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The use of in-class debates as a teaching strategy in increasing students’

critical thinking and collaborative learning skills in higher education.
Article · January 2015
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Vol.7(1) January 2015 Collaborative Learning Skills
The use of in-class debates as a teaching strategy in increasing students’

critical thinking and collaborative learning skills in higher education
Zeta Brown, Wolverhampton University, Walsall
Correpondence: Zeta Brown
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01902 321000
Abstract
This paper will explore the use of debates as an in-class teaching strategy that has
the potential to heighten students’ critical thinking and collaborative learning skills.
Students undertaking a childhood studies degree had weekly debates that linked
media represented topics to theoretical content from their current module. This
module covered a range of theoretical and practical perspectives in relation to the
child, family and society. Therefore, the topics of weekly debates included the
changing nature of childhood, the diversity of family relationships, childhood obesity
and the differing ways in which children are socialised. Data was collected using a
card-sort and in-class structured interview questions. The study focused on
accessing students’ perspectives on the use of these weekly debates. The study
found most students held differing, complex perspectives on either the benefit of
enhancing collaborative learning or critical thinking skills. The findings suggest that
fourteen of the sixteen students in this study did not prefer the use of debates in
comparison to other teaching strategies. This is because some students sought
more structure in the use of in-class debates to enhance their theoretical
understanding. This paper concludes by considering recommendations for the
module that include the possibility of using peer-assessment to ensure full student
participation.
Key words: Debates, teaching, critical thinking, collaborative learning, strategies
Debates as an in-class teaching strategy
Kennedy (2007) states that students learn in diverse ways and that there is therefore
a need in Higher Education to provide a variety of instructional strategies and forms
of assessment. For academics such as Oros (2007) and Jackson (2009), debates
can be embedded in module teaching. Oros (2007) says debates can be integrated
into course design and assessment and introduced to students from the beginning of
a module. For these academics, debates can be used to complement other teaching
strategies and provide a variety of teaching styles to keep students actively engaged
in content. As Jackson (2009, p.253) says, “debate is not intended to be an end in
itself, but rather a means to desirable educational outcomes that complement other
teaching techniques and student experience”.
Meyers and Jones (1993, in Kennedy, 2007) consider the use of debates as a
teaching strategy that encourages active learning in the classroom, where students
are interactively part of the learning process. Conversely, Bonwell and Eison (1991,
e-journal of the British Education Studies Association 39

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in Kennedy, 2007, p.183) believe that this form of active involvement enables
students to “…learn more effectively by actively analysing, discussing, and applying
content in meaningful ways rather than by passively absorbing information”. In
comparison, Walker and Warhurst (2000) consider the use of debates as a strategy
that extends beyond student involvement. Debates enable lecturers to stand back
from delivering taught content and provide students with the space to educate one
another. However, students in Zare and Othman’s (2013) research stated that the
quality of debate did depend on whether debate questions were clear and did not
favour one side of the argument.
Zare and Othman (2013) believe that the use of debates has expanded to students
in many differing subject areas. Freeley and Steinberg (2005, in Kennedy, 2007
p.183) define debates as “… the process of considering multiple viewpoints and
arriving at a judgement…” Through debates, Gervey, Drout and Wang, (2009, in
Zare and Othman, 2013) believe students learn essential skills such as reasoning,
analysing and how to present arguments. The literature tells us that the use of
debates provides students with a mastery of content and the development of critical
thinking skills and communication skills (Kennedy, 2007; Zare and Othman, 2013).
This is because students are seen to be involved in debates “actively, broadly,
deeply and personally” (Zare and Othman, 2013, p.1507). However, debates can be
criticised as reinforcing a bias towards dualism. This is because most debates
depend on the juxtaposition of only two viewpoints, where in reality the matter is
usually more complex (Tumposky, 2004, in Kennedy, 2007). Budesheim and
Lundquist (2000) argue that students will change their perspectives if they have to
defend a viewpoint that is contrary to their original perspective. They suggest that
students should research both sides and should not be told until the last minute
which side of the debate they will be presenting.
To enhance student involvement further, the debates’ assessment process can be
managed by students, either with or without the involvement of the lecturer
(Kennedy, 2007). Smith (1990) advocates student participation in grading debates
as a form of peer-assessment. Walker and Warhurst (2000) believe that students
can generate the criteria to assess and then make their own judgements based on
these criteria. However, they advised that the debate itself should be the students’
formative assessment, as summative peer-assessment may not be welcomed by
students. Boud and Falchikov (1989, in, Walker and Warhurst, 2000, p.38) state “the
link to learning lies in the notion that effective learners are learners who are able
realistically to assess their own capabilities, and make ‘sensitive and aware
judgements of their own work’”. Therefore, in considering involving students to the
fullest extent, they should also be involved in the debates’ assessment process.
In-class debates and collaborative learning
Classroom interactions between students and between students and lecturers are
considered by Bartlett and Ferber (1998, in Brownson, 2013) to be more effective
than traditional teaching strategies. This form of interaction is “underpinned by
values of collaboration, and the construction of individual and collective knowledge
between teacher and student, and student and student in a culture of educational

