Only a handful of research papers have examined the assessment of student debate activities in higher education, and very little is currently known about how students might perceive a final oral exam in which they have to debate with/against each other. The aim of this study was to examine students' perceptions of participation and learning in…

Ethical dilemmas are multifaceted and complex, comprising a diverse set of viewpoints, values, beliefs, and attitudes. They rarely have a purely right or wrong answer. Not everyone will have the same answer to an ethical dilemma. Hence, teaching ethics is about helping students build critical thinking skills so that they can consider contradictory…

Addressing a need to prepare the next generation of scientists to effectively engage in adversarial science communication, the present study examines a group of undergraduate science students from a Canadian university who, after receiving expert instruction, participated in classroom debates about science controversies recently politicized in the…

While scholars emphasize the importance of dialogic talk in fostering students' critical thinking, collaborative learning, and literacy, it remains rare in classroom practice. To better understand students' perspectives on motivations and hindrances for engaging in such discussions, this mixed methods study analyzes 693 survey responses from…

Flipped classroom pedagogy, primarily focused on in-person classroom settings, emphasizes pre-class independent learning where students engage asynchronously with online materials and self-assessments. However, traditional pre-class learning methods, such as watching pre-recorded instructional videos and completing multiple-choice…

On December 3, 2024, the U.S.-Mexico Foundation and the Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute hosted the fourth edition of the Convocation program, coined Convocation 4.0. This event brought together thirteen former American, Canadian, and Mexican ambassadors to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, along with two current ambassadors and various…

The use of interactive learning methods is considered crucial in equipping university students with critical skills. This could successfully deal with, and address issues encountered in real-world contexts. It has been noted that most first-year university students often face challenges adjusting to university life due to their background. The…

This study investigates the effectiveness of two pedagogical strategies--deliberation and debate--in fostering productive political discussions among high school students, with a focus on overcoming affective polarization. Paying attention to students' comfort, engagement, and willingness to participate, this study employs a mixed-method approach…

The authors of this article describe three student-driven learning modules developed from their respective College Fed Challenge courses. These activities are ready-to-apply in a wide range of courses to facilitate adoption without a large time commitment. In the "Pick a Policy Maker" module, students gain an understanding of the…

Computer-supported collaborative argumentation is an online activity that can engage students in deep discussion and analysis of complex problems. Given the potentially confrontational nature of argumentation, using polite language becomes a strategic approach to prevent breakdowns in group communication and nurture productive dialogues. This…

In the modern American politics classroom, ideological and partisan conflict have the capacity to interfere with a healthy classroom environment. This problem is increasingly apparent when students engage questions at the heart of U.S. Constitutional design. By asking students to inhabit fictional roles with preferences and attitudes that may…

Few interventions reduce inequality in reading achievement, let alone higher-order thinking skills, among adolescents. We study policy debate--an extracurricular activity focused on improving middle and high schoolers' critical thinking, argumentation, and policy analysis skills--in Boston schools serving large concentrations of economically…

Despite its feasibility and potential, technology-supported peer feedback in foreign language speaking classrooms has been under-researched. The present study aimed to extend this line of research by modeling Chinese postgraduates' and undergraduates' motivation, behavioral engagement in feedback provision, and achievement in a particular type of…

This document presents the proceedings of the 29th Annual Research Forum held June 26, 2025, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included are the following eight action research papers: (1) The Influence of Cross-Curricular Pedagogy on Student Engagement in ELA Classrooms (Anna Breaugh); (2) The Influence of Guided Free…