FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETIC TRAINING
PET 5405 Administration and Professionalism in Athletic Training
Class Debates
Student Name: ______________________________________________
Debating positions on important issues in our profession, especially positions they do
not fully agree on, is an excellent way to develop oral communication skills and
sensitivity to the views of others. Debating helps sharpen students’ research skills, and
with practice, it can improve critical thinking ability. Use the following suggestions to
develop all these qualities in your debate.
Debate Suggestions:
 Remember that your job is to persuade.
 Come loaded with documentable facts. Charts, graphs, and other visual aids will
help you make your point.
 Use your expert power to help persuade.
 Look, dress, and act like an expert.
 Anticipate your opponent’s arguments, and be prepared with counterarguments.
 Speak slowly.
 Make frequent eye contact with your audience.
 Use gestures to emphasize important points.
 Vary your voice tone and volume to emphasize important points.
 Don’t take it personally.
 Practice or you might look and feel foolish.
Debate Format
 Student #1 speaks for NO MORE than five minutes.
 Student #2 speaks for NO MORE than five minutes.
 Student #1 rebuts for NO MORE than three minutes.
 Student #2 rebuts for NO MORE than three minutes.
 Student #1 gives closing arguments of NO MORE than two minutes.
 Student #2 gives closing arguments of NO MORE than two minutes.
 Questions from the audience. (Members of the audience are required to prepare
three questions each prior to debate time. They may ask other questions,
however, based on the information provided by the speakers during the debate.)
Debate Evaluation
Each member of the audience will complete the assessment instrument by providing
both a numerical rating and a written commentary on each of the four assessment
criteria. The audience’s scores will be averaged. This number will be averaged with the
instructor’s rating and will serve as the final score for the debate. PRINT THIS FILE and
bring to class on the day of the debate. You will submit at the end of the debate.
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETIC TRAINING
PET 5405 Administration and Professionalism in Athletic Training
Class Debates
Student Name: ______________________________________________
DEBATE # 1
It is generally agreed that the name “athletic trainer” poorly describes the professional
responsibilities we are responsible for. One of the issues that often divides athletic
trainers is the question whether we, as a profession, should change our name to more
accurately describe what we do. This is a decision that would have a significant impact
on many aspects of our profession, including our relationship with most (if not all) of the
audiences and publics with whom we interact.
Student #1 position: The profession of athletic training should not change its name.
Student #2 position: The profession of athletic training should change its name to
______________________.
Assessment
Evaluator’s Name ___________________________
Assessment Criterion
Student #1 Score
Student #2 Score
Degree to which students
remained focused on the
argument (1-25 points)
Comments:
Comments:
Strength (proof and logic) of the
Comments:
arguments students used to
defend their positions (1-25 points)
Comments:
Degree to which students
countered their opponent’s
arguments (1-25 points)
Comments:
Comments:
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETIC TRAINING
PET 5405 Administration and Professionalism in Athletic Training
Class Debates
Student Name: ______________________________________________
Quality of the students’ oral
Comments:
communication skills (eye contact,
voice tone, pauses, gestures) (125 points)
TOTAL SCORE
Comments:
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETIC TRAINING
PET 5405 Administration and Professionalism in Athletic Training
Class Debates
Student Name: ______________________________________________
DEBATE #2
Although opportunities for women in the profession of athletic training have expanded
greatly since 1980, there are a few employment settings where the door remains firmly
shut. The most glaring example is the National Football League. This is one of the few
remaining “old boys’ clubs,” where women, either through unspoken policy or the power
of tradition, have been unable to break through the glass ceiling.
Student #1 position: Women should not serve as athletic trainers for all-male
professional athletic organizations, including and especially the NFL.
Student #2 position: Women should not only be allowed to compete with men for
positions as athletic trainers in the NFL and other all-male professional leagues, but
they also should be given preference in hiring because of the history of discrimination
they have been subjected to.
Assessment
Evaluator’s Name ___________________________
Assessment Criterion
Student #1 Score
Student #2 Score
Degree to which students
remained focused on the
argument (1-25 points)
Comments:
Comments:
Strength (proof and logic) of the
Comments:
arguments students used to
defend their positions (1-25 points)
Comments:
Degree to which students
countered their opponent’s
arguments (1-25 points)
Comments:
Comments:
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETIC TRAINING
PET 5405 Administration and Professionalism in Athletic Training
Class Debates
Student Name: ______________________________________________
Quality of the students’ oral
Comments:
communication skills (eye contact,
voice tone, pauses, gestures) (125 points)
TOTAL SCORE
Comments:
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETIC TRAINING
PET 5405 Administration and Professionalism in Athletic Training
Class Debates
Student Name: ______________________________________________
DEBATE #3
Athletic training has its historical roots in the “traditional” settings: high schools,
colleges, and professional athletics. The growth of the sports medicine clinic in the late
1970s and early 1980s helped spark an explosion in the number of athletic trainers
working outside these traditional settings. Today, approximately 50% of the more than
20,000 certified athletic trainers in the United States are employed outside the
“traditional setting.” One of the newest employment settings for athletic trainers is
working in physicians offices as “Physician Extenders”. Over the past several years, an
increasing number of athletic trainers have been employed in settings where they are
responsible for providing health care services for physicians’ patients. This
phenomenon has been hotly debated both inside and outside the profession.
Student #1 position: Athletic trainers are fully qualified to provide pre- and postoperative counseling and rehabilitation services for physicians’ patients. This is a
legitimate use of the athletic trainer’s knowledge and skill. The National Athletic
Trainers’ Association should encourage further penetration into this market.
Student #2 position: Athletic trainers are not qualified to provide pre- and post- operative
counseling and rehabilitation services for physicians’ patients. They do not possess the
knowledge and skill to safely care for this population. The National Athletic Trainers’
Association should discourage further penetration into this market.
Assessment
Evaluator’s Name ___________________________
Assessment Criterion
Student #1 Score
Student #2 Score
Degree to which students remained
focused on the argument (1-25
points)
Comments:
Comments:
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETIC TRAINING
PET 5405 Administration and Professionalism in Athletic Training
Class Debates
Student Name: ______________________________________________
Strength (proof and logic) of the
arguments students used to defend
their positions (1-25 points)
Comments:
Comments:
Degree to which students countered
their opponent’s arguments (1-25
points)
Comments:
Comments:
Quality of the students’ oral
communication skills (eye contact,
voice tone, pauses, gestures) (1-25
points)
Comments:
Comments:
TOTAL SCORE