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conversation (Rowland, 1993, in Walker and Warhurst, 2000, p.34). Kuhn (1991, in
Guiller, Durndell and Ross, 2008) considers that there is a social element to critical
thinking, in which ideas are discussed with peers to develop knowledge
collaboratively. Similarly, Paul (1992, 1994, in Frijters et al., 2006) believes that
critical thinking is linked to dialogue because dialogue makes it possible to consider
other people’s perspectives. Williams, McGee and Worth (2001, in Kennedy, 2007)
found that students in a large scale survey of 70 universities rated improved
communication skills as debate’s most substantial benefit. These findings show the
importance of collaborative communication during the debate. According to Snyder
(2003, in Brownson, 2013) the more involved students are during the debate the
more they will gain from the learning process.
For Oros (2007) the delivery of debates is intrinsically linked to collaborative learning
skills and critical thinking. The process of expressing thoughts and different ‘for and
against’ perspectives in a debate structure encourages interaction amongst peers
(Frijters et al., 2006). Students also need to communicate the perspectives of others
(Dam and Volman 2004). However, those opposed to the use of debates believe
that the argumentative element of debate structure can create a confrontational
environment (Tumposky, 2004, in Kennedy, 2007). In contrast, Goodwin (2003)
found few students who reported any distress or anxiety associated with the
competitiveness linked to the debate structure. Oros (2007) believes the delivery of
evidence in debates is intrinsically linked to collaborative learning skills.
Collaborative learning in this manner can enhance skills such as explaining,
reasoning, stimulating thinking and asking questions (Mercer 2000, in Frijters et al.,
2006). Moreover, Johnson and Johnson (1994, in Zare and Othman, 2013) believe
that students can also more frequently develop skills in generating new ideas and
solutions and can transfer learnt content, applying it more readily to different
situations.
This form of collaborative learning through dialogue can promote students’ active
learning and high-order thinking (Renshaw 2004, in Frijters et al., 2006). For Oros
(2007), presenting this evidence ensures full class participation beyond those who
are seen as the usual contributors. A strategy to ensure full participation, according
to Oros, is to start the debate with a group who have researched the specific subject
and then open the floor for all students to evaluate the debate and the evidence
presented. In contrast, Temple (1997, in Kennedy, 2007) found that participation
was limited to those in the debate team. Goodwin (2003) found that students did not
consider listening to other debate teams to be active and engaging. Instead, Temple
(1997, in Kennedy, 2007) advocated the fishbowl debate, where all students are
divided into two groups and take part in every debate, or alternatively have a third
group that is the audience.
Previous research on students’ perceptions on in-class debate as a teaching
strategy has been mostly positive. Most students in Goodwin’s (2003) research
appeared to be happy to participate in debates. Students appear to value the
development of skills such as communication and collaborative and critical thinking
skills (Williams, McGee and Worth 2001, in Zare and Othman, 2013). However,
previous research also highlights design concerns that need to be considered

