Active Learning: Beyond Structured Debates in Political Science Pedagogy

Abstract

We examine the impact of two types of active learning—traditional standardized debate and the newer value-line debate, both under-studied in political science pedagogy—on students. Our study argues that value-line debate is as valuable as the more structured debate, based on student perceptions of learning outcomes through Likert-format survey data (n = 105) across 8 key variables. Therefore, we argue that employment of a combination of debate styles in the classroom is a sensible pedagogical approach. We also argue that upper-level students rate debating experiences higher than introductory-level students rate theirs. In short, one can infer from our research that faculty in a normative sense should be reassured about employing either the newer value-line approach or traditional structured debate type.

Keywords:

• Pedagogy
• learning outcomes
• active learning
• critical thinking
• value-line debates

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to our students in the political science program who aided in the data collection by completing anonymous surveys after their classroom debates. Many thanks to Michael Gauger for his editorial support.

Ethical approval

As per the US Department of Health and Human Services standards, this research that involved normal educational practices in a classroom setting does not require IRB approval. Exemptions (2018 Requirements) | HHS.gov.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported the author(s). There are no relevant financial or non-financial competing interests to report.

Data availability statement

Supporting individual data are not available. Because of the nature of this research, participants did not agree to public sharing of their individual data. Metadata are available upon request.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robert J. McMonagle

Robert J. McMonagle is a Professor of Political Science at Neumann University in Aston, Pennsylvania. His research interests include political science pedagogy, Congress and political institutions, and environmentalism in energy policymaking. Dr. McMonagle has authored works with SAGE (2020) on research methods and with Rowman & Littlefield/Lexington Books (2008) on environmental politics and energy policy. He served as Deputy Legislative Director for Congressman Robert F. Smith (OR) on Capitol Hill.

Ryan Savitz

Ryan Savitz is a Professor of Mathematics at Neumann University. He teaches both introductory and upper-level statistics classes, as well as courses in calculus and research methods. His research interests range from applied statistics to the pedagogy of mathematics. Dr. Savitz won Neumann’s Growth in Scholarship Award in 2017.