Academic debate offers an effective pedagogical approach for developing critical thinking and durable skills while providing a model for education in the AI era.

Objective: To explore how academic debate can serve as a performative assessment method and develop crucial skills in an AI-dominated educational landscape, while addressing challenges of AI-generated content detection and student engagement.

Methods: The study analyzes existing research and educational practices to examine:

• The role of academic debate in skill development
• Debate-centered instruction (DCI) implementation
• Integration of AI tools in debate preparation and assessment
• Models of competitive debate application in classroom settings

Key Findings:

• Debate develops critical "durable skills" including critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration
• Debate serves as an effective performative assessment method that AI cannot replicate
• Debate-centered instruction increases student engagement and content retention
• The debate coach model provides a framework for teachers' evolving role in AI-integrated education
• Debate offers opportunities for productive AI tool integration while maintaining human interaction

Implications:

• Provides a practical framework for integrating AI tools while developing essential skills
• Offers solution to AI-detection challenges through performance-based assessment
• Demonstrates how debate can help prepare students for an AI-augmented workforce
• Shows potential for reducing teacher burnout through revised instructional approaches

Limitations:

• Limited empirical data on debate's effectiveness in AI-integrated settings
• Focus primarily on U.S. educational context
• May require significant teacher training and resource allocation
• Time constraints in implementing full debate programs

Future Directions:

• Empirical research on debate's impact in AI-integrated classrooms
• Development of specific AI tools for debate preparation and coaching
• Investigation of debate's role in different cultural and educational contexts
• Studies on long-term impact of debate skills in AI-augmented careers

Title and Authors: "Beyond Algorithmic Solutions: The Significance of Academic Debate for Learning Assessment and Skill Cultivation in the AI World" by Stefan Bauschard, Dr. Alan Coverstone, Dr. Anand Rao, Sebastian Rao

Published On: Original draft September 4, 2023; Updated September 10, 2023; Final Release October 15, 2023

Published By: Electronic copy available at SSRN (Social Science Research Network)