Green Oxford debate
Inspiration for the tool
Participants of the Innovation Factory in Poland
Rationale: Why is this needed?
Initiating a reflection process on the possibility of “greening” various professions, along with sharpening the debating skills.
Objectives
By the end of this activity, participants will be able to:
- give examples of different ways to make professions more environmentally friendly,
- explain their opinion using strong arguments and relevant examples,
- spot weaknesses in other people’s arguments and respond to them respectfully.
Resources needed
- printed instruction sheets for each team.
Activities
The facilitator explains that an Oxford debate is a friendly “competition” where two teams argue about one main thesis.
One team agrees with the thesis, the second is against it, and the third team decides who made the better arguments.
The facilitator present the main thesis, which is as follows:
Every profession can be made greener, meaning more environmentally friendly.
The facilitator splits the students into 3 teams by counting 1–2–3 around the room (or using another method):
- Team 1 – “No, not every job can be greener!”
Your job: Find reasons and examples to show that some jobs just can’t be made eco-friendly.
- Team 2 – “Yes, every job can be greener!”
Your job: Find reasons and examples to prove that all jobs can be more eco-friendly.
- Team 3 – the judges
Your job: Listen carefully to both sides. Give points for strong logic, solid examples, responses to the other team’s arguments. At the end, the judges decide which team did a better job and explain why.
Each team receives the main thesis of the Oxford debate and the arguments of each team (annex).
Teams 1 and 2 pick a speaker (leader) who gives a short speech (1–2 minutes) to share the team’s main arguments.
After the debate, Team 3 chooses a leader who will summarize the judges’ decision as to which team has won.
Reflections/Consolidation of learning
After the debate is finished, the facilitator asks:
- Was it challenging to defend a thesis that some of you personally disagreed with?
- Did you ever feel unsure about your side of the argument? How did you handle that?
- What does a respectful debate look like? Did we manage that today?
- Did this discussion give you a new perspective on making the labor market more sustainable?
- What new ideas or examples did you hear from others that you hadn’t thought of before?
- Can you think of a job that surprised you—either because it can or can’t be made more eco-friendly?
Annex
Main thesis: Every profession can be made greener, meaning more environmentally friendly.
Teams:
- Team 1 – “No, not every job can be greener!”
Your job: Find reasons and examples to show that some jobs just can’t be made eco-friendly.
- Team 2 – “Yes, every job can be greener!”
Your job: Find reasons and examples to prove that all jobs can be more eco-friendly.
- Team 3 – the judges
Your job: Listen carefully to both sides. Give points for strong logic, solid examples, responses to the other team’s arguments. At the end, the judges decide which team did a better job and explain why.