Monday
3:15PM - 5:15PM
2nd May - 27th June
6 Weeks
$440 $293
Debating Wallabies is a great way for a beginner student to take their first steps into the world of non-policy debating!
Student to Teacher Ratio 9:1Give students an introduction to the basic concepts of non-policy debating, including cases, point structure and rebuttal.
Provide students the opportunity to participate in a range of debates on different topics across the term.
Allow students to practice their skills and receive feedback to help develop their speaking skills.
Monday
3:15PM - 5:15PM
2nd May - 27th June
6 Weeks
$440 $293
Monday
4:00PM - 6:00PM
2nd May - 27th June
6 Weeks
$440 $293
Tuesday
4:30PM - 6:30PM
26th April - 28th June
6 Weeks
$450 $315
Wednesday
4:00PM - 6:00PM
4th May - 22nd June
5 Weeks
$440 $275
Wednesday
4:30PM - 6:30PM
27th April - 29th June
6 Weeks
$550 $385
Thursday
4:30PM - 6:30PM
28th April - 30th June
6 Weeks
$450 $315
Thursday
3:50PM - 5:50PM
28th April - 30th June
6 Weeks
$550 $385
Thursday
4:30PM - 6:30PM
5th May - 23rd June
5 Weeks
$440 $275
Friday
3:50PM - 5:50PM
29th April - 24th June
5 Weeks
$495 $330
Saturday
10:00AM - 12:00PM
30th April - 25th June
5 Weeks
$405 $270
Saturday
2:00PM - 4:00PM
30th April - 25th June
5 Weeks
$495 $330
Monday
3:50PM - 5:50PM
2nd May - 27th June
6 Weeks
$440 $293
Bookings are now open for Term #2, 2022!
Debating Wallabies is an excellent way for beginner students to take their first steps into the world of debating!
Debating is a unique skill that involves preparing cases as a team, developing robust arguments, thinking quickly on your feet and learning to refute others’ points. As part of this program, students will be introduced to several of the fundamental skills and principles of debating, and will also regularly put what they have learned in practice in-class debates.
Whilst Debating Wallabies always covers the basics concepts involved in value debating – cases, arguments and rebuttal – the focus of the program changes every term:
Whilst it’s recommended that students give each of these streams a try, there is no particular need to start with any of them, meaning students are welcome to join at any time!
As with all our programs, we make sure that every classroom environment is nurturing for each individual, and that all the activities are lots of fun for all students! This is the perfect course for both shy and outgoing students to begin their journey into the exciting (and initially potentially nerve-wracking) world of debating.
The bread and butter of all debates is the art of argumentation. It’s never enough to just negate the other side – you need to be able to prove that your side of the topic is correct by providing the adjudicator with as many persuasive points as possible.
Our Term #2 program places the emphasis on arguments. In addition to looking at the fundamentals of cases, rebuttal and persuasive debating, students will also take a much closer look at both how to come up with arguments, as well as how to prepare and deliver convincing points.
These are then tied into a range of speaking activities and debates, all with plenty of personalised feedback, to help them put these concepts into practice.
For the most part, there is very little that separates our online and physical programs – both are interactive, cover the same theoretical concepts, and give students a range of opportunities to practice and develop their skills. Whilst some activities are different between the two, as some activities lend themselves better to physical or online classes, the actual learning outcomes remain the same for both classes.
Notably, the difference in price isn’t an indication of the quality of the program, or how much students will get out of the experience – both get the same amount of attention and care, and we’ve found some students develop better in an online environment. The deviation instead is simply a result of the higher costs (such as venue hire) associated with running classes in-person.
Whilst children appear to not be at particularly high risk from COVID-19, SSA places their safety (and the safety of our coaches) as our highest priority. This emphasis on safety is the first tier of our teaching policy.
We generally consider the risk of transmission at our programs to be very unlikely. This is for three reasons:
We have prepared our COVID-19 Action Plan, which outlines the three methods we are using to keep students safe.
Whilst you are very welcome to read the Action Plan in full, the four elements are:
Additionally, we will also be continuing to offer online programs for the foreseeable future. This will help ensure that parents and students who are uncomfortable with physical classes have an alternative that allows them to feel safe, whilst still receiving a quality education in public speaking and debating.