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(Kennedy, 2007; Zare and Othman, 2013), such as whether students feel
comfortable in defending their position in debates in an argumentative environment;
whether students value debates over traditional teaching methods as a teaching
strategy; whether all students gain from the debate process and whether the
assessment process is effective for the students and the module. Despite critical
reflections on the use of debates Kennedy (2009) found that around 85% of students
would consider participating in future debate opportunities.
In-class debates and critical thinking
Jackson (2009) emphasises that lecturers need to seek experiences for students
that will increase their critical thinking and problem solving skills, as well as the art of
communication in teaching sessions. Halpern (2003, in Frijters et al., 2006, p.67)
believes we need to consider “cognitive skills and strategies that increase the
likelihood of a desired outcome … thinking that is purposeful, reasoned, and goal-
directed, the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences,
calculating likelihood and making decisions”. The use of debates can enhance
critical thinking skills such as “…defining the problem, assessing the credibility of
sources, identifying and challenging assumptions, recognising inconsistencies and
prioritizing the relevance and salience of various points with the overall argument”
(Kennedy, 2007, p.184). For Zare and Othman (2013) the use of debates enables
students to develop their knowledge of social issues, consider multiple viewpoints
and accept that, as individuals, there will be differing perspectives on any topic area.
Importantly, students need to engage in research to develop their understanding of
evidence that aligns with either the for or the against perspective in the debates.
Jackson (2009, p.151) states “…topics or questions for debates are by their nature
without right or wrong answering”. The use of debates provides an opportunity for
students to give alternative solutions to a specific debate topic, rather than seeking
to find one correct solution (Yang and Rusli, 2012). Frijters and colleagues (2006)
and Jackson (2009) believe that students use high-order thinking when considering
differing perspectives in this manner, with an increased amount of divergent thinking.
Furthermore, Oros (2007) and Jackson (2009) detail the skills students can develop
in investigating debates outside of the lecture, before they are brought to the
session. They conclude that students can actively engage in independent research
and gather information from differing perspectives, analysing this information by
assessing it in relation to the debate topic and preparing an effective argument to
debate in session. The use of debates therefore provides students with ownership of
their role, including the evidence they bring to the debate.
Furthermore, Munakata (2010, in Yang and Rusli, 2012) found that debates
increased student’s motivation and interest levels in the taught content. These
activities relate directly to enabling students to think critically, by reasoning,
evaluating, understanding, conceptualising and reflecting on literature (Chance 1986,
in Guiller, Durndell and Ross, 2008). Kennedy (2009) found that students viewed
the use of debates as an innovative and informative way of teaching. In preparation
students researched materials from different sources which offered a wider
perspective on the taught content. In contrast, Oros (2007) found that students

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criticised the use of debates on the basis that they divert attention away from taught
sessions and on recommended reading for the module. Additionally, the use of
debates in assessing the module was challenged and the format of the debate,
especially its group dynamics and the debates timing were cause for concern. In
Zare and Othman’s (2013) research some students reported that they did not get the
chance to apply their critical thinking skills and felt that they had not gained a deep
and meaningful understanding of the debates topic.
This article looks at the literature base in the specific context of an undergraduate
programme in Childhood studies. In the level five module ‘Child, Family and Society’
debates are embedded into the weekly taught sessions and the module’s
assignment. These debates include ‘Children in Britain have never had it so good’;
‘If the child is obese it is the fault of his/her parents’ and ‘Watching television and
playing computer games is beneficial for children’. Students are grouped in the first
week of the module and provided with one of the debate topics. These debates are
scheduled to run each week of the module and the group is required to lead on its
assigned debate. Once the group has completed its debate the rest of the cohort
are asked to evaluate and add any further comments. These debates are carried out
at the beginning of each session, prior to the topic’s taught content. Students start
these sessions by discussing their researched knowledge in this area and the
lecturer then refers to these points throughout the session. Participation in the
debates is mandatory as this work contributes to the students’ formative
assessment; students then choose two of the topical debates to write about in their
summative assignments.
Methodology
In the interpretivist-qualitative research that forms the basis of this article there is a
focus on engaging with the positions of the individuals being researched (Basit
2010). In searching for meaning, interpretivist researchers look beyond an
individual’s actions and engage with their participants’ positions in the social world
(Burton and Bartlett 2009). This approach is therefore subjective and engages with
a more personable, people based form of research (Cohen et al., 2011). As such
the research questions were as follows:
(1) What are students’ perspectives on the use of debates in the Child, Family
and Society module?
(2) Do students consider the use of debates as beneficial in enhancing their
critical thinking skills?
(3) Do students consider the use of debates as a beneficial activity to
enhance collaborative learning?
This paper investigates the perspectives of 16 level five students who were part of
our 2013/2014 cohort. These students were asked to participate in this research
because they actively participated in the weekly debates. The findings therefore
relate to the use of debates at undergraduate level five and may not be comparable
to those from students who experience the use of debates at other levels.

