Creating Futures Through Technology Conference

Online debates are an interactive instructional strategy where learners are assigned opposing positions on a topic and collaborate within structured teams.  This presentation explores the integration of these structured debates into online course discussion boards to foster critical thinking, active engagement, and collaborative learning.  Discussions are guided by specific protocols, such as predefined message tags (e.g. argument, evidence, criticism, question) used in the subject lines, to scaffold argumentation and enhance engagement.  These features support cognitive skill development by reducing ambiguity and improving students’ ability to construct and evaluate arguments.  

The session outlines the steps to introduce debates, from assigning teams to employing constraint-based message labels. The presenters will share practical examples of message tags, preparing students for debates, and methods for evaluating participation.