Incubate.Roundtable
The iconic freeform debate format
The Basics
The debates that occur in everyday life rarely give students 3 minutes of uninterrupted time to speak—instead, they’re often discussions that take place around a dinner table, in a social gathering, or even a casual work meeting. Roundtable strives to teach students how to communicate in a real-world setting, where standing out in a crowd requires the ability to engage with other perspectives, capture attention, and articulate thoughts in a way that resonates with others.
In Roundtable, 8-10 students sit for a 20-minute free form debate, where any student is free to speak, ask questions, take a poll, etc. When the 20 minutes are up, each student delivers a 30 second closing statement to summarize their arguments and final thoughts.
Minute Round
Second Closing Statements
The Specifics
Roundtable is also student-run, with no moderator. During the 20 minute round, no parent, staff member, or judge will intervene. Students in the Roundtable may not leave the room at any point until the entire round is over.
- No standing up
- No notes
- Be civil
It’s important in Roundtable that students respect and listen to one another. Students may interject and assert themselves during the round, so long as they do not yell or disrespect one another.
We encourage students to invite quiet students to share their opinions during the round.
The student to speak first in the round must introduce the debate topic by providing background information and establishing a foundation. The opening student is also encouraged to start with a general question to the group or a poll to kick off the round. Once the topic is introduced the round kicks off.
After the 20-minute debate, each student has the opportunity to deliver 30 seconds of closing arguments in final thoughts. This is an opportunity to quickly summarize your arguments and respond to others.
Students are judged by members of the community, based on their explanation, evidence, engagement, delivery, and civility. Specifically to Roundtable, students are evaluated on how they respond to opposing arguments and reinforce fellow arguments.
After the round is over, each judge delivers 30-seconds of general feedback and thoughts on the round. If there is a break after the round, students may approach their judges and request specific, individual feedback to improve for hte next round.
For the 20-minute debate, the timer is given to one judge who starts it when everyone is ready. After the 20 minutes, students use the timer as a stopwatch. Here is a video on how to use the Incubate timers.
