The USU is excited to invite you to their Online Junior Training Day.

Traditionally this has been held in person but for 2021 this will be entirely online, through the USU Zoom account.

Registration signups close on Monday 4th October 2021.

A zoom link will be sent to all registered participants the day prior to the event.

The day will be divided into two sessions running simultaneously:

Session 1 - Seminars: 4:15pm -5:15pm

Session 2 - Teacher Seminar: 4:15pm -5:15pm

Session 1: Debating Seminars

During the first session of the training day, some of Sydney University’s most accomplished debaters will conduct a series of debating seminars for students. These seminars will be tailored to students’. If teachers feel their students may be better suited to a seminar in a younger or older age group based on their debating experience, the students can go into a different seminar.

These sessions will be interactive. Students can ask questions at any time, and will be given the chance to answer questions offered by those leading the seminars.

Beginners: Year 7/8 seminar

For students in years 7 and 8, the seminar will provide important information about the basics of debating. This will help refresh those students who have debated before, and provide important information about the activity for those who haven’t.

The year 7/8 seminar will include information to help students:

Understand why debating matters
Understand how debating helps them in their studies and life
Understand the speaker roles in a 3 on 3 debate
Analyse and define different types of topics
Create a model when required by the topic
Identify clashes in debates and move debates towards them

Intermediate: Year 8/9 seminar

Students in Years 8/9 will receive a seminar on improving their basic debating skills, and developing more sophisticated debating techniques.

The year 8/9 seminar will:

Remind students about the basic features of 3 on 3 debating
Teach students debating techniques to improve confidence and style
Focus on how to improve the structure and content of arguments
Inform students of more persuasive rebuttal techniques

Session 2: Teachers Seminar

How do We Coach Debating

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Understand the basics of debating
Analyse the purpose of debating
Identify different types of debates likely to arise
Explain different ways of generating arguments
Understand the use of facts in debating
Outline why gathering information for debating purposes is unique
Conduct debating training sessions