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The data collection methods chosen for this research were card-sorting and in-class
structured interview questions focused on the weekly debates. In the final session of
the module students ranked ordered statements according to whether they agreed or
disagreed with the use of five different teaching styles in degree sessions. This
card-sort technique was used to establish how debates were valued by each student
in relation to traditional in-class strategies. The traditional strategies were taught
sessions, student presentations, group work and independent work. The card sort
provided a way of considering the use of debates in relation to other teaching
strategies. The use of card sorting also increased students’ subjectivity in the
research as ranking cards in this manner enabled them to compare and contrast the
statements based on their own perspectives, rather than try to find a ‘right answer’.
That being said the card sort data alone was limited in depth and detail as it focused
on comparing debates to these traditional teaching methods. Students were unable,
in this data collection, to explain where they ranked debates or to provide information
concerning their perspectives on its use.
Consequently, following the card-sort students were asked to answer four structured
interview questions that described their perspective on the use of debates in more
detail. These questions ensured that the data focused specifically on the students’
experiences of debates as a teaching strategy in this module (Basit 2010). This data
collection provided structured in-class questions, via Power Point, to the group and
students were asked to note their responses on paper. The reasoning behind this
structure was the need to gain students’ perspectives in a limited period of time,
where they were all present in the same room. A focus group discussion was
considered, but the group had dominant members who routinely took the lead in
answering questions in session. If a focus group had been carried out with this
particular group there was the possibility that data would focus on these dominant
members’ perspectives (Cohen et al., 2011).
One of the factors in this study was that the research was carried out in the
researcher’s own classroom. There was therefore a significant need to consider
researcher bias and also how students in the classroom were approached and
became part of the research. The study focuses solely on students’ perspectives on
the use of debate in this module. If the lecturer in this module had carried out face to
face interviews without anonymity, her actions would have influenced students’
responses. Therefore, the data collection methods were carefully selected to ensure
that students’ identities would remain hidden from the researcher.
The structured questions also did not directly ask these students if debates
enhanced their critical thinking or collaborative learning skills. This was because
students might not have related the skills they had developed specifically to critical
thinking or collaborative learning and their perceptions of what these skills entailed
could also have been different. Instead the structured questions were focused more
generally on the advantages and disadvantages of the in-class debates as a
teaching strategy, whether students would like to experience the use of debates in
other modules and if there were any improvements they would want to make. In
doing so, links between debates and critical thinking or collaborative learning were

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not imposed on these students; instead students’ comments are linked to these key
skills in the research findings.
Findings and discussion
In-class debates versus traditional teaching strategies
In the card sort students were asked to rank order five teaching strategies, from
strongly agree to strongly disagree, in relation to their preferred teaching strategies.
Twelve out of sixteen students placed their debates statement in either the middle
column (seen as the neutral column 0) or the column to the left, ranked disagree (-1)
in the ranking line. This is an interesting finding which, considering all students’
placement of debates in this card sort, shows that this teaching strategy is not
preferred over traditional teaching methods.
Table 1 Results of the card sort activity
Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree with Strongly

