International Higher Education Teacher Award ^2024/25

The DEbate project is not a stand-alone teaching practice but rather a complex educational project with multiple components that are implemented at different levels and for a diverse group of participants. The aim of all components is to promote and facilitate the use of debating as an educational method in and outside the classroom both at high schools and universities. The first stage of the multi-year project involved the launching of an English-language debate competition for high school students. This proved to be a great success and became a nationwide competition that we have implemented in cooperation with various businesses and such entities as the United States Embassy in Budapest. In the process we also realized that there was a need for materials in Hungarian that could help educators use this method in their teaching practice more extensively and professionally. For this purpose we created a modern e-learning material, providing a description of the method, its key benefits, opportunities for its use, and a practical guide complete with videos and interactive exercises. The e-learning course may be accessed by educators, students and also people outside academia who are interested in using the debate method. Debating is also incorporated into a university course titled “Debating America” where students learn about the United States as part of their educational program in a student-centered and interactive way. At all levels and in all components of the program the objective is to develop key skills, including communication, collaboration, critical thinking, public speaking, promote active student participation in the learning process, encourage evidence-based argumentation in connection with a variety of social issues, and accelerate learning across the curriculum. The package we have developed offers a comprehensive methodological resource that enables the use of debating in and outside the classroom in a way that is versatile, scalable, and flexible and may therefore be used in a great variety of settings for diverse purposes on the long-run as well. The e-learning material offers a useful resource for colleagues, the debate competition popularizes debating in Hungarian high schools already, while the university course applies the method at the tertiary level and serves as a good practice model that may in the near future be used in other programs as well.

Methodology

DEbate is a complete methodology package consisting of a debate competition, an e-learning material, a university course, as well as supporting material such as published academic papers and conference presentations. After organizing the first few rounds of the competition, we identified a need for educational materials to be used by high school teachers. After consulting with teachers and other methodology experts in Hungary throughout 2018, we developed the e-learning material, which was then thoroughly reviewed and piloted by experts in 2019. The nature of the material is interactive: the user is often asked to solve various tasks and submit written answers to a number of questions in order to aid the learning process by facilitating critical thinking. In other words, the structure is centered on problem solving, which already in itself fosters an attitude of seeking innovative solutions. The units are designed with the user as a reflective practitioner in mind, that is, the user is expected to adapt the material to their context and then reflect on the outcomes. Parallel to the development of the e-learning material, Dr. Balázs Venkovits offered the university course Debating America for 3rd year students at the Institute of English and American Studies at the University of Debrecen, Hungary in order to teach US culture through debating. Dr. Zsuzsanna Lénárt-Muszka conducted qualitative and quantitative research among high school educators, teacher trainees, and students who have taken part in debate competitions. After completing the research and the e-learning material, we continued organizing debate competitions, with the latest concluding in December 2021.

Tools, equipment, technology used

Competitions have rarely been utilized in Hungary as an educational tool (especially in English) despite debating’s well-documented benefits regarding critical thinking, proper argumentation, teamwork, public speaking, self-confidence, community development and an increased interest in civic values. Debates may be used in a great variety of settings and with a diversity of objectives to improve many of the key skills and competences required from a modern educational institution. The e-learning material makes use of original video recordings, interactive tasks, and exercises that promote self-reflection. It also invites feedback from users: several chatting and feedback modules are built into the course, which facilitates communication between the creators of the course and the users, and among the users themselves. This way, users—whether educators or corporate coaches—can share their best practices with each other. These features of the course also make self-reflection and self-assessment possible.

Outcomes and outputs, main results

Since 2018, 94 teams of three students each have registered for the competition, which means we have reached hundreds of students from all over the country, from approx. 30 schools. Several ex-DEbaters have joined us as university students at the Institute of English and American Studies, and since many of them are teacher trainees, they will hopefully incorporate the debate method in their own classrooms. Approx. 15 Hungarian businesses and non-profit organizations sponsored us over the years, which testifies to DEbate’s impact on and ties to the community. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from organizing an in-person debate; however, in 2021 we organized an online competition: students submitted creative video projects in which they presented both sides of the motion. 10 experts piloted and promoted the e-learning material, all of whom are educators with 50-100 students each year. The BA 3rd year course reaches 15 students per semester. It was only held once (in the Fall semester of 2019); the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented us from offering it again.

