Abstract:

Debate is an innovative teaching method ever more used in Italian schools. Debate can be defined as a regulated confrontation where two (ore more) teams support different points of views against a certain topic and are engaged in a discussion, which is evaluated by a dedicated jury. The two teams prepare their arguments and counterarguments beforehand and are trained to support both positions (PRO and CON) since it is crucial that students explore all the angles of a motion - the specific assertion that translates the topic in a claim to be supported (by the PRO team) or rejected (by the CON team).

Debate is a practice that, even if grounded in anglosaxon cultures, it is now widely adopted worldwide. In Italy, the first experiences in the education field can be dated back to 2012. Indire, the National Institute for Educational Innovation, Research and Documentation, within the Avanguardie Educative Movement - a community of innovative schools - has been promoting this practice through a twofold strategy (top-down and bottom-up). All interested schools - of every level and type - can adopt this practice and use it in learning-teaching practices. The Indire Debate research team has been conducting onsite visits, classroom observations and interviews with different stakeholders in order to get not only the “how” schools are adopting and adapting the WSDC format - the most widespread - but also the “why” and the “what”, meaning by those dimensions the effects that debating is generating in terms of learning, inclusion and soft skills acquisition, and when it really works (i.e. in what conditions, in what environments, with what roles and organizations features).

In the Pandemic period, moreover, Debate has been widely employed by teachers in order to guarantee an active learning approach even at a distance.
The scope of the present contribution is to show how the e-debate can be used and what advantages it might have on students’ learning, engagement and participation. Comparing the traditional face-to-face mode, the authors will provide some provisional reflections on what has worked in the virtual mode and therefore could be brought in a blended school model. The methodology of the enquire is qualitative, based on teachers’ reports and virtual practices documentations. The reported practices concern all age levels, ranging from primary school students to upper secondary schools and vary in terms of collaboration and autonomy degrees, technological solutions and curriculum design.

Keywords:

Debate, learning-teaching practices, educational innovation, distance learning, oracy, critical thinking.