disagree with with use column use agree with
use (-2) (-1) (0) (+1) use (+2)
Independent Taught Student Debates Group work
work session presentation
Student Debates Taught Group work Independent
presentation session work
Taught Debates Student Independent Group work
session presentation work
Taught Group work Debates Independent Student
session work presentation
Group work Student Debates Independent Taught
presentation work session
Student Debates Independent Taught Group work
Student Independent Debates Group work Taught
Student Debates Independent Group work Taught
Group work Debates Student Independent Taught
Taught Student Independent Group work Debates
session presentation work
Debates Group work Independent Student Taught
work presentations session
Taught Independent Student Group work Debates
session work presentations

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Student Group work Debates Independent Taught

presentations work session
Student Debates Group work Independent Taught
Kennedy (2007) states that students learn in diverse ways and therefore need a
variety of instructional strategies. With the exception of one participant, students in
this study did not rank debates as their least preferred teaching strategy. However,
for most of these students there were at least two teaching strategies they favoured.
Only three students ranked debates in their top two preferred teaching strategies.
Therefore, debates for these students were neither predominantly favoured over
others nor disliked as the least favoured teaching strategy. As with Kennedy, these
findings suggest that debates provide variety in the instructional strategies used in
this module. However, in contrast to Oros (2007) and Jackson (2009) students also
wanted to see traditional teaching strategies implemented. Debates are therefore
useful to complement other teaching strategies and provide students with variety that
will keep them engaged in module content. However, the structure of the debates
needs to be considered in more detail to establish whether the ranking of debates
was influenced by the way they were run in this particular module.
Students’ positive reflections on the use of in-class debates
When asked if they would like to see debates used again in other modules, fourteen
out of sixteen students stated that they would like to use them again. This statistical
data is slightly greater than in Kennedy’s (2009) research in which around 85% of
students state that they would consider participating in future debate opportunities.
In this study 87.5% of students would like to see the use of debates in future
modules. Statistically, the students in this research valued the inclusion of debates
within this particular module.
Students in this research reflected positively on the use of debates in two key ways.
Their positive perspectives focused on freedom of expression during the debate or
the detailed analysis that can be researched in for and against debates. Interestingly,
only one student’s response mentioned both of these benefits. The other fifteen
students focused either on the use of debates as benefiting their freedom of
expression in the classroom or as enabling a detailed analysis of the topic area.
Their comments can be seen as relating to reflections on the experiences of
collaborative learning or the benefits of the development of critical thinking skills
during the research process. These findings will therefore be discussed separately
in relation to the development of collaborative learning and critical thinking skills.
The use of in-class debates and collaborative learning
Bonwell and Eison (1991, in Kennedy, 2007) considered the use of debates in
providing students with an opportunity to be actively involved in their classroom
learning. In studies focused on the use of debates in Higher Education there is a

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strong emphasis on debates as a participatory strategy (Frijters et al., 2006; Oros,

2007). For ten of the students, their positive reflections detailed the benefits they
found in this form of participation and focused primarily on how it enabled them to
express their perspectives with peers. Their points are detailed in Table 2 below.
Table 2 Responses related to collaborative learning
Comments focused on students own communication and freedom

of expression in collaborative learning
“The use of debates is good because you get to express your ideas”
“I like to do debates because it gives me the opportunity to develop my
speaking skills and to learn about both sides to an argument”
“Debates allow you to express your ideas and put your point across”
“The use of debates are good as you can express your own views on
the topic”
Comments focused on group communication in collaborative
learning
“I enjoy the debates in this session. I find discussion far better than
reading off slides. I learn better with debates and discussions because
everyone is included and has an opinion”
“Freedom of speech and being able to listen to other groups findings
regarding other topics, and use this to decide on my chosen topic for
my summative”
“Able to engage with our own research with rest of group”
“I like the use of debates as you can get your point across and explain
why and hear other people’s opinions”
“They allow the group to get involved in discussion”
“Hearing different perspectives and opinions. Debating about
something even if you don’t necessarily agree with what you are
discussing”
Rowland (1993, in Walker and Warhurst, 2000, p.34) considers the classroom
interactions that are evident in debates to be “underpinned by values of collaboration
[and] the construction of individual and collective knowledge between teacher and
student, and student and student in a culture of educational conversation”. For
Frijters and colleagues (2006) the process of expressing thought and different for
and against perspectives in a debate structure encourages interaction amongst
peers. Therefore, it seems from existing research that collaboration in debates is
intrinsically linked to communication in the classroom. The findings in this study are
interesting and extend the previous research as there were distinctive differences in
the ways in which students discussed this benefit of using debates in-class. Six of
the ten students commented on the benefits of collaborative communication with
their peers to develop their thinking. They commented on the benefits of the group’s
communication. However, four of the ten students discussed the benefits on their
own communication and freedom of expression during this form of collaborative

