Small Group Debates Research Articles

A developer’s perspective on CEIAG

This article is an exploration of the role online Labour Market Experience (LME) plays in challenging stereotypes and the construction of personal narrative in YR 7 and 8 students at school. Classroom and small group debate provides an invaluable opportunity to develop career related thinking in young people ahead of more focused one to one guidance and refined skills exploration work.

Preface

International E-conference on Futuristic Research in Modeling of Dynamical Systems (FRMDS 2022) was held on 4th and 5th May 2022, organized by the Department of Mathematics, CMR Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-560037, India. FRMDS 2022 provided a forum for academicians, students, and research scholars to present their innovative ideas, models, applications, research accomplishments, and concepts of diversified areas. The theme of the conference was an emerging interdisciplinary area-dynamical system in various fields of research. Hence, a wide range of theories, methodologies & algorithms were explored among the participants during the conference.FRMDS 2022 was held online with the help of the Zoom platform, to avoid the spread of corona virus infection. The Conveners were: Dr. Nidhi S Vaishnaw and Prof. Shankar Narayan S. During the conference, the keynote speech was presented by an expert member from Academics Dr. S Sivasankaran, Department of Mathematics, King Abdulaziz University, KSA. This conference was modeled with two tracks namely: Mathematical modeling and optimization techniques as track1, and Data Science and Machine learning-related topics as track 2. The two-day conference comprised 6 plenary sessions, with 1 speaker session. Speaker was given 50 minutes to present, followed by 5-10 minutes for questions. The conference was structured to foster discussion between participants around the core themes of the Dynamical Systems. This was achieved by hosting small group debates, minute papers, and full group discussions on pre-prepared questions following each session. Each day of the conference also allotted one hour for lunch, and 30 minutes for morning and afternoon tea to allow participants to continue their discussions after each session. Time was allocated at the end of each day for a group reflection on the day’s discussions. More than 35 research works were presented by various participants.list of Organizing Institute Logo, FRMDS Committees, Declaration are available in this pdf.

Using Historical Scientific Controversies to Promote Undergraduates' Argumentation.

The Covid-19 pandemic is the reason why humanity is paying more attention to the importance of regular and rigorous handwashing. Interestingly, in the nineteenth century, regular and rigorous handwashing was a key (and controversial) solution proposed by the Hungarian obstetrician Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis to cut drastically cases of puerperal fever. The purpose of this study was to provide evidence that the case of Semmelweis and puerperal fever—a crucial historical scientific controversy—can be used as a springboard to promote university student argumentation. Our study was inspired by the fact that the Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development (OECD) stressed that more efforts and resources should be invested in promoting argumentation as an essential component for scientifically literate citizens in twenty-first century societies. However, nowadays, argument and debate are virtually absent from university science education. The data was derived from 124 undergraduates’ (64 females and 60 males, 15–30 years old) written responses and audio and video recordings in a university biology course in Colombia. The findings show that the articulation of this historical controversy with decision-making, small-group debate, and whole-class debate activities can be useful for promoting undergraduates’ argumentation. This study contributes to the development of a research-based university science education that can inform the design of an argumentation curriculum for higher education.

The development of occupational science outside the Anglophone sphere: Enacting global collaboration

ABSTRACTThe emergence of occupational science in non-English speaking countries is frequently hampered by diverse barriers to global collaboration, knowledge dissemination, and inclusion in international dialogue. Epistemological, cultural, and institutional resources may explain these barriers, yet these have not been explored within the discipline. This paper discusses three main issues and three priorities for action put forward by participants during sessions held at two separate, international occupational science conferences. The sessions aimed to engage the audience in critical reflexivity and dialogue around the challenges present when non-English speaking countries attempt to develop occupational science scholarship and possible ways to support global collaboration. To stimulate discussion, we used a participatory methodology, ‘Metaplan’. The sessions included a statements exercise, reflections presented by the authors, individual reflexivity, and small group debate. The findings are structured as a reflexive dialogue where participants’ voices, theory, and the authors’ reflections are interwoven to enrich discussion of the issues participants identified and priorities for action. This paper contributes to decolonizing the development of occupational science and promoting an international dialogue that is open to diverse worldviews, by drawing attention to the visible and invisible barriers that limit collaboration and inclusion of the diverse ways in which occupation is understood and enacted worldwide.TAMBIÉN PUBLICADO EN ESPAÑOL https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2018.1551048

The influence of collaborative group work on students’ development of critical thinking: the teacher’s role in facilitating group discussions

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to determine whether the incorporation of group work in a teaching intervention can effectively foster students’ critical thinking skills. Building upon Kuhn’s critical thinking model, the research involved comparison of pretest and post-test results for 140 secondary four (10th grade) students in Hong Kong on two measures of critical thinking ability and investigation of their engagement in argumentative dialogues. The findings illustrate the efficacy of group work, relative to whole-class instruction, in helping students develop critical thinking. In addition, the findings highlight the efficacious role of the teacher in breaking the deadlocks that may arise during small-group debates.