Lessons learnt

Judges of the competition should be trained properly in order to avoid misunderstandings or inconsistent scoring. The English translation of the e-learning material is needed for full internationalization. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we realized that we needed flexible solutions to be able to adapt to the changing circumstances. The e-learning material continued to be available, but in-person debates were unsafe and impractical to organize. In 2021, however, we decided to put out a call for creative video projects in which students had to argue for and against the motion. While an in-person competition proved impossible to hold, we evaluated the teams on the basis of the videos submitted and thus were able to announce a winner. This irregular format, thus, turned out to work well.

Adaptability and sustainability of the best practice (for other institutions)

Our know-how is available through the university’s e-learning system; access can be granted upon request. Although debating can be used extremely effectively in an ESL classroom, the language of the material is Hungarian so that its audience would not be limited to teachers of English only. What is more, the pool of potential users is not strictly limited to teachers: professionals working in corporate environments or in any state-sponsored context would benefit from it. Learning and being able to coach the skills associated with debating could ultimately foster greater respect, better communication, and an innovation-centered attitude among members belonging to organizations of various profiles; thus, leaders and coaches serving various communities could profit from the material. Various professionals have reached out to us over the years to see if they can incorporate our know-how in their day-to-day operations. A representative of FKF Budapest (the capital’s waste management company) inquired about using the debate method for interns, and, even though the e-elearning material had not been completed yet, we supplied her with various documents outlining the principles of the method. However, when we received requests from a local social worker as well as the Budapest branch of AEGEE, one of Europe’s biggest interdisciplinary student organizations as well as from a local social worker, we enrolled them in the e-learning course. The 3 articles (2 of them in English) and 5 presentations (1 in English in presented Heidelberg, Germany) also clearly outline the parameters and make them available to international audiences. The e-learning material and the academic output ensure that the method is easily applicable and scalable across different organizations and audiences. Most materials are found online, making our know-how adaptable for other institutions.

Promotion of best practice

We maintain relationships with high schools in the country. We disseminate the news of the competition on our Facebook page (facebook.com/debateIEAS), and on the pages of the Institute of English and American Studies of our university (facebook.com/ieas.unideb). Our partners, the US Embassy Budapest, the American Corners and American Spaces in Hungary among others have shared our posts and messages (see: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=hangkep&set=a.1602678823133632; https://www.facebook.com/AmericanCornerPecs/videos/538289913679697/; https://www.facebook.com/37318418978/posts/10159677099828979/; https://www.facebook.com/38289193271/posts/10161453823693272/). News of the competition regularly appear in university and local news outlets in Hungarian (see some examples below). We published 3 open-access scholarly papers and held 5 presentations on the practice (see the list below), thus targeting both Hungarian and English-speaking academics and teacher trainees. A selection of press appearances, 2018-2021: https://hirek.unideb.hu/hu/hir/20211007_debate-szent-korona-hazaterese https://hajdupress.hu/cikk/vitazz-a-szent-korona-hazatereserol https://www.debrecensun.hu/uni/2019/12/07/debate-finals-on-14-december/ https://btk.unideb.hu/hu/debate-angol-nyelvu-kozepiskolasoknak-szolo-vitaverseny https://civishir.hu/campus/2019/06/vitatkoznal-a-rendszervaltasrol-es-angolul https://hajdupress.hu/cikk/debate-vitazz-iden-is-angol-nyelven https://www.haon.hu/helyi-kultura/2019/06/debate-vitazz-iden-is-angol-nyelven https://www.dehir.hu/debrecen/az-ady-gimnazium-tanuloi-legyozhetetlenek-ha-angolul-kell-vitazni/2019/02/11/ https://www.debreceninap.hu/helyi/2019/02/11/angolbol-profik-cimet-vedtek-a-debreceni-ady-gimnazium-diakjai/ https://hirek.unideb.hu/hu/hir/20190211_debate-cimvedes-dontoben https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXDnFs2gAHc&ab_channel=Hang-KepEgyesulet https://hellonyiregyhaza.hu/tartalom/4171/orszagos-angol-nyelvu-vitaverseny-zajlott-a-nyiregyhazi-kolcsey-ferenc-gimnaziumban-2018-11-26 Papers: Venkovits, Balázs. “Debating In and Outside the Classroom: Key Benefits, Challenges, and How We May Help.” Werkstatt: Arbeitspapiere Zur Germanistischen Sprach- Und Literaturwissenschaft 13 pp. 44-58. (2018). Lénárt-Muszka, Zsuzsanna. “Fostering Innovation through Debating in the Classroom: Lessons from the Development of an E-learning Course for Secondary School Teachers in Hungary.” Werkstatt: Arbeitspapiere Zur Germanistischen Sprach- Und Literaturwissenschaft 14 : 1 pp. 1-11. (2019). Lénárt-Muszka, Zsuzsanna. “A vitamódszer alkalmazásának hatása a társadalmi innovációra: a vitázás elsajátításának és oktatásának összefüggései különböző kompetenciák és attitűdök fejlődésével.” (=Using the Debate Method to Foster Social Innovation: The Effects of Learning and Teaching How to Debate on the Development of Various Competences and Attitudes.) In: Bihari, Erika; Molnár, Dániel; Szikszai-Németh, Ketrin (szerk.) Tavaszi Szél 2019 Konferencia = Spring Wind 2019: Konferenciakötet I. Budapest, Magyarország : Doktoranduszok Országos Szövetsége (DOSZ) (2020) 641 p. pp. 633-641. Presentations: Venkovits, Balázs. “Debating in the Classroom.” Teaching and Learning Circle for Faculty, July 2021, Heidelberg University, Germany. Lénárt-Muszka, Zsuzsanna. „A vitamódszer alkalmazásának hatása a társadalmi innovációra: a vitázás elsajátításának és oktatásának összefüggései különböző kompetenciák és attitűdök fejlődésével.” (=Using the Debate Method to Foster Social Innovation: The Effects of Learning and Teaching How to Debate on the Development of Various Competences and Attitudes.) Spring Wind Conference, 2019 May, Debrecen, Hungary. ---. “Módszertani innováció a társadalmi problémák megvitatásában.” (=Innovative Methodology in Debating Social Issues.) Nemzetközi migráció: gyakorlat, elemzés, diskurzus - Kutatások és módszertani innováció konferencia (=International Migration: Practice, Analysis, Discourse – Research and Methodological Innovation conference), 2018 November, Debrecen, Hungary. ---. “Debating in the Classroom.” Presentation for teacher trainees at the University of Debrecen, Hungary, 2018 May. ---. “Vita és innováció: a vitamódszer iskolai alkalmazása a társadalmi innováció szolgálatában.” (=Debate and Innovation: Using the Debate Method in the Classroom in the Service of Social Innovation.) Társadalmi innováció és egyetem a 21. Században online webinar (=Social Innovation and the University in the 21st Century webinar), 2021 December, Debrecen and online.

