Teachers often find it challenging to incorporate higher order thinking skills in ways that both inspire student interest and allow for meaningful differentiation. Structured debate is an activity that can facilitate all of these goals. This article explains, in detail, how debates can be structured to promote a variety of critical thinking skills and intrinsic motivation to learn. Concrete suggestions are provided for how to design a high-quality debate and how to avoid pitfalls that allow students to evade higher level thinking.
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