Even as an experienced school’s debating coach I found this session helpful and enjoyable. I can see debating being used effectively as a cross-curricular methodology.
– Teacher at CPD workshop
CPD & WORKSHOPS FOR TEACHERS
We offer full-day, half-day and twilight workshops and training courses on classroom and extra-curricular debating, from absolute beginners to advanced coaching.
Whether your school is new to debating, or you’d like your team to have some advanced coaching, the ESU can help!
We offer a range of CPD courses for teachers to introduce debating as a classroom tool, and also for teachers wishing to run extra-curricular debating activities. These courses are really practical, taking you step by step through activities and techniques you can use with your pupils.
In addition to our full-day and twilight courses here at the ESU Scotland HQ, we can also deliver workshops at your school for up to 20 teachers. This is a great way of encouraging cross-curricular working. We can also offer subject specific courses, for example our courses for science teachers.
We always tailor the workshops to the requirements of the group, but our standard workshops are: Debating in the Classroom; Introduction to Extra-curricular and Competitive Debating; and Advanced Debates Coaching.
COURSES FOR 2022-2023
We can deliver these courses, or other specific courses to meet your requirements, at your school.
In school- courses (CPD and pupils workshops) cost £250 for a half-day and £400 for a full-day, plus travel costs. All in-school workshops are tailored to your exact requirements and you will be provided with resources and materials. If you wish, you can invite teachers from nearby schools to split the costs.
During a full-day workshop we can split the day between delivering CPD for teachers and working with pupils, which is a great way for teachers to put their new skills into practice.
For more information, or to book a course, please email hello@esuscotland.org.uk.
WORKSHOPS AT ESU SCOTLAND
INTRODUCTION TO CLASSROOM DEBATING
Day course: 10am-3.30pm. £100 per teacher, lunch included.
Classroom debating is a great way of getting your pupils speaking and listening, while developing confidence and core skills. It’s also easier to manage with a whole class group than you might think.
We’ll introduce you to a range of debating techniques and activities that you can use in the classroom as a teaching aid and adapt to your own teaching programme and needs.
The emphasis is making sure every pupil has a meaningful role and the whole class is involved, and focusing on using debating as a vehicle to deliver the outcomes and experiences detailed in Curriculum for Excellence.
You’ll get to try out all the activities yourselves and come away with a tool box of ideas and plenty of resources.
Skills covered will include:
- Getting started with debating
- Different debate formats and how to adapt formats to topics
- Involving the whole class: every pupil has a part to play!
- How to research and structure speeches
- Adapting and building your own “debates and topics bank”
- Integrating debating into your teaching programmes
- Games and activities to build confidence in speaking
Suitable for primary and secondary teachers with little or no debating experience. We can also adapt this course for specific subject areas.
Please contact us to register interest or to find out dates of the next course. hello@esuscotland.org.uk.
INTRO TO EXTRA-CURRICULAR DEBATING
Twilight course. £75 per teacher.
Would you like to set up a debating society in your school? Would you like to enter a team into competitions but not really sure how? This course will help you get started.
Skills covered will include:
- How to set up a debating society
- Different debate formats
- Different types of debating competition
- Selecting and training a team
- How debates are judged
Suitable for secondary teachers with little or no debating experience
Please contact us to register interest or to find out dates of the next course. hello@esuscotland.org.uk.
ADVANCED DEBATES COACHING
Twilight course. £75 per teacher.
Here we focus on more advanced debating techniques and getting your team from good to great.
Skills covered will include:
- Motion analysis
- Proposition strategies
- Opposition strategies
- Effective research
- Use of evidence and statistics
- Rebuttal techniques
This course is suitable for teachers with experience of coaching, who have previously entered teams into major competitions and wish to bring their squad to the next level.
Please contact us to register interest or to find out dates of the next course. hello@esuscotland.org.uk.