Developing Critical Thinking with Debate: Evidence from Iranian Male and Female Students

Authors

  • Maryam Danaye Tous Assistant professor of linguistics
  • Sara Haghighi M.A in TEFL

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22329/il.v36i1.4357

Keywords:

critical thinking, the Meeting-House Debate strategy, critical thinker, gender, the California Critical Thinking Skills Test

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference between the performance of Iranian male and female EFL learners on the five dimensions of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test.88 learners, out of 120, who were selected through convenience sampling method, participated in this study. The researcher used a quantitative research method with one-group pretest posttest design. This group received some treatment in the form of “the Meeting-House Debate” strategy. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. Result showed that there was no significant difference in the performance of males and females on the sub-scales measured; i.e. evaluation, analysis, inference, deductive reasoning, and inductive reasoning. It was concluded that gender did not have a significant effect on the students’ critical thinking skills.

Author Biographies

Maryam Danaye Tous, Assistant professor of linguistics

Assistant professor of linguistics, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.

Sara Haghighi, M.A in TEFL

M.A in TEFL, University of Guilan, University Campus2, Rasht, Iran.

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Published

2016-03-30

Issue

Vol. 36 No. 1 (2016)

Section

Articles

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