Throughout Europe, many schools are investing energy in the development of Debate techniques, as a new teaching methodology able to develop skills of flexibility, openness, irony, and eloquence. The objectives of this project are different but complementary: provide teachers with the support and resources necessary for educational innovation; develop linguistic and argumentative skills in students; develop young people's attention to social, environmental, economic and political issues of an international nature; acquire the values of education for Citizenship and participation in democratic processes. The project will involve 24 students aged 16 to 18 and 8 teachers from different disciplines. Students and teachers will play an active role in the building up of a debate, from the identification of a theme to be discussed to the development of pros and cons, up to the realization and evaluation of the debate. Through a cooperative work in small groups, a peer contest will take place, not only between students but also between teachers and between teachers and students. The final results lead to the development of social, civic and intercultural competencies, as well as the promotion of high quality and innovative teaching in the school system. The activities tested will be easily replicated in the following years, promoting debate tournaments in schools and participating in international tournaments that are regularly held every year throughout Europe. This way, clearly identifiable long-term benefits will be obtained in the activation of profitable relational behaviors, more responsive not only to the school environment but also to the society and labor market real needs.
The debate is not a clash between people, which unfortunately our society is getting used to. Debate is a constructive exchange of ideas. If well conducted, the debate is a highly educational interaction experience, in which it prevails, not the common opinion, but the best motivated speech. In this project context, the Italian school "IISS PIETRO SETTE" and the Slovenian school "Gimnazija Ptuj" had the common strategic objective of developing very high citizenship skills, such as education in legality, responsible and peaceful participation in a dialogue between people, the improvement of communication skills in the mother tongue and in a foreign language (English). The "Debate: a gym of skills" project taught students and teachers the art of debate. Each institution involved: 12 or 14 students of different classes, aged between 16 and 18 and 5 teachers, of any discipline. Basically it was implemented through two working steps: one aimed to training students and teachers, organized with differentiated working groups and conducted by a Slovenian teacher expert in Debate and the other one with a practical implementation of Debate, in which the two delegations , Italian and Slovenian met for an exciting tournament. In addition to these two fundamental steps, other significant activities were added, such as a tournament within each institution to involve as many students as possible, participation in national and international tournaments, demonstrative debates in neighbouring schools and a demonstration debate in the Municipality, open to citizenship. The program of activities, shared between the two schools, was the following: • exercises on the World School Debate format • structure of the arguments • refutation techniques • characteristics of public speaking • evaluation of the debate • student debate tournaments The results obtained were flattering: - marked improvement in written and oral communication skills and an improvement in reading and understanding ability (in mother tongue and in English) - development of critical thinking skills - personal and emotional growth thanks above all to teamwork and increased self-confidence - development to tolerance - curiosity about concrete problems of society (the debate pushed the students to be politically active with a high level of civic commitment). - promotion and dissemination, in teachers, of innovative teaching methods The project had a wide and positive resonance, also testified by the live interest of television, newspapers and the web. Also for this reason, the path taken by the Pietro Sette Institute will not end with the Erasmus experience, but will continue over the years to achieve the following long-term benefits: for students: - development of transversal skills that will allow them to enter the world of work more easily - development of greater attention to current and international issues for teachers: - more frequent use of the practice of debate in curricular activities for local institutions: - use of the debate as a motivational tool for involving young people in the local reality (establishment of the Youth Council in the Municipality of our town)