Please check out our COVID-19 Action Plan here, or get in touch if you have any questions!
Our Debating Wallabies course is a mixed experience level program.
This course assumes no particular knowledge – students are more than welcome to join the program with little (or even no) debating experience. Everyone has to start somewhere, and there is no better time than the present
Noting this, the program is also appropriate for students who have already completed our Speaking Camp Koalas or Speaking Camp Kangaroos holiday programs – the Debating Wallabies course looks at debating skills, which are very different to the public speaking skills (and much more in-depth than the debating skills) covered in both the holiday programs. Rather than moving straight to the more advanced programs, we would recommend they hone their skills here first.
In addition, this program is also appropriate for students who have previously completed our Public Speaking Wombats or Speaking Skills Joeys term programs – debating and public speaking are different presentation styles, and whilst either will help develop confidence, students will definitely get plenty out of doing both programs.
Finally, whilst Debating Wallabies always covers the basics concepts involved in debating, it is recommended that students give each of our focuses a try before moving on to the next level:
There is no particular need to start with any of these streams, meaning students are welcome to join at any time.
That said, if your child already has formal debating training from another provider, or has finished multiple streams of our Debating Wallabies program, they may get more out of our more advanced Debating Wolverines program – please get in touch if you’d like to discuss what’s best for your child!
Over the course of the term, students will have the opportunity to:
Fostering a Nurturing Class Environment
At the beginning of each Debating Wallabies program, the coach seeks to facilitate a welcoming class environment and ensures that all students across the elemental rules and concepts involved in debating – in short, that everyone feels accepted and up to speed, regardless of their experience. The early sessions also involve a range of speaking activities that help students develop their fundamental debating skills.
Argument Structure
The main focus of the program is argument structure – students will spend multiple sessions looking at the theory of how to present a persuasive argument, and have a wide range of opportunities to practice that theory in various activities. This will then be followed by a debate where students can apply their newfound skills in a real-life environment.
Brainstorming Arguments
The ability to present a good argument means very little if you can’t come up with good ideas! Given this, students also spend time during this program looking at how they can devise points, predominantly through the use of stakeholder analysis.
Case Structure, Rebuttal + Speaking Manner
Debates aren’t just two teams arguing with one another – it’s also important to understand case structure, rebuttal and persuasive manner. Whilst these are covered in more depth in other terms, they all have a dedicated session as part of the Argumentation stream!
Practice Debates
In addition to all the theory, students will have the opportunity to participate in multiple practice debates during the term (and almost every week as the term progresses). Each debate will be on a different topic, and students will have the opportunity to speak in various roles across the term.
Parent Presentations
As with all our weekly programs, the term concludes with a presentation to the students’ parents. This is a great way to help them develop the confidence to speak directly to adults, as well as being a good opportunity for them to showcase their new skills.
For physical classes, we’ll make an assessment closer to the end of the term as to whether we can run presentations in person – if government restrictions still prevent parents from entering the classrooms, we’ll either film their presentations, or alternatively livestream them for parents to watch from home!
Our classes vary in size for every workshop depending on how many bookings we receive – however, the maximum size of our Debating Wallabies class is around nine students with one coach.
If there aren’t any spots left, it’s usually because we’ve hit capacity – please get in touch with us and we’ll see what we can do about either opening an extra class, fitting your child into the existing class, or putting you on a waitlist in case any students pull out!
By the end of each program, students will have:
The course is excellent for kids to build up confidence and skills to speak in front of public, my 8 year old kid gains a lot of benefits from this course, he'll definitely continue this course next year.
Under the circumstances with Coronavirus, I feel that the staff handled the situation very well. They kept me informed about measures put into place to safe guard and keep students at Burwood Campus safe.
The program is very well structured and delivered effectively for my twins to build on their Debating Skills. Zoom lessons were very well organized and with no drawbacks.
Thank you all for your great work with all the students!
After our Term #4 programs...
of Year 3 - 4 students surveyed enjoyed attending the programs
of Year 3 - 4 students surveyed felt more confident
of Year 3 - 4 students surveyed saw their speaking manner significantly improve
of Year 3 - 4 students surveyed really wanted to come back again next time