Judging Congressional Debate

1
Judging Congressional Debate

• Arizona NFL District Qualifier
• Created by Adam Jacobi, NFLAdapted for Arizona
  by Kevin Berlat

2
At a Glance

• Evaluate every speech by each speaker - writing
  comments as students speak.
• Rank-order the eight (8) best legislators at the
  end of the session
• Evaluate the presiding officer

3
How Speeches Work

• All speeches up to 3 minutes
• Sponsor/Author - introduces legislation
  establishes need.Fields 2 minutes of questions.
• First Negative - ground for opposition 2
  minutes of questions.
• Other Speeches - 1 min. of questions

4
Frequently Asked...

• Not necessary to recite legislation - students
  judges have copies.
• Judges do not time speeches. This is the student
  presiding officers job.
• Do not ask students to write names on the board.
  Use seating chart/roster (time is of essence).

5
Argumentation

• Speeches should argue - to make substantive
  claims, to support those claims with credible
  evidence, and to show impact on people/society.
• After the sponsor/author speech, students should
  respond to other speakers, building or refuting.

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Questions Answers

• Listen to speakers answers to questions do
  they show a firm working knowledge of issues
  beyond their own speeches?
• There is a space on the evaluation sheet to note
  any issues with questions asked by the student.

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Delivery

• Congress is more an exercise in spontaneously
  reacting to others viewpoints, rather than
  polished oration, though some oratorical
  flourishes (rhetorical devices) may be present.

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Delivery

• Extemporaneous delivery is preferred (sparse use
  of notes, but not a word-for-word manuscript).
• Take effective movement, eye contact and audience
  engagement into account.
• Note distracting bad habits.

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Priorities?

• Pay more attention to the content of students
  speeches (what they say) than delivery (how they
  say it).
• It isnt necessary to note all arguments students
  make rather comment on specific arguments that
  were questionable or spot-on.

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Constructive Critiques

• Avoid generalizations like good, weak, work
  on...
• Use specific comments that describe exactly what
  you found fault or strength with. If you were
  the student, would you know exactly what the
  judge was looking for, and how to fix it?

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Johnny Appleseed
38
H3
3-038
2
x
x
Be cautious when trying to explain nuances of
economic theory-you talked yourself in
circles. You are reading too much off your
notepad. Just write short bullets that prompt you
to say more.
Please write legibly in blue or black ink.
Slow down! You hit us w/ several statistics,
without providing analysis to help us understand
the significance of those stats. When you
reference another speaker, please use her
name. All that said, a solid speech!
George Washington
Shermer HS
Dont be too aggressive. Wait for their response
before interjecting.
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Awarding Points

• 1 Disgraceful behavior/mockery Spoke on the
  wrong side So brief, there was no substance
• 2-3 Minimal effort little substance
• 4 Mediocre (not well organized or
  substantive in information offered)

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Awarding Points

• 5 Proficient - meets expectations, but isnt
  particularly original or skillful in advancing
  debate
• 6-7 Excellent - solid, although there may be
  some minor flaws, or fluency of delivery is
  lacking.

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Awarding Points

• 8 Superior not necessarily perfect, but flaws
  were so minor, they did not detract from the
  impact of the speech. Minor pauses in fluency are
  acceptable.

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Presiding Officers

• Separate rubric of standards fairness of speaker
  recognition, handling questions and motions,
  command of procedure and ability to hold decorum.

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Johnny Appleseed
38
H3
3-038
2
Communicate your approach to speaker recognition
more clearly when you begin the session, so there
are fewer questions later. Remember, its better
to be methodical (and even a bit slow), than to
make an unfair speaker selection. ...
George Feeney
3
15
Shermer HS
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Overall PO Performance

• Facilitate debate in assertive but not aggressive
  manner?
• Were motions/votes handled efficiently?
• Crutch phrases, or word economy?
• Considering the POs aggregate performance, how
  would it compare to a speakers performance based
  on your expectations?

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Holistic Ranking

• Rank-order the eight (8) best legislators at the
  end of the session
• Account for the whole legislator skills,
  knowledge, disposition.
• Use seating chart and alphabetized roster to keep
  notes as you go.
• Quality and quantity (but Quality)

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A Word about Laptops

• Students may use laptops as per NFL rules.
• Scorers can monitor use from back
• Students may not CONNECT. They may access files
  stored on it.
• Watch for games/distractions.

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Thank you!

• Scorers may report to chambers
• Parliamentarians, please stay(anyone wishing to
  learn how serving as a parliamentarian works may
  stay!)