Debate Across the MIT Curriculum

Debate Across the Curriculum is a nationwide initiative that encourages the integration of in-class debates to advance multiple pedagogical objectives. Participating in debates enhances students’ oral communication skills, research and organizational skills, critical thinking, and advocacy skills. Not only are these lifelong skills that are useful in any career, they are interrelated with the goals of MIT’s undergraduate Communication Requirement. Most recently, the call for encouraging a more robust culture of freedom of expression can be met (in part) by encouraging debate in a greater number of subjects. This proposal briefly describes the case for debate activities in the classroom, then describes the proposed project. The project is intended to develop instructional materials for faculty and for students that can be used to facilitate debate across the MIT curriculum.