Innovating Asian Parliamentary Debate Using Socio-Scientific Issues to Improve Student’s Critical Thinking and Decision-Making Skills

Abstract

Debate is one of the learning methods that could trigger the improvement of students' critical thinking and decision-making. Students need to think critically to have a good argument and deliver it to the opposite group. Pros and cons arguments delivered during the debate are analyzed by students to make the best decision. This study was aimed to see the challenges faced by teachers in implementing this current debate and presented the importance of the Asian Parliamentary Debate using socioscientific issues as debate method innovation to improve students' critical thinking and decision-making skills as a better method of innovation. The method that was used in this study was the descriptive exploratory method. Data were collected through questionnaires about the obstacles in the implementation of the debate method. Questionnaires were filled out by twenty science teachers. The sample was taken randomly from some provinces in Indonesia. The result of the study indicated that the debate method implemented in schools was not optimal to enhance students' critical thinking and decision-making. It is important to innovate the current debate method by using socio-scientific issues through the Asian Parliamentary Debate method using socioscientific-issues as the motion. Therefore, the socio-scientific issue through the Asian Parliamentary Debate method would be very helpful in improving the quality of the current debate and help students to think critically and make decisions in science learning.