Debater: As a pedagogical practice, lecturing embodies hierarchy, since the lecturer is superior to the student in mastery of the subject. But people learn best from peer interaction. Thus, the hierarchy in lecturing is a great weakness. Respondent: By definition, all teaching and learning are hierarchical, for all teaching and learning must proceed from simple to complex. In teaching mathematics, for example, arithmetic must precede calculus. Thus, the hierarchy in lecturing is a strength.
The respondent's reply to the debater's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the respondent applies a key concept to a different aspect of education than the aspect to which the debater applied it.