2018 NSDA National Conference – Virtual Access Registration

What can I access online during the conference?

Keynote Speeches

LaToya Green (Saturday, July 28 at 7:00 p.m. MST)

Josh Gad (Sunday, July 29 at 12:30 p.m. MST)

James Copeland and Scott Wunn (Monday, July 30 at 9:15 a.m. MST)

Mary Gormley (Monday, July 30 at 12:30 p.m. PT)

Town Hall

Future of Public Forum Debate (Sunday, July 29 at 4:15 p.m. PT)
 

Select Sessions

Big Fish, No Pond: Teaching Debate in Isolated Regions
Sunday, July 29 at 9:15 a.m. PT
Presenters: Chris Flowers, Cabot High School, AR; Rosie Valdez, Little Rock Central High School, AR

Whether you’re new to teaching or just new to a district, this session is for those rogue debate coaches operating in isolated regions and communities who want to connect students into the national Policy Debate circuit. Whether it be a lack of competition, professional contacts, or even a lack of student diversity, coaches will benefit from this session through a dialogue with like-minded coaches and opportunities to problem solve with colleagues. Along with this forum, the facilitators will share valuable information and resources for ambitious educators looking to make a big impact with limited resources.

Finding the Honest Voice of the Character
Sunday, July 29 at 10:45 a.m. PT
Presenters: Timothy Cornwell, McClintock High School, AZ; Meg Howell-Haymaker, Mountain View High School, AZ; Debbie Simon, Milton Academy (Retired), MA 

The development of the character is at the heart of a successful interpretation. This session will examine the need to move beyond beginning level development that often results in stereotypical portrayals of characters and caricatures of race, disability, class, gender, and sexuality. In modern society with ever-changing identities, interpers need to bring to life the voices of characters without judgment and or appropriation. The panel will examine clips of interpretations where the development of the character is more realistically representational of the truth of the person without relying on stereotypes or caricatures and compare them to other presentations. Attendees also will explore techniques like Hot Seat, Kodak Moment, and other Character Improvisation techniques to help students both understand these differences and how to develop honest performances that represent the miracle of a human being.

Original Oratory: From One Teacher to Another
Sunday, July 29 at 1:30 p.m. PT
Presenters: Joe Wycoff, Apple Valley High School, MN; Pam Cady Wycoff, Apple Valley High School, MN 

Every good coach begins and ends by being called a Good Teacher. The Good Teacher knows the value of both written and verbal communication, whether it involves personal or group connection, empathy and intellect, or motivation and message. This session will focus on empowering a student’s voice through Original Oratory. This includes inductive and deductive strategies for finding a topic; the role of both micro and macro thinking; the essential foundation of an organizational structure; the use and misuse of metaphor and personal narrative; and the importance of both interpersonal and intrapersonal communication. Oratory embodies sharing a truth. Our goal is for attendees to leave with a better understanding of how to approach writing an original oration and practical strategies to help students create and shape their speeches. This session is designed to bring out the student’s voice so that the impact of the message will SHINE for all of the right reasons!

Congressional Debate as an Avenue for Personal Empowerment
Sunday, July 29 at 3:00 p.m. PT
Presenters: Kevin Berlat, Phoenix Central High School, AZ; Brittany Stanchik, Desert Vista High School, AZ

This session will provide the teacher or coach with the ability to utilize the Congressional Debate format to allow students and the community to express themselves on issues of immediate importance. Participants will walk away with an idea of how to structure the debate, how to set up a debate in their classroom or community, and how to provide opportunities for students and communities to empower themselves through debate.

Demonstration, Recommendation, and You in a Box Speeches: Three Units for Any Speech Class
Monday, July 30 at 10:45 a.m. PT
Presenter: Steve Meadows, Danville High School, KY

This session is for the Speech class teacher looking for unit plans to use in class. The demonstration (how-to) speech is a Speech class classic with visual aids and organizational steps. The You in a Box speech helps nervous and new speakers break the ice about themselves and learn basic speech structure. The recommendation speech instructs about presentation software and persuasion/research. Attendees will leave with all materials, daily calendars, and rubrics for these three speeches.

How to Listen; How to Speak; How to Debate
Monday, July 30 at 1:30 p.m. PT
Presenters: Pam McComas, NSDA Board Member, Topeka High School (Retired), KS; Renee Motter, Air Academy High School, CO

Teachers are always looking for new ways to engage students and push them to further depths of critical thinking and analysis, skills which are all cultivated in the speech communication discipline. Focusing on listening, speaking, and arguing, this session will give teachers knowledge to be able to incorporate and share a variety of best practices to enhance instruction. Participants will engage in a number of different activities that can be used to teach and reinforce skills such as listening, argumentation, and critical thinking. Session participants will come away with ideas to implement speech and debate activities in their own classes, and to help colleagues incorporate these exercises across the curriculum.

Testing the Limits of Empowerment: Tournament Directors’ Dilemmas in an Era of Protest
Monday, July 30 at 3:00 p.m. PT
Presenter: Kevin Minch, Truman State University, MO

A core value of forensic education—and education in general—is the support of free expression. Yet most state and national forensic organizations place some limitations on speech in the interest of competitive efficiency, community norms of decency, and the protection of institutional members. As America’s political discourse—and the media in which it is transmitted—has evolved, protests have become more common, sometimes turning violent. Tournaments, because of the presence of politically aware and socially active students, are ripe locations for demonstrations of political activism. Are tournament hosts and forensic organizations adequately prepared to address incidences of protest as they arise? This presentation aims to provoke participants to envision scenarios of social and political protest as they might manifest themselves in a tournament environment and to contemplate policies and procedures that best address the array of values that forensic education supports.

Making Policy Personal: Narrative Performance in the St. Louis Urban Debate League
Tuesday, July 31 at 9:15 a.m. PT
Presenter: Kelli Rao, McKinley Classical Leadership Academy, MO

The field of Policy Debate is widening to create space for more cultures and experiences. In this session, attendees will know what to look for in a team that takes a critical narrative approach, how to start a team on their journey, and how to continue their growth throughout the season. Attendees will create their own narrative and problem solve for possible pitfalls in carrying narrative Policy into tournament competition.

Empowering Student Voices and Leadership in a Competitive Setting
Tuesday, July 31 at 10:45 a.m. PT
Presenter: Victor Silva, Desert Vista High School, AZ

This interactive session will focus on the methods used at Desert Vista High School to empower student leadership and give students a platform to lead the team though speaking at team meetings, identifying issues, and developing/implementing their solutions, using interpretation and debate to speak on issues that students care about, giving students the tools to make positive choices, and connecting younger and older members to create a connected team. This session will center on how studens are empowered to lead team meetings, find and fix issues on the team, and act as coaches and leaders. Desert Vista High School has a systematic curriculum and approach to leadership and empowering students to lead. Attendees will leave with a step-by-step method to empowering students and clear activities that give students the ability to help lead their team.

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