DEBATE/DISCUSSION
Theoretical introduction
The main purpose of a discussion is to exchange ideas and information, and to learn from the discussion process. A debate, which is a special form of discussion, involves participants presenting certain opinions which they try to defend before others. Debates are not only about clarifying an issue, but also about convincing others of one’s opinion.
Due to the fact that we are often exposed to countless forms of debates and discussions, it seems essential that they should be incorporated into our lesson plans on a regular basis. Thanks to their universality, debates and discussions can be included at any time during the course or semester. They are engaging and learner-centred activities which hone rational, reasoning and critical thinking skills. Thanks to their repeated use, students learn greater respect towards different opinions, improve their ability to organise thoughts and ideas in a more logical manner, and realise the importance of rhetoric.
Exercise I: LET’S PRE-DEBATE
Padlet
- after the first class
- main body
Online/face-to-face
Synchronous
- to gather ideas for the debate
- to gain confidence before debating
STEP I
Each student joins a shared Padlet which is divided into two or more sections. Each section represents one perspective on the discussed issue.
STEP II
Using their phones, each student adds posts (as many as they want) and lists pros and cons of each perspective.
STEP III
When the brainstorming is over, the students are divided into groups (as many as the number of sections on Padlet). Each group is assigned one perspective and prepares a list of its pros and arguments that could disprove its cons.
STEP IV
When all the teams are ready, the debate can begin.
- Preparing ideas beforehand helps students gather thoughts and gain confidence before the actual debate.
- Thanks to Padlet, the students can practise not only speaking skills, but also writing.
- Since the comments are anonymous, nobody is afraid to express their thoughts. The students know they won’t be judged by their peers whatever their opinion on the given topic is.
– Due to the fact that the posts are anonymous, some students might not take their task seriously. They might make jokes or post inappropriate comments.
+ Before the task is initiated, the teacher emphasises that they should read all the comments posted on Padlet. In case an inappropriate comment is posted, it can be deleted immediately.
Exercise II: WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE DOCUMENTARY?
Any communicator (Google Meet, Zoom, etc.)
- at any time
- main body
Online/face-to-face
Synchronous
- to improve communication skills
- to express one’s thoughts and argue respectively
STEP I
Before class: The students watch a documentary given to them by the teacher. Ideally, the documentary should focus on a controversial topic which is little-known to the students.
STEP II
In class: At the beginning, the students are invited to briefly mention all aspects that they have found interesting about the documentary (The teacher notes down all the aspects mentioned by the students).
STEP III
Subsequently, a discussion in which students gradually return to all the aspects they mentioned is initiated. In other words, the focus of the discussion is set by the students themselves, not by the teacher, who is just the moderator of the debate.
If the discussed topic is controversial, more opinions and responses will be given.
Everyone can contribute to the discussion by proposing an aspect that interests them the most. Ideally, this should lead to a situation where students are more engaged, as they have chosen the discussed “topics” themselves. In other words, they discuss what they are interested in, not what the teacher thinks they might be interested in.
– The selected documentary is not interesting enough for the students, and thus, there are not any aspects that they wish to discuss.
+ The teacher should try to choose a documentary that discusses an issue that is relevant to the students, but is also relatively new to them.
Exercise III: GROUP DISCUSSION ON LMS MOODLE
LMS Moodle – separate groups
- during the course
- main body
Online
Asynchronous
- to improve collaboration skills
- to focus on collaborative learning
- to introduce constructivism to e-learning
The assignment involves not only instrumental but also social aspects; therefore, a common strategy must be developed which addresses both the nature of a problem and reflects the goals and talents of groups.
STEP I
Group forming process.
It is recommended that the groups should be heterogeneous and created on the basis of friendships established in previous courses. Friendly relations between group members is considered to be a major factor which establishes trust.
STEP II
Organisation of groups.
Each group should be invited to choose a name which its members can identify with.
The group members establish a set of rules for their group while it is being formed. An important key to each group’s success is to set deadlines for completing and submitting individual parts of their team assignments. Within each group, tasks should be allocated to individual members upon agreement reached in the LMS Moodle discussion forum.
STEP III
Communication within groups. Communication within groups takes place mainly in the discussion forum. In the system, the course instructor forms groups based on students’ decisions and sets the “group mode” for the discussion forum. Each group member can therefore see posts submitted only by members of their own group.
