Debate is one of the most common forms of extracurricular activities - school and student tournaments around the world, international championships, debate organizations that unite hundreds of school clubs, support for the debate movement by national governments, NGOs and international organizations - all testify their popularity and significant potential for the intellectual development of youth. Accordingly, debate in the learning process can be considered as one of the effective pedagogical technologies.

Debates have been spreading for more than ten years as programs for high school students, but due to the lack of attention to them in society, it is impossible to fully understand and see their educational opportunities. In the pedagogical literature, more attention is paid to how to organize debates, what this concepts involves, the debate process itself, and insufficient emphasis is placed on why to use them, how it corresponds to the educational goals of a particular lesson, what positive results will be achieved in terms of teaching, education and development of high school students.

The debate can be seen as an effective opportunity for the development of critical thinking, the formation of civic competence and cognitive activity of students. By debate we mean a specially organized, clearly structured public exchange of views between the two parties on a topical issue to persuade a third party, not each other.

The concept of “debate” is interpreted differently in the literature. That is why the verbal and non-verbal means used by the participants of the debate are aimed at obtaining a certain result - the formation of a positive impression of their own position. Thus we can view debate as a process of research and persuasion.

Let us now consider in detail the role of debate in the learning process of students. Lipman (2006) points out that the ability to think involves the possession of certain methods, which together create a proven effective methodology for processing information. This means that the teaching of debate includes tasks that require higher- level thinking, and the learning process should be organized as a study of a particular topic by students through interactive interaction between them.

Debates create the potential for the development of an independent personality, his or her free thoughts. With the use of debate, classrooms are becoming an extremely important place to teach students intellectual survival skills.

The debate as a technology involves the ability of students to formulate independent judgments. This means that their thinking is focused on creative activity, not on reproducing information based on rigid algorithms and stereotypes. Based on the fact that judgment is the formulation of opinions, assessments or conclusions, Lipman also argues that it includes solving problems, making decisions, mastering new concepts. Teaching students to form such ideas allows them not only to make moral choices and be responsible for their own beliefs and decisions but also contributes to their intellectual development and independence. Debates have the potential to develop the freedom of learners, helping them to think independently, going beyond the course taught by teachers.

This allows us to conclude that participation in educational debates teaches high school students the skills of effective verbal communication because during the discussion they learn to defend their positions in public and to succeed they must pass their knowledge to peers in a convincing and accessible form.

References

1. Lipman, M. (2006). What can be critical thinking? Bulletin of school exchange programs. Kyiv-Mohyla Academy House, 27, 17-23.