The Effect of Debate Across the Curriculum Pedagogy on Critical Thinking in Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Communicate Through Debate is a debate across the curriculum program designed to enhance Wiley College students’ leadership skills, such as communication and critical thinking, through the medium of debate. The overarching goal of the program is for students to communicate effectively and confidently, extract relevant information to refute opposing views through the first implemented debate across the curriculum program in higher education. The mission of the program is to provide students the skills and experiences that will prepare them to be effective leaders through the elements and functions of argumentation. The primary measure used to assess the impact of the Communicate Through Debate program is the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), which measures critical thinking, analytical reasoning, problem-solving, and communication skills. This correlational quantitative program review analyzed the efficacy of the debate across the curriculum model to measure critical thinking gains and student engagement.Keywords: Debate, debate across the curriculum, communicate through debate, Wiley College, Great Debaters, critical thinking, student engagement.