Debate: A new approach for improving the dialectical thinking of university students

ABSTRACT

Although dialectical thinking plays an important role in daily life, this ability among adults, including university students, is not always well developed. The present study used three experimental designs to explore efficient ways to promote university students’ dialectical thinking ability. The results showed that university students’ dialectical thinking ability can be improved after receiving instruction according to specific teaching practices. The debate approach was a more interesting and efficient teaching method for cultivating dialectical thinking ability than the lecture approach. These findings broaden and deepen our understanding about the development of dialectical thinking ability and suggests that debate can be used as an alternative way, in many university courses or training projects, to improve students’ dialectical thinking ability.

KEYWORDS:

• Debate teaching approach
• dialectical thinking
• lecture teaching approach

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the social science foundation of Jiangxi province (Grant number 16BJ21); Teaching Reform Program of Jiangxi province (Grant number JXJG-18-2-31); the University humanities program of Jiangxi province (Grant number XL17205); Teaching Reform Program of Jiangxi Normal University (Grant number JXSDJG1701); the educational science foundation of Jiangxi Province (Grant number 16YB033).

Notes on contributors

Xiaoshan Li

Xiaoshan Li is a lecturer at school of psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, China. His research focuses on the issues such as China’s traditional culture, occupational health, Educational Technology, and E-Learning.

Zaichao Han

Zaichao Han is an instructor at the College of Life Science, Jiangxi Normal University, China. His research focuses on college students’ mental health and career planning.

Jianping Fu

Jianping Fu is a lecturer at the College of Life Science, Jiangxi Normal University, China. Her research interests are Educational Technology, Collaborative Learning, and Computer Supported Collaborative Learning.

Yun Mei

Yun Mei is an assistant professor at School of Geography and Environment, Jiangxi Normal University, China. His research focuses on college students’ mental health and career planning.

Jianping Liu

Jianping Liu is a professor at school of psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, China. His research focuses on improving our understanding of the teaching and learning of science.