Wits & Words 2010: Teachers’ Resource Sheet

Wits & Words 2010: Slides Used For Adjudicator Training for Teachers

Wits & Words 2010: Slides Used for Coaches’ Workshop

If you have further queries on any aspect of Wits & Words 2010, feel free to get in touch with us!

Photo collage from the workshop:

Handouts from the day will be made available on this site shortly.

Do you want him/her to coach the school team to win the national championships? Or do you want them to introduce all the students in your debate club to debating? How many hours a week do you want the coach to come down? Once you know what you want in the long term, it’s easier to find the right coach.

Tell Your Prospective Debate Coach:

• What your school’s goals are with respect to debating: Do you want to reach the quarterfinals of Division 1 in the SSDCs? Do you prioritise skills development over achievements in competitions?
• Who you want them to coach: just the debate team? The entire debate club?
• Whether there will be constraints on the number of hours they can coach per month, or whether there will be a limit to how much money they will be paid per month.

Ask Your Prospective Debate Coach:

• How long will each training session be, and what time will the sessions start and end?
• How much do you charge?
• How frequently will you be able to train the debaters?

2. Hire Former Debaters
Who Have Experience
In the Format and Circuit Your School Is Debating In

The Singapore Secondary School Debate Championships (SSDCs, also known as the “Julia Gabriel’s” or “JGs”)  is the largest national debate tournament for secondary schools in Singapore. It utilises a simplified version of the World Schools’ Debating Championships format. Secondary schools should hire coaches familiar with this format.

The MOE Invitational Debate Championships is the national debate tournament for junior colleges in Singapore. It utilises the World Schools’ format. Junior colleges should hire coaches familiar with the World Schools debate format.

Ask Your Prospective Debate Coach:

• Are you familiar with the Julia Gabriel’s/World Schools’ format?

3. Debate Experience Is Necessary
Competition Experience Is Good
Adjudication Experience Is Good
Coaching Experience Is Also Good – Request References

Debating is a skill honed through practice and experience. It would be incredibly difficult for someone without debating experience to teach a student how to debate.

Debate competitions require rigorous preparation, strategising and the ability to perform under pressure. Different competitions demand different styles of speaking, argument and teamwork. A debate coach who has debated in the competition your school plans to participate in would possess more relevant experience than a coach who has not.

Prior experience as an adjudicator is always useful to a debate coach. Such experience helps debate coaches understand the mindset of a typical adjudicator, as well as what factors will influence an adjudicator’s verdict. It will also aid coaches in interpreting and understanding feedback from adjudicators on their team’s performance.

Performing a skill and imparting a skill are very different things. A good debate coach should be a competent debater and a competent teacher. As most debaters tend to be good communicators, they also tend to be adequate teachers. But a debate coach with prior coaching experience will probably be more comfortable with teaching debates than an inexperienced debate coach.

On the other hand, a younger, less experienced debate coach who has just left the debate circuit (or who has moved onto the university debating circuit) may have a strong grasp of the required skills and a fresher perspective on debating and coaching. Inexperienced, young debate coaches are not necessarily inferior. Experienced, older debate coaches are not necessarily wiser. Furthermore, many adult debaters are successful working professionals who are unlikely to be inclined to moonlight as a debate coach.

Younger debate coaches may not be able to register on GeBiz due to age restrictions. Different schools have their own arrangements for paying individual coaches who are not on the GeBiz system; find a system that works for you and your coach.

If you encounter a candidate who has coached other schools, you should ask for references. Speaking to other teachers-in-charge who have worked with the candidate might give you a better idea of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses as a debate coach, and help you to decide if he or she is suitable.

Ask Your Prospective Debate Coach:

• Have you participated in a debate competition that utilises this format?
• Have you judged at a debate competition that utilises this format?
• Have you coached a team to participate in this (or a similar) debate competition?
• How long have you been coaching? How many schools have you coached?

