|
|
Our InstructorsBe the Light's instructor team includes some of the most qualified speakers and debators in the nation. Our current team includes several state and national champions in a variety of events, from Public Forum Debate to Extemporaneous Speaking. In addition, BTL intensively trains all its staff to give your student the best possible experience. Click the button below to see our full team!
|
|
The Debate workshop overall can be divided into two main sections. The first seven classes focus on teaching students the necessary skills to succeed through lectures, drills, and practice rounds, while the final five classes emphasize the application of those skills through rigorous preparation of one topic. Lectures and drills are evenly spread out and designed to complement each other, providing students with the opportunity to implement skills they learned rather than focusing on memorization.
For those in Basic and Advanced Debate (Debate 1), the course is intended to be a precursor to Public Forum Debate, a partner event at the competitive high school level. However, Debate 1 is more geared at developing critical thinking, analysis, argumentation, and research skills rather than the technicalities of PFD, meaning skills can be applied anywhere, including other debate events. As such, Debate 1 conducts practice rounds in a simplified format of Public Forum Debate over a variety of topics. For those in Competitive Debate, the course expands on aforementioned soft skills and focuses their application to the specific format of PFD. Thus, while the organization of the Competitive Debate course remains largely the same, students are gradually eased into debating within a more formal setting and structure. |
|
|
At BTL, quality instruction is a priority. Each debate lab is dedicated to instruction at either the Basic, Advanced, or Competitive level. In order to ensure maximum engagement, the curriculum is specialized for each level with different debate topics and slight differences in information and terminology. Additionally, each lab features two to three qualified instructors, all of whom are successful debaters and have extensive experience in instructing students.
During the first class in the workshop, students complete a diagnostic test evaluating skill, experience, and personal preference. Students are then placed into labs for the rest of the workshop that are adapted to their level. Instructors gear lectures and drills towards the experience level of each student. Through this, students achieve an optimal combination of rigor and understanding that is able to challenge students and help them achieve their goals. |
|
All lectures include drills afterwards designed to strengthen students’ understanding of concepts and allow them to put what they’ve learned to use. Every student participates in every drill, ensuring that students have equal opportunity to practice and improve. Drills are conducted in a variety of formats that include both individual practice as well as group discussions and brainstorming, allowing students to work with their peers as a team while also receiving personalized attention. In order for students to get real practice in debate without in-depth preparation of one topic, spar debates are included in the curriculum throughout the first seven classes. Spar debates are short practice rounds on any fun topic, which allows students to stay engaged, work with their peers, and receive individualized feedback from instructors. More information on spar debates and other drills is linked here.
|
|
|
Beyond learning with lectures and drills, practice rounds are undoubtedly the best way to improve. Throughout the final five classes, instructors hold a demo debate (high-level debate between instructors), a topic analysis, and an argument brainstorming session as a class. Students are assigned a partner and do in-depth research on one topic, allowing for deeper understanding and greater topic knowledge compared to the rest of the workshop. Furthermore, students write cases and responses to common arguments with their partner, allowing them to focus on argumentation skills without time limitation. During each of the final two to three classes, students debate a full-length round against labmates while an instructor judges the round, providing detailed feedback to each of the debaters that ultimately provides essential experience and opportunity for improvement.
|
|
The Basic Extemp class strives to teach students how to write and deliver impromptu speeches based on any given topic. While it doesn’t focus as heavily on current events compared to the more advanced classes, students will learn to confidently give a persuasive speech with limited prep. The goal is to have students be able to give a “one and done” or the intro and first point of a structured extemp speech with 15 minutes of preparation time. The Advanced Extemp class aims to teach students the skills necessary to achieve tournament and competitive success in extemp. Students should be able to give full speeches by the end of the class, and it's recommended that kids have prior experience.
At BTL, we aim to maximize each child’s learning experience by placing them with other students at the same age and skill level as they are. Currently, we have two labs of Basic Extemp. The younger lab will spend more time developing basic research and speaking skills, while the older lab focuses on fine tuning skills that most students already have a baseline in. Additionally, the older lab will introduce some basic current events as potential topics to prepare students for competitive extemporaneous speaking. Placement in each lab is initially determined through a speaking diagnostic at the first class of the semester. If instructors feel as though students need to be moved around afterwards, they maintain the freedom to do so. |
|
|
For the younger labs, the first five classes are dedicated towards the introduction. Students have the opportunity to prep and deliver the various parts of the introduction in small groups, partners, and finally individually. Following this, the next five classes look towards formatting the body points and adding them onto the prepared intro. The final two classes will look into fine tuning and solidifying the structure and presentation of impromptu speaking. In addition to practicing the structural components of extemp, the younger lab has more time allocated for speaking practice.
The older labs will follow a similar structure: five classes for the intro, five classes for the body points, and two classes dedicated for solely practicing and fine tuning. However, the older labs will spend more time on learning about analyzing current events instead of practicing basic speaking skills. |
|
Whether it be introducing structural components, discussing important current events, or simply going over basic presentational skills, instructors will always have a powerpoint to accompany the lesson. Every week after class, instructors will post the powerpoints onto Google Classroom to allow kids to reference the material whenever needed. An example of a structure powerpoint can be found here and a content powerpoint can be found here.
Additionally, students also watch instructor-made videos to help guide them in their learning. These videos are also posted to Google Classroom for students to watch at their own leisure. An example of an instructor video can be found here We also use supplemental activities like Kahoot, Edpuzzle, and Quizziz to enhance the learning experience and allow the kids to apply their knowledge in a fun way! |
An example powerpoint slide!
|
|
One of the most important parts to learning extemp is giving practice speeches. Learning to talk for seven minutes with limited prep time takes skill and mastery, and students won't be able to learn with just lectures or powerpoints. That's why at BTL, we also spend a large part of our class time towards giving practice speeches.
In the Beginner and Intermediate labs, students will spend 10-20 minutes prepping a short part of a speech (such as the intro or a first point). There will be a staggered draw, and once a student's prep time is up, they will be sent to a breakout room with an instructor. The instructor will listen to the student one-on-one and give personal feedback based on what they observed and what they think the student can work on. In the Advanced labs, the process is similar except students will be expected to write and give out full speeches as the weeks go by. Students will be given 30 minutes to prep and 7 minutes to speak, just like in a regular competition room. |
|
Overview
Public Speaking is intended for students looking to gain both confidence and skill when it comes to addressing audiences in a variety of settings. Students will learn speaking techniques, such as tonal variation, speech structure, body posture, persuasive speaking, and facial expressions. Most importantly, this semester-long course will instill a sense of confidence in students when it comes to their future presentations, projects or speeches. This course focuses on casual versus professional communication. In addition, the online format allows for more one-on-one time with instructors & personalized lesson plans towards their skillsets. Labs At BTL, one of our key priorities is to provide students with a classroom they are comfortable in, both with experience level and skills. Therefore we sort incoming Public Speaking students into one of two labs: Basic and Advanced. Both labs are taught by 2-3 quality instructors but Basic Public Speaking labs focus more on introductory skills and concepts while Advanced Public Speaking curriculum centers around refining already existing speaking skills. |
|