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learning. They did not discuss the communication of the group, but instead focused
on their own communication within the group.
There are alternative findings in the existing research base that consider this
collaborative communication to be detrimental to students’ learning due to the
perceived confrontational and argumentative environment of debates (Goodwin,
2003; Tumposky, 2004, in Kennedy, 2007; Williams, MgGee and Worth, 2001, in
Kennedy, 2007). Three students in this study commented on the difficulties they
encountered in participating in debates. However, in contrast to previous studies
their difficulties focused on their dislike of communicating in groups or contributing to
group communication. Two of these students stated their dislike of talking in front of
the group; one commented “I dislike having to talk in front of a group but it is a skill I
need to develop”; the third student said “…having the confidence to contribute can
be difficult”. None of these comments focussed on the debate environment as being
confrontational or argumentative, but instead they were focussed on the individual’s
perspective on communicating in the group.
The use of in-class debates and critical thinking
Freeley and Steinberg (2005, in Kennedy, 2007 p.183) define debates as “… the
process of considering multiple viewpoints and arriving at a judgement…” Studies
including research carried out by Kennedy (2007) and Zare and Othman (2013)
suggest that students are able to master topic content by analysing differing
perspectives. For seven students in this study the use of debates encouraged a
detailed investigation into the topic. Their comments are detailed in the Table 3
below.
Table 3 Responses related to critical thinking
Comments focused on enhancing understanding due to its for and

against structure
“Debates allow individual research about an area, focusing on one side
of the debate”
“Gives an insight into the debates for and against which is good
because you are able to hear both sides”
“I like to do debates because it gives me the opportunity to develop my
speaking skills and to learn about both sides to an argument”
“I like the debates in the sessions as it helps me to get both sides of an
argument and can help towards my assignments”
Comments focused on considering differing perspectives
“The use of debates can be useful for gathering other people’s opinions
and also argue points in which each person believes”
“Debates allow students to hear multiple opinions on one subject and
can then develop their own opinions based on evidence given”
“They give you a range of different views and perspectives that others
have and also widens your thinking of the subject

