One Coin, Two Sides – The Art of Debating (LS-MT-219)

Debating skills are fundamental for 21st-century skills such as communication and collaboration. This learning scenario helps learners to structure and organise their thoughts while improving their capacity to produce balanced and well-informed arguments. By the end of the learning scenario, students would have engaged in teacher-led debates as well as student-created/led debates about items from the Europeana collection.

Heathcliff’s students improved their debating skills:

I can engage in a debate and identify where there is common ground, as well as the main issues of any disagreement.
I can follow a debate which is complex in terms of linguistic, thematic and lexical content.
I am confident in discussing my views with others.
I can debate and support my argument without being judgmental and still being emphatic towards others.

Would you like to know more about this learning scenario? You can download it below:

Europeana-DSI-4-LS-2020-Malta-Schembri-docx Download

Europeana-DSI-4-LS-2020-Malta-Schembri-pdf Download

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The featured image used to illustrate this article belongs to the public domain.

12 Responses to "One Coin, Two Sides – The Art of Debating (LS-MT-219)"

elenavladescu says:

December 29, 2019 at 12:19 pm

I consider that teaching debating is fundamental for our students 21st century skills. Good job!

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geaninaturcanu says:

December 30, 2019 at 10:08 am

Congratulations. It is a scenario that can be easily adapted. It is important to understand the other perspective in order to develop children’s empathy.

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stephaniemaggipulis says:

January 2, 2020 at 9:50 pm

Involving students in critical thinking and discussions is important in education. I like this LS in showing how teachers can empower students with such lessons that enhance these twenty-first century skills while taking a student-centred approach. The versatility of the lesson is highly commended. Well done, Heathcliff.

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annamariagauci says:

January 4, 2020 at 9:49 am

Another benefit of this LS is that it promotes the students’ self-esteem. Classroom debating gives students the opportunity to articulate their thoughts and shows them that their thoughts and voice matter.
This LS can also be adapted to the primary classes with topics related to the students’ real-life experiences. Listening is one of the most important skills that primary school children need to master. Classroom debates help to enhance critical listening skills, together with the ability to respond with empathy to what other people are saying. Well done Heathcliff and thanks for sharing.

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Ivana Busuttil says:

January 5, 2020 at 1:36 pm

I believe that this lesson enables pupils to acquire various important skills such as critical thinking and problem solving. I trust that when pupils are given the opportunity to think, argue and find ways to reach a common ground, effective learning takes place. Well done Heathcliff

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ivanabusuttil says:

January 5, 2020 at 1:49 pm

This lesson is excellent! The fact that pupils are encouraged to debate and express their own ideas is an excellent way which enables children to work on important 21st century skills, such as; critical thinking, collaboration and communication. Apart from this, I trust that lessons should be student-centred and undoubtedly this lesson mirrors such important lesson aspects. Well done Heathcliff and thank you for sharing!

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marcinjablonski says:

January 13, 2020 at 12:11 pm

Hi Heath!
I think that students’ debates are good at all ages, even in older people like me (15-20 years old). This allows you to develop creativities thinking as well as critical thinking. Talking always goes to something good …

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juditbenedek says:

January 21, 2020 at 5:19 pm

Learning debating is a very important skill and needs a lot of practice to do it correctly. Thank you for the idea, I really like it!

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ayrtoncurmi says:

January 21, 2020 at 9:07 pm

Debates were not given enough importance in traditional educational systems, however, nowadays we’re all aware that such activities can help our students in gaining various skills such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration and problem-solving amongst others. As effective educators, we should promote these 21st-century skills to our pupils. I truly believe that this particular learning scenario incorporates such aspects.

Thank you for sharing!
Well Done 🙂

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Despoina Kyriakaki says:

March 23, 2020 at 1:01 am

I am impressed that you used the Europeana platform as a trigger to such an organised but yet not difficult lesson in order to promote discussion and critical thinking skills. Great know -how for young students to get life skills such as how to perform debates and argumenting! Thank you for sharing.

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Chrysoula Nenou says:

April 24, 2020 at 10:46 pm

Active citizenship in contemporary democracies guarantee freedom of speech to everyone. It is admirable that through Europeana digital collections students can become familiar with the principles of Debating Skills.
Learners become confident in discussing their views with others while creating, communicating, collaborating and practising their critical thinking. It is an inspiring scenario indeed! Thank you for sharing!

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katalinlorincz says:

August 3, 2021 at 10:02 am

I loved your scenario and included it in the Blog Update: Leave No One Behind and the article will be published on Europeana Pro page as well. Congratulation!

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