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 advancement...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal:	Joyce A. Shaw
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2012
Materias:	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/7679874cf8b84e16b70d2ec7a3d24a1a
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:7679874cf8b84e16b70d2ec7a3d24a1a
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:7679874cf8b84e16b70d2ec7a3d24a1a2021-11-15T15:03:41ZUsing Small Group Debates to Actively Engage Students in an Introductory Microbiology Course10.1128/jmbe.v13i2.4201935-78851935-7877https://doaj.org/article/7679874cf8b84e16b70d2ec7a3d24a1a2012-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jmbe.v13i2.420https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7877https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7885Debates 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.Joyce A. ShawAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691Biology (General)QH301-705.5ENJournal of Microbiology & Biology Education, Vol 13, Iss 2, Pp 155-160 (2012)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5
spellingShingle	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Joyce A. Shaw Using Small Group Debates to Actively Engage Students in an Introductory Microbiology Course
description	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.
format	article
author	Joyce A. Shaw
author_facet	Joyce A. Shaw
author_sort	Joyce A. Shaw
title	Using Small Group Debates to Actively Engage Students in an Introductory Microbiology Course
title_short	Using Small Group Debates to Actively Engage Students in an Introductory Microbiology Course
title_full	Using Small Group Debates to Actively Engage Students in an Introductory Microbiology Course
title_fullStr	Using Small Group Debates to Actively Engage Students in an Introductory Microbiology Course
title_full_unstemmed	Using Small Group Debates to Actively Engage Students in an Introductory Microbiology Course
title_sort	using small group debates to actively engage students in an introductory microbiology course
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2012
url	https://doaj.org/article/7679874cf8b84e16b70d2ec7a3d24a1a
work_keys_str_mv	AT joyceashaw usingsmallgroupdebatestoactivelyengagestudentsinanintroductorymicrobiologycourse
_version_	1718428320465420288

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

Ejemplares similares