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Kennedy (2009) found that students viewed the use of debates as an innovative and
informative way of teaching. Research suggests that debates provide students with
enhanced critical thinking skills, including the development of research skills through
finding credible resources outside of the classroom, identifying and challenging
assumptions and presenting an overall argument during the debate (Kennedy, 2007;
Oros, 2007). This type of activity is considered by Jackson (2009) as providing
students with an opportunity to use high-order thinking when considering differing
perspectives in this manner. The responses of each of the participants who
mentioned debates as an opportunity to engage in this detailed analysis suggest a
link to the development of critical thinking skills (Jackson, 2009). It is therefore
surprising that only seven out of sixteen students discussed benefits in the use of
debates that related to this skill.
Four students in this study specifically noted how the debates’ for and against format
enhanced their own understanding of the module’s content. One student
commented “I like the debates in the sessions it helps me to get both sides of an
argument and can help my assignment”. Whilst such responses are assumed to
indicate benefits to critical thinking skills, these students identified the value of
debates in content clarification but their comments did not necessarily suggest any
engagement in higher order thinking. This is comparable to Oros (2007) and
Jackson’s (2009) research concluding that students who actively engage in debate
through their own research and analysis of findings can enhance their knowledge
and understanding of module content.
Only three students commented on how debates moved beyond content clarification
and further enhanced their critical thinking skills. These students commented on
considering the multiple and differing perspectives of the debate’s topic rather than
on focusing on the two sides of a debate. In comparison to Yang and Rusli’s (2012)
research these students considered debates as an opportunity to give alternative
perspectives. However, their comments also reflect Zare and Othman’s (2013,
p.1507) findings that involvement in debates influences students “actively, broadly,
deeply and personally”.
For two of the students, comments reflected on the benefits of relating this evidence
to their own personal perspective. One stated “They give a range of different views
and perspectives that others have and also widen your thinking of the subject”.
Additionally, another student explained “Debates allow students to hear multiple
opinions on one subject and can then develop their own opinions based on evidence
given”. Two additional students also commented, in response to a different question,
on the benefit of being able to express their own perspective. One said “I dislike
when we have to use literature for debates and not put our own opinion in at all”.
Another said “Debates are good when people can point out their concern in a
statement made”. In another extension of previous research these students stated
that they also needed space in debates to consider the evidence in relation to their
own perspectives in order to engage fully in higher order thinking.

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In contrast to previous research, three students in this study commented on the

difficulties they encountered when researching or delivering for and against
perspectives. Two commented on their confusion in relation to the debates’ for and
against structure. One said “you sometimes get mixed up in what for is and what
against is”. For the third, the confusion of these differing perspectives occurred
during the debate. This student commented “they get complicated as more people
start to offer their opinions and knowledge around the debate”.
Critical reflections on the structure of in-class debates
Alongside students’ critical reflections on the use of collaborative learning and
researching different perspectives, students also reflected on areas of improvement.
These comments called for either increased participation by all students in the
debate process or increased relevance in the module’s assessment. Their points
are detailed in the Table 4 below.
Table 4 Critical reflections
Call for increased participation

“people not putting in the same effort”
“not all groups are willing to put effort into their debate which is
frustrating”
“…some people don’t do the research”
“I would be happy for debates to be used if people take the time to
participate”
Call for debates to be linked to the modules assessment
Link to the assessment-
“do a load of research for the debate that we don’t want to write about in
our assignment”
“It would depend on the context of the module and if they would be
useful and relevant to the assignments”
Link to resources for the summative assessment-
“Debates can sometimes be a waste of time as the aspects mentioned
cannot be referenced in work”
“sometimes it is hard to use the quotes or resources when groups don’t
reference correctly”
Oros (2007) says presenting in debates ensures full class participation beyond those
seen as the usual contributors. Oros advocates a debate structure that is
comparable to that in the Child, Family and Society module in which the assigned
debate team starts the debate and then the floor is opened to full class participation.
In the current study, in contrast to these findings, four students commented on the
need for all students to participate fully in the debate process. One said “…not all
groups are willing to put effort into their debate which is frustrating”. Another said “I
would be happy for debates to be used if people take the time to participate”. For
these students there appeared to be a disparity in participation that negatively
hindered their learning experiences. These findings are in contrast to research

