How do you transform students from passive listeners into active participants in their own learning? Barkley and Major’s Student Engagement Techniques (SETs): A Handbook for College Faculty offers 50 ways. Their handbook includes a collection of field-tested activities designed to make learning more interactive and meaningful. Each student engagement technique is a well-tested recipe with step-by-step directions, examples, variations, suggestions for online implementation, and resources.

Think about the following SET and how you might implement it based on your own teaching style, instructional and student needs, and your discipline. Whether you have already implemented this in your course dozens of times or try it for the first time after reading this article, let us know – we would love to learn how it went and what tips you have for others!

What it is:

“Split-Room Debate” is a SET that introduces students to multiple perspectives. It is best used when students are already familiar with a topic and are adequately prepared to engage in a discussion, either through their own research, lecture, assigned reading, class discussions, etc.

How to do it in person:

1. Select a topic with two identifiable, arguable, and opposing sides that are flexible enough for students to build arguments for and against for the “Split-Room Debate.” Students will move from one side of the room if they are on the “pro” side and the other side if they are “con.”
2. Establish and review ground rules. That may include students present only one argument at a time, each statement is limited to a set amount of time, participants should stand on the appropriate pro or con side of the room, and all discussion must follow the expectations for civil and respectful dialogue. Allow time for questions before you begin the activity.
3. To begin, state a prompt. Once you deliver the prompt, ask students on one side to start the debate. That student makes a statement (providing evidence for their stance) then selects a speaker on the other side of the room to go next, and so on. Allow time for students to think about their position before moving to either the pro or con side, and invite students to move to the side of the room of their choosing as they hear the statements, with the opportunity to change their mind as they think about their peers’ statements.
4. After all arguments have been shared, lead a class discussion to identify the strongest points from each side and reflect on any changes in understanding or opinion.

Examples of prompts from the handbook include, “I have a fever, so I need antibiotics,” (medical science class) and “voucher systems should be used to introduce choice and competition among schools” (educational leadership class). Perhaps students can debate different theories in your discipline. A biology class might debate theories related to the role of reactive oxygen species in aging, for example.

How to do it online:

Students in online courses could post their statements on a discussion board through text or video. After the deadline, ask students to read arguments and post a synthesis of the debate, if and how their opinions changed, and their final stance on the topic. Students might be assigned a side to argue during one discussion; then be assigned to the other side the next discussion, before they post their final argument in the last discussion.

How to adapt it:

Variations and extensions recommended by Barkley & Major include doing this activity in pairs or small groups, setting up a three-way debate, and assigning a reflection detailing issues clarified, surprises that emerged, and whether their opinion changed.

Other ideas for variation may include using a polling tool like Poll Everywhere for an anonymous debate. If students’ is limited or the classroom space is not conducive for students to move around, you might adapt this activity and invite students to raise different colored papers (green for pro, red for con) or print thumbs up and thumbs down cards for students to indicate their choices. What other variations come to mind?

This SET can promote logical thinking, challenge existing assumptions, and help develop communication skills. If you would like your students to investigate a topic critically, consider multiple perspectives, and understand that complex issues rarely have simple answers, consider experimenting with “Split-Room Debate.”

Barkley, E.F. & Major, C.H. (2020). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for college faculty (2nd Edition). New York: Wiley Jossey-Bass.

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