Marketing Debates: In the Classroom and Online

Abstract

This paper recognizes the ongoing challenges that educators face in engaging students in classroom or online discussions and in developing their interest in the material that we want them to learn. The author suggests use of structured debates to add more variety to the teaching methods used in marketing courses and to help students learn and retain information. Debates fully engage the students, help them develop interpersonal and communication skills, encourage critical thinking, and lead to high levels of learning and retention of content. The author gives examples of structured debates successfully used in the classroom and in online courses and outlines procedures for implementing them.