© BESA 2015
ISSN: 1758-2199
carried out by Temple (1997, in Kennedy, 2007) and Goodwin (2003) who found that
problems arose in engaging the rest of the class in the designated group’s debate.
For the students in the current study, the problem was ensuring that each debate
group participated effectively in the debate process.
Furthermore, another four students commented on the need for debates to be linked
more to the module’s assessment, or provide more resources for the summative
assessment. One student referred to “a load of research for the debate that we don’t
want to write about in our assignment”. Another stated “debates can sometimes be
a waste of time as the aspects mentioned cannot be referenced in work”. At present,
debates in this module are used as a weekly formative activity, however, Kennedy
(2007) advocated using student assessment as the end process of in-class debates
in order to enhance student involvement. Studies such as Smith (1990) and Walker
and Warhurst (2000) have led to recommendations that students participate in the
development of an assessment criteria and then peer-assess these debates. This,
according to Walker and Warhurst, would be preferable as a formative assessment
because summative peer-assessment may not be welcomed by students. According
to these studies, developing a peer-reviewed assessment process could encourage
students to place greater importance on the debate process and increase student
participation.
Conclusion
Academics such as Oros (2007) and Jackson (2009) advocate that debates should
be embedded in module teaching to enhance students’ critical thinking and
collaborative learning skills. It would appear from these findings that fourteen of the
sixteen students in this study did not prefer the use of debates to the use of other
teaching strategies. However, as Jackson (2009) states debates should
complement other teaching techniques but not replace them. The data in the current
study represented the complexity of students’ teaching preferences, pointing to the
essential need for variety. In total 87.5% of students stated that they would like to
see the use of debates in another module.
The study found that students’ perspectives on the use of in-class debates had two
distinct, yet complex, perspectives. Fifteen out of sixteen students in this study
commented on the use of in-class debates as increasing either their collaborative
learning or their critical thinking skills. In total ten students discussed the benefits of
this form of collaborative learning. For six of the students the benefits focused on
class communication to develop their thinking while the other four students focused
on benefits to their own communication. In total, seven students also highlighted the
benefits of researching differing perspectives on the debate topic. Four of them
found clarity in content as a consequence of using the for and against format. The
other three benefited from researching multiple perspectives.
Students in this study provided essential feedback on the structure of the module
debates. These findings produce six recommendations for the future development of
in-class debates in this module.

© BESA 2015
ISSN: 1758-2199
 Where debates are used they should have a clear ‘for and against’ structure
and initial support should be available to students who are uncertain about
what that entails.
 Additional support should be available for those students who initially lack
confidence in the use of the debate format to assist them in delivery and
communication.
 Debates should be managed in such a way as to ensure that students have
the opportunity and are encouraged to present evidence from relevant
literature on the debate topic and also to express their own perspectives and
personal viewpoints on the subject.
 Consideration should be given to designing peer-assessment in such a way
as to encourage full participation at all stages, thereby maximising the
effectiveness of the learning experience.
 Consideration should be given to the status of the debates in the context of
module assessment with a view to their becoming a mandatory feature of the
module in preparation for the module’s summative assessment.
 The relationship between debates and the resources supporting summative
assessment should be reviewed, including the possibility of using hand outs
from each debate group covering their debate’s content and references.
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© BESA 2015
ISSN: 1758-2199
International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. 19(2), pp.183-

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oral communication skills. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher
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Pre-service Teachers’ Learning And Critical Thinking. Journal of International
Education Research. 8(2), pp.135-44.
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teaching/learning approach. World Applied Sciences Journal. 28(11), pp.1506-13.

© BESA 2015
ISSN: 1758-2199
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The use of in-class debates as a teaching strategy in increasing students’

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The use of in-class debates as a teaching strategy in increasing students’

e-journal of the British Education Studies Association 39

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Table 1 Results of the card sort activity

Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree with Strongly

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Student Group work Debates Independent Taught

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strong emphasis on debates as a participatory strategy (Frijters et al., 2006; Oros,

Comments focused on students own communication and freedom

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Table 3 Responses related to critical thinking

Comments focused on enhancing understanding due to its for and

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In contrast to previous research, three students in this study commented on the

Call for increased participation

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Basit, T. (2010) Conducting research in educational contexts. London: Continuum

Bonwell, C. and Eison, J (1991), in Kennedy, R. (2007) Inclass debates: Fertile

Budesheim, T. and Lundquist, A. (2000) Consider the opposite: opening minds

e-journal of the British Education Studies Association 52

Dam, G. and Volman, M. (2004) Critical thinking as a citizenship competence:

Freeley, A. and Steinberg, D. (2005), in Kennedy, R. (2007) Inclass debates: Fertile

Goodwin, J. (2003) Students’ perspectives on debate exercises in content area

e-journal of the British Education Studies Association 53

e-journal of the British Education Studies Association 54

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. 19(2), pp.183-

e-journal of the British Education Studies Association 55

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