Study on the Improvement of Debate Education in University Considering Prior Experience Before College

Abstract

This research starts from recognizing the fact that a new direction is necessary in order to operate the basic liberal arts debate curriculum. The data has been empirically analyzed through online surveys - from January to February, 2021. 220 students used critical thinking skills in a debate class. Based on these findings, this research paper tries to discover areas for improvement when it comes to critical thinking in debate class. It does so by comparing the debate experiences of the students before and after they have engaged in debate education at university.</br/>The research shows that students thought that current critical thinking and debate class had educational effects to some degree, regardless of whether or not they had good or bad experiences with debating before entering university. Rather than merely acquiring knowledge, students wanted to develop capabilities like critical thinking, problem solving, and practical utilization through the debate class activities. Furthermore, we learned that the teaching materials need to be supplemented with practically available theory when teaching students real debate techniques.<br/>Thus, this research emphasized the fact that debate education should be connected with the education undertaken by the students before they entered university. Also, learner-centered competency training should be done in the classroom in order to move forward to practical education, which can be applicable to real life.