In late January, the competing teams receive approximately 14 case studies which represent controversial bioethical issues. The goal for each team is both to do research on the cases and to formulate well-structured, logical analyses pertaining to three questions posed, in advance, about each case.
A coin is flipped. The winning team selects if they would like to present (presenting team) or respond (opposing team).
In each round, the moderator assigns the presenting team a case plus one of the three questions. The presenting team then has ten minutes to: (1) articulate arguments in support of their response to the moderator’s question, and (2) thoughtful consideration of alternative or competing points of view. The opposing team then comments for five minutes on the presenting teams’ arguments followed by the presenting team’s opportunity to respond to the opposing team for five minutes. Finally, a panel of three judges has the opportunity to ask questions for 10 minutes to the presenting team. After each segment, the judges stop to record a score. The round then repeats this format with the team’s switching roles, i.e., presenting team becomes the opposing team and the opposing team becomes the presenting team.