WEB-ресурс научно-практических конференций

Долгова Т.Б.

Набережночелнинский филиал Нижегородского государственного лингвистического университета имени Н.А. Добролюбова, Российская Федерация

DISCUSSION AS A MEANS FOR DEVELOPING, PRACTICING, AND ASSESSING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

The use of the case study was suggested by Sigmund Freud and researchers (and teachers) now use it for a lot of reasons. It is commonly used in teaching students, in sociology, psychology and many other fields. Business schools utilize business case studies as one of its main methods of teaching. This method is said to be of inherently personal, in-depth and unique nature. It is specifically set on one individual (one group, one organization) and it localizes instead of generalizes results and information, unlike many other types of research. Through this method lots of people now learn about business though its formal use in the science classroom is recent. So recent, in fact, that until the early 1990s the case study literature in science was virtually non-existent. This has begun to change as more and more faculty are realizing the inadequacies of the lecture method and are seeking novel methods of instruction. What happens in classes that use case study teaching? Do students learn more in case-based science courses? Are they able to make more connections among concepts? Can they apply these concepts to real-life situations? These are the questions teachers ask themselves before they start using this method in class. The teachers became familiar with the specific techniques that are used in the case study method. The methodology has four stages:

1.      Design the case study,

2.      Conduct the case study,

3.      Analyze the case study evidence, and

4.      Develop the conclusions, recommendations and implication

  The scientists identified some specific types of case studies: Exploratory , Explanatory , and Descriptive . Then included three others: Intrinsic – when the researcher has an interest in the case; Instrumental – when the case is used to understand more than what is obvious to the observer; Collective – when a group of cases is studied. Exploratory cases are sometimes considered as a prelude to social research. Explanatory case studies may be used for doing causal investigations. Descriptive cases require a descriptive theory to be developed before starting the project. In all of the above types of case studies, there can be single-case or multiple-case applications.

Selecting cases must be done so as to maximize what can be learned in the period of time available for the study. You can start the case study debate within the task given in the case study activity. Debate has many valid purposes within politics, but it is not always helpful within discussion. Unfortunately, students derail discussion in their favor to win arguments. But if they see the goal of the debate as winning arguments rather than dialogue, they are likely to miss opportunities. Too often participants become opponents out to win rather than partners seeking understanding.

According to Ronald Morris (1988), “Genuine dialogue is never easy; it requires a fundamental openness to the other, mutual listening and sharing. And perhaps most instantly, it requires a sense of humility, a sense that one can still grow in understanding and a sense that one can learn from others.”

Not all teachers see the need to formally introduce the difference between discussion and debate.

Some who favor discussion as a classroom strategy use media clips for this purpose. Some tape segments from different newspapers and ask their students to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each.

A structural model in which the students discussed persisting issues using historical cases was developed by the Harvard Social Studies Project. The Public Issues model involves identifying areas of disagreement as being ethical or value questions, definitional issues, or fact-explanation issues. Key among the strategies that are used in discussions is the use of analogy – a case that is similar to the case under discussion. Examining the distinctions among the cases helps discussants clarify their views on the original issue.

Several steps were worked out by some of pioneers of case study.

1.      First, you should select an issue. The success of case study debate is often dependent on the type of issue selected. The best issues:

a.     affect many people

b.       there exist opposing opinions regarding how the issue should be resolved

c.        they involve a tension among significant values and principals

d.     they are considered a matter for collective resolution

e.        they have state, international connections

f.   they are appropriate for students

g.       they are connected to the lives of students

h.       they can be presented with readily available instructional resources.

2.      Secondly, you should select issues that allow students to explore alternatives.

3.      Then you should set up the discussion so that students understand what is expected of them and develop a climate conducive to discussion.

4.      You should establish yourself as a facilitator.

5.      And you should help the group set an agenda for the discussion and make transitions from one point to another.

6.      Finally, you should assess what have been discussed.

Many teachers are reluctant to grade discussion skills. If you find it difficult to grade, use self- and group-assessment tools. These tools may be the means for helping individuals and the group set targets for improvement. Or you can develop your own system or mechanisms for giving students credit for specific contributions.

Discussion methods are effective in getting students to think constructively while interacting with the rest of the group. Conduct discussions with large or small groups; however, small groups are more desirable. You can control and direct a small group more easily than you can larger groups of 10 or more students.

 As a result of your questions, suggestions, and redirection of ideas, the students in the class become genuinely interested in exploiting all angles of the central problem. They forget the normal classroom restraints and begin to talk to each other as they would when carrying on an ordinary conversation. A true class discussion requires a student-to-student interchange of ideas. To conduct a class discussion, you must make more extensive and more thorough preparations than you would for a lecture.

Each unit of the textbook we use ends with a case study linked to the unit’s business topic. Case study is usually based on realistic business problems and situations. Our students study the unit with its vocabulary and try to use this vocabulary while analyzing the suggested problems and situations. Each case study ends with a realistic writing task. Through working with the written tasks students learn the art of business correspondence and it’s not only interesting and challenging for them to cope with the tasks but it’s also useful as they acquire the skills they might need in their future job as managers.