Scope and impact

• Course/department level
• Faculty level
• Institutional level
• Cross-institutional level
• National level

Our relationships with students and faculty at the high school and university levels, as well as our outreach to teacher trainees and academic audiences have residual effects and may contribute to a long-lasting transformation of educational methods in Hungary. The research conducted by Zsuzsanna Lénárt-Muszka in 2018-2019 showed that educators’ interest in face-to-face and/or e-learning courses that center on how to learn and teach debating suggests that there is a legitimate need for instruction on how to incorporate debating in the classroom, which suggests that there will be a continuing need for our material. Our collaborations with approx. 30 Hungarian high schools as well as with Hang-Kép Egyesület/Sound-Picture Association (who offered our competitors a public speaking training session in 2018) shows the impact of debating on the national level. Furthermore, our collaborations with the US Embassy Budapest, the American Corners and American Spaces in Hungary signify our international outreach.

6.1 Digitalization

• Outstanding, innovative, excellent practices of online / blended / hybrid learning
• Innovative, novel methodology in using digital tools/devices in teaching

Reasoning: Our e-learning material makes use of original video recordings, interactive tasks, and exercises that promote self-reflection. It also invites feedback from users: several chatting and feedback modules are built into the course, which facilitates communication between the creators of the course and the users, and among the users themselves. This way, users—whether educators or corporate coaches—can share their best practices with each other.

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6.2 Internationalization

• Students engagement in international projects
• International projects/research results embedded into course development and T&L

Reasoning: We have received publicity from the US Embassy Budapest, the American Corners and American Spaces in Hungary (examples: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=hangkep&set=a.1602678823133632; https://www.facebook.com/AmericanCornerPecs/videos/538289913679697/; https://www.facebook.com/37318418978/posts/10159677099828979/; https://www.facebook.com/38289193271/posts/10161453823693272/). We are planning to use our know how also in the EU Neurotech project as part of international cooperation.

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6.3 Inclusion and diversity, universal design

• NOT RELEVANT

Reasoning:

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6.4 Sustainability

• NOT RELEVANT

Reasoning:

3.3 Public contact datas

Name	Email address	Website
Balazs Venkovits	venkovits.balazs@arts.unideb.hu