4. Advertise For Debate Coaches Through the DA(S)

Debate Association (Singapore) will help schools advertise for debate coaches. Simply contact us and specify your school’s requirements, based on the information contained in this factsheet. If you would like us to post a Coaching Job Request on our website for your school, please provide us the exact text of your announcement for the website. Samples of other schools’ announcements (including some open estimates for coaching fees at different levels) can be found here: http://www.debates.org.sg/category/coaching-jobs/ . The DA(S) does not provide any recommendations nor can we offer advice on coaching fees, as these vary widely depending on the coach’s skill level and your job requirements. We encourage you to work with your coaches to come to an agreement on coaching fees and job scopes that fits your budget and their expectations.

5. This Is Only a Guide;
These Are Only Recommendations!

This document is meant to provide a general set of guidelines to assist teachers and schools in the process of hiring a debate coach. It is neither authoritative nor comprehensive nor absolute. There may be excellent debate coaches out there who do not fulfill any of the criteria mentioned above. There may also be incompetent debate coaches out there who fulfill every single criteria mentioned above.

These recommendations are meant to be a starting point for teachers who have no idea how to determine whether a candidate would make a suitable debate coach. Feel free to disagree with our recommendations. We welcome all feedback via our contact form or direct email to outreach@debates.org.sg

Announcing your job request.

If you would like us to post a Coaching Job Request on our website for your school, please provide us the exact text of your announcement for us to put on the website. Samples of other schools’ announcements can be found here.

2. Download our “Organising a Competition” Resource Package. This package contains a step-by-step guide, as well as all the forms, scoresheets, and briefing materials you will need for your event. Read through it in advance, and contact us if you have any questions. Settle the resource requirements as early as possible with the hosting venue. You will need ushers, timekeepers, chairpersons, classrooms, holding rooms, and a lecture theater to gather everybody and brief them.

3. Find Adjudicators. We can assist you in emailing our list of qualified adjudicators to find the right judges for your level of competition. Try and use multiple judges per room, and always have some backup judges in case there are last minute cancellations. Get schools to sign up early. Have a swing team ready in case a school has to pull out.

4. Publicise the competition to your target audience. We can email schools for you, and you can make announcements using the forum.

5. Remind the participants and judges with the required details just before the event. People fall sick, cars break down, and people can get lost, so have a contingency plan available. Also, it helps to start your competition at a reasonable hour, and don’t ask judges to come down too early. Nobody wants to wake up at 7am to attend your briefing at 7:30am, only to find out that the first round only starts at 10am. Be nice to the judges, they’re all volunteers.

The WSDC has published a detailed “how-to” guide which covers the specifics of running a competition.

2. If you would like to hire a coach, based on your scope/aim for the coach, you should determine what your budget is. Most coaches charge per-hour, and the rate depends on the qualifications and track record of that coach. If they have won numerous championships and also coached teams to win local trophies, expect to pay more for that coach. We have created an optional “Interview Guide for Teachers [coming soon]” for you to use during the interview, if you would like to find out whether your prospective coach understands the key requirements of the local debate format.

3. Make an announcement on our website by contacting us with your requirements. It helps to be specific about what you want. You should negotiate payment offline in privacy. Interview a number of candidates and select the one you think would suit your students the best.

4. Most coaches are quite young, many are still in university. This is normal. Most adult debaters are successful lawyers/politicians/working professionals, so it is unlikely that they will be able to coach a school on the side. Younger coaches are well-qualified, eager, and dedicated, so do not be too worried. If you are unsure, feel free to ask other teachers or coaches about the reputation and quality of a coach you are about to hire. It’s a free market, after all.

5. Paying your coaches. Different schools have their own arrangements for paying individual coaches who are not on the GeBiz system – find a system that works for you and your coach. Discuss rates and training schedules in advance so that there are no misunderstandings or miscommunications. You should check in with your coach and the team regularly to ensure that things are proceeding smoothly.

6. Once you’ve found a coach, don’t forget to post a reply in the forum to your original request stating that you have found a coach and are no longer taking applications.