Evidence-Based Argumentation in Action You walk into a classroom to observe a biology lesson on organelles, expecting to see a lecture, maybe students taking notes, or an activity involving the textbook and worksheets. As you enter, you are surprised to see students already in their seats organized into five different teams. Hurried whispers stop as the teacher announces a debate is about to begin. The first speaker stands and presents an impassioned defense of mitochondria’s status as the most important organelle in a cell, demonstrating a detailed understanding of its functions and citing specific passages from the textbook to support these claims. Representatives from the four remaining teams stand in turn, presenting equally strong and evidenced cases for ribosomes, vacuoles, and other assigned organelles. What follows is nothing short of incredible; the teams embark on a series of back-and-forth exchanges as different students in each group take turns assuming the roles of proponent, defender, questioner, and closer. Every student in the class is involved in this weaving together of content mastery with strategic thinking about what it takes to win the debate. The announcement of the winner immediately provokes a new round of discussion over the merits of each side’s arguments.
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