This study aims to look for a correct direction for teaching-learning in discussion education by examining debate and discussion education, and to propose a plan for increasing elementary school students’ debate ability by proposing a discussion edu...
This study aims to look for a correct direction for teaching-learning in discussion education by examining debate and discussion education, and to propose a plan for increasing elementary school students’ debate ability by proposing a discussion education program utilizing the strategy of six thinking hats pre-discussion after grasping the necessity of a pre-step of debate.
For this purpose, the discussion in this study can be clarified as follows.
Chapter 2 investigates debate and discussion education. A debate is a process in which the advocate and the objector cultivate the advanced thinking ability through communication on the basis of logical grounds. The debate has educational significance to the effect that based on the mind understanding and respecting the opposed party, the debate cultivates the communicative ability to prove one’s claim to the other, and grows critical and synthetic thinking ability through evaluation of the other’s claim and information, and increase students’ learning ability as they actively participate in learning. It is discussion education toward which Korean language education is oriented that is designed to be learned as a content of teaching-learning. Though this, the final goal of discussion education is to increase debate abilities like critical thinking power, communicative ability, and data investigation ability, and positive attitude to debate.
As a result of investigation of conditions of discussion education on the basis of the discussion in chapter 2, chapter 3 finds out that debate class itself can motivate to increase learning effects as students get interested in debating. However, it is found out that activities in which each group selects and organizes what should be said are needed before the actual debate in order for students to participate in the debate class with confidence, and that not only enough time and the teacher’s proper guidance should be included before the actual debate in order to secure data with which students can corroborate their own positions on the ground of the bases drawn from group discussion, but also contents of debate learning including detailed data and strategies about debate are required.
Noticing this point, I present a pre-step of debate. The pre-step of debate is a step in which one generates and organizes his/her ideas before engaging in the debate. It has significance to the effect that as all the students are sufficiently prepared for what should be said, and then participate in the debate with confidence, they can minimize their concerns with talking, and that experiencing a pre-discussion in which they can activate their background knowledge, they can increase their ability to prepare various grounds, cope with reputation, and investigate data. As strategies for pre-step of debate, this study proposes the technique of six color caps and usage of the debate network. The technique of six color caps let students wear 6 differently colored caps, which imply different types of thinking, and respectively carry out the types of thinking that are represented by the colors of the caps they wear. To wear a cap deliberately not only helps the student concentrated on one thought and brings about a specific thinking will with its color, but also allows him/her to explore the theme systematically and thoroughly. The blue symbolizing coolness means the role of the president who can control the process of thinking, the yellow the opinion in agreement, and the black symbolizing gloominess and negativity the opinion in opposition. The white symbolizing neutrality and objectivity means fact or ground, the red symbolizing anger and emotion the reputation, and the green the presentation of alternatives. After generating ideas while diversely seeing a problem from various perspectives through these 6 ways of thinking, members of the small groups are led to make memos on their learning notebooks. With the debate network learning notebook, students can clarify their thinking by visualizing the process of thinking and eliminating non-agreed and conflicting elements.
By designing and actually applying a discussion education including the six thinking hats strategy for pre-discussion, chapter 4 analyzes its effects. The strategy of six thinking hats strategy for pre-discussion consists of the principles of schema activation, parallel thinking, and self-led learning. Based on them, I compose the program by dividing it into ‘the step of understanding debate,’ and ‘the step of implementing debate.’ In ‘the step of understanding debate,’ a step where students learn general knowledge and principles of debate, they are led to be acquainted with the knowledge and principles through the model of direct teaching, and actually experience a debate through detailed steps of preparation, pre-discussion, ongoing debate, and post-discussion. As a result of the application to class of the pre-discussion step with the six thinking hats technique and debate network writing, the post-discussion step where students evaluate their debate after carrying out a cross-examination style debate modified in accordance with conditions of elementary school, we can find out from students’response journals and actual debates that the program has positive influence on students critical thinking ability, communicative ability, data investigation ability, and debate ability with a positive attitude toward debate.
This study has significance in that it presents a plan for effectively increase students’ debate ability by calling attention to the necessity of the pre-discussion step, and developing and presenting a discussion education program utilizing the six thinking hats strategy for pre-discussion.