STEP IV
Collaboration within groups.
The instructor makes an effort to act as a non-disruptive and supportive element in group discussions.
It is worth mentioning that the students can also meet outside the classroom, at home, talk on the phone, text one another, and use social networks (e.g. Facebook). The collaboration which takes place exclusively in the virtual environment can be seen as non-optimal.
STEP V
Reflection on students’ group experience. The students fill in a questionnaire in LMS Moodle.
The instructor can see the posts by members of all groups, track their teamwork from the beginning to its outcome, and access the contributions of each individual. If required, they add their own comments, ideas, advice, suggestions, motivational tips, etc.
– Negative emotions can be triggered by various aspects of the group process, e.g. not meeting deadlines, long waiting for responses from other group members, etc.
+ It is the task of the instructor to prevent these negative outcomes. He/she should be a supportive element in each group discussion.
Exercise IV: COMPETITIVE DEBATE
Any communicator (Google Meet, Zoom, etc.) with meeting rooms
- after the first class/during the semester
- main body
Online/face-to-face
Synchronous
- to provoke a discussion on a given issue
- to improve rhetorical skills
- to exchange and respect different opinions
In step 3, the techniques and methods described in exercise 1 (Let’s pre-debate!) can be utilised.
STEP I
First, the debate topic is selected by the teacher; it should be chosen in such a way that it is sufficiently controversial and current.
STEP II
Next, each student is either assigned a specific role or invited to choose one according to their preferences. The roles are:
- moderator (only one),
- 3-6 advocates (supporting an opinion or an idea),
- 3-6 opponents (opposing an opinion or an idea),
- observers (impartial participant),
- other roles according to the teacher’s experience with their class (e.g. a mediator).
It is important that two opposing views are represented (advocates and opponents).
STEP III
The advocates and the opponents prepare their arguments in regard to their roles. They can also consult observers to gather some additional information or arguments. (In the case of a synchronous online class, it is necessary to divide the students into separate meeting rooms).
STEP IV
The debate is initiated; the chosen students (advocates and opponents) are actively involved. The individual speakers take turns in the argumentation and are given the same amount of time to present their opinions.
*It is essential that basic debate rules are followed (e.g. not interrupting others while they are speaking).
STEP V
The moderator (may also be the teacher) then ends the debate and invites the observers to vote and choose the winner.
Voting also includes verbal explanation of reason for choice (advocate’s arguments, rhetorical skills, nonverbal communication, etc.).
- Students develop and cultivate verbal expression.
- Students develop quick thinking skills.
- The debate is aimed at educational goals, but can also take into account students’ interests.
– The cooperation within teams might be insufficient.
+ It seems helpful to perform this activity in classes which are known to the teacher. They can then assign roles to specific students and that way affect, to some extent, the course of the debate.
– It is often difficult for the teacher to keep the attention of the observers.
+ The teacher can instruct them to note three (or more) points they find interesting about advocates’ and opponents’ presentations. They can also write down three strong and three weak points of each performance.
Exercise V: DEVIL’S ADVOCATE
Any communicator (Google Meet, Zoom, etc.)
Collboard – collaborative whiteboard
- at any time
- main body
Online/face-to-face
Synchronous
- to improve communication skills
- to express one’s thoughts
- to see the perspectives of others
STEP I
While discussing a topic, there might be cases when all students present very similar opinions, and therefore the debate is not lively or engaging.
In that case, the teacher divides the students into two groups (supporters and devil’s advocates).
* Supporters present their real opinion (the opinion of the majority of the class).
* Devil’s advocates present an opposing view of the matter which they are provided with by the teacher. It is pointed out that the view doesn’t correspond with their real opinion.
STEP II
Each group is given 10 min to prepare their arguments, which are noted using Collboard.
STEP III
When the students have finished, they are divided into pairs; each pair comprises a supporter and a devil’s advocate.
STEP IV
Subsequently, the students debate in pairs; they use their notes on Collboard to present argumentation and try to convince their interlocutor.
- During the discussion, students realize that there are other perspectives from which to look at a discussed issue.
- Students learn to argue respectively.
– The view given to the devil’s advocates is not considered to be controversial by the students. The debate is still not lively or engaging.
+ The position given to the devil’s advocates should be carefully chosen so that it does not correspond to the students’ mindsets.
