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

Authors

  • April Walker Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of North Texas, USA
  • Todd Kettler Department of Educational Psychology, Baylor University, USA

Keywords:

gifted and talented, high ability, middle school, argumentation, debate, critical thinking, argument analysis, adolescents, design-based research

Abstract

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 en-tered the project with stronger critical thinking than general-education stu-dents (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.

 

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Published

2021-05-20

How to Cite

Walker, A., & Kettler, . T. (2021). Developing Critical Thinking Skills in High Ability Adolescents: Effects of a Debate and Argument Analysis Curriculum . TALENT, 10(1), 21–39. Retrieved from https://theeducationjournals.com/index.php/talent/article/view/78

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Research Article