged in peer-to-peer learning (Curzan & Damour, 2011), discussion, and drills. Students learn best when they are actively learning (Hattie & Yates, 2014). To that end, the lab will embed time each day for students to: Practice leading discussions on debate topics.
Objectives Objectives. The goal is for students to leave this camp session with five new insights:
Principles of Effective Instruction The Lincoln-Douglas lab will be oriented around five key principles of effective instruction, adapted heavily from some of the most recent insights in the science of teaching and learning.
References Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., Norman, M. K., & Mayer, R. E. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching. Wiley. Brown, P. C., Roediger III, H. L., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick: The science of successful learning. Belknap Press. Curzan, A., & Damour, L. (2011). First day to final grade: A graduate student’s guide to teaching (3rd ed.). University of Michigan Press. Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Scribner Book Company. Epstein, D. (2021). Range: Why generalists triumph in a specialized world. Riverhead Books. Hattie, J., & Yates, G. C. R. (2014). Visible learning and the science of how we learn. Routledge. Oakley, B., Rogowsky, B., & Sejnowski, T. J. (2021). Uncommon sense teaching: Practical insights in brain science to help students learn. TarcherPerigee. Paul, A. M. (2021). The hidden mind: The power of thinking outside the brain. Mariner Books. Wexler, N. (2020). The knowledge gap: The hidden cause of America's broken education system—and how to fix it. Avery.
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