The knowledge and attitudes of student nurses towards patients with sexually transmitted infections: Exploring changes to the curriculum

Evidence suggests that nurses can struggle to care for patients with sexually transmitted infections in a non-judgemental way. It is unknown how targeted education can influence the knowledge and attitudes of student nurses towards caring for patients with sexually transmitted infections. This study aimed to investigate how a change in curriculum influenced the reported sexual health knowledge and attitudes of pre-registration adult student nurses in a University in the UK.A two phase mixed methods study, using a sequential explanatory strategy, collected quantitative questionnaire data (n = 117) followed by qualitative group data (n = 12). Data were collected from one cohort of students before a curriculum change and then from a subsequent cohort of students. Those students who had increased educational input in relation to sexual health reported higher degrees of knowledge and demonstrated a more positive attitude towards patients with a sexually transmitted infection. Both cohorts of students identified that education in this subject area was essential to challenge negative attitudes and positively influence patient care. Active learning approaches in the curriculum such as small group debates and service user involvement have the ability to allow students to express and challenge their beliefs in a safe and supportive environment.

상황모델에 기반한 학생들의 고유치와 고유벡터 개념발달

This qualitative research provides a situation model, which is designed for promoting learning of eigenvalue and eigenvector. This study also demonstrates the usefulness of the model through a small groups discussion. Particularly, participants of the discussion were asked to decide the numbers of milk cows in order to make constant amounts of cheese production. Through such discussions, subjects understood the notion of eigenvalue and eigenvector. This study has following implications. First of all, the present research finds significance of situation model. A situation model is useful to promote learning of mathematical notions. Subjects learn the notion of eigenvalue and eigenvector through the situation model without difficulty. In addition, this research demonstrates potentials of small groups discussion. Learners participate in discussion more actively under small group debates. Such active interaction is necessary for situation model. Moreover, this study emphasizes the role of teachers by showing that patience and encouragement of teachers promote students' feeling of achievement. The role of teachers are also important in conveying a meaning of eigenvalue and eigenvector. Therefore, this study concludes that experience of learning the notion of eigenvalue and eigenvector thorough situation model is important for teachers in future.

Using Small Group Debates to Actively Engage Students in an Introductory Microbiology Course

Debates stimulate critical thinking and can be a highly effective way to actively engage students in the classroom. This paper describes a small group debate format in which groups of four to six students debated preassigned topics in microbiology in front of the rest of the class. Rapid advancements in science, especially in microbiology, provide the scaffolding for students to locate and share evidence-based information from a plethora of complex and often conflicting sources. Student-generated debate presentations can be a welcome respite from the lecture format. Debates were scheduled throughout the course to coincide with topics being covered. Questionnaires distributed immediately after each debate revealed that the debates were well received by students and were effective in changing student attitudes and misconceptions. Debate preparation provided students the opportunity to gain proficiency in accessing information from electronic databases, to use resources from professional organizations, and to synthesize and analyze information. In addition, the debate process gave students experience in developing oral communication skills.

Towards a sociocognitive model of progression in spoken English

Current approaches to oral assessment of English in English secondary schools tend to concentrate more on ‘confidence’ and ‘participation’ than on the quality of children's thinking. This undermines the rich possibilities in classroom talk for cognitive development. Behavioural assessment approaches deny the essentially cognitive character of spoken English. This paper compares two brief representative extracts from a larger data‐set of students engaged in small group debate on the subject of abortion. One group of students are hindered in their discussion by an inability to conceptualize abstractly. It is suggested that a formative assessment approach based on a model of cognitive progression such as Vygotsky's could enable all students to develop as speakers by encouraging their teachers to focus more explicitly on the development of the quality of thinking. A sociocognitive framework for conceptual progression could guide teachers in their interpretation of peer debate in order to develop the quality of students' understanding and argument. Building on the work of Newman, Griffin and Cole, and Torrance and Pryor, further research should be conducted into the ways in which formative teacher–student and student–student assessment dialogue might enhance students' ability to think through talk.

Small Group Debates: Fostering Critical Thinking in Oral Presentations with Maximal Class Involvement

L'A. montre comment il obtient une participation maximale de la classe en aiguisant la pensee critique dans les presentations orales de petits groupes de debats chez ses etudiants en sociologie