Developing Critical Thinking Skills in High Ability Adolescents: Effects of a Debate and Argument Analysis Curriculum

• Main Authors: April Walker, Todd Kettler
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Turkish Journal of Giftedness and Education 2020-06-01
• Series: Turkish Journal of Giftedness and Education
• Subjects: gifted and talented; high ability; middle school; argumentation; debate; critical thinking; argument analysis; adolescents; design-based research
• Online Access: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/journal/3397/article/758473/file/1170808/download
• ISSN: 2146-3832; 2146-3832

This study evaluated the impact of a debate intervention on students’ critical thinking. The design-based research project included a quasi-experimental, one group pre-test, post-test design. Results indicated small effect sizes on critical thinking using the Cornell Critical Thinking Test-Level X (d = 0.40) and an assessment of argument analysis (d = 0.41). High-ability students entered the project with stronger critical thinking than general-education students (d = .82; d = .41), and high-ability students appeared to benefit more from the intervention as the performance gaps increased in the post-test phase (d = 1.08; d = .80) suggesting possible aptitude-treatment interactions or the Matthew effect. Qualitative data indicated that students learned to (a) think on the spot, (b) analyze arguments, (c) see other perspectives, and (d) construct counter-arguments. This study corroborates previous research that indicated a relationship between high ability and critical thinking.