论辩型教学在中国中小学课堂应用的挑战与前景——访哈佛大学教育学院凯瑟琳·斯诺教授

The Challenges and Potentials of Implementing Argumentation Instruction in Chinese Elementary and Middle School Classrooms——An Interview with Professor Catherine Snow from Harvard Graduate School of Education

本文通过采访美国哈佛大学教育学院英语语言与语文教育专家、美国教育研究协会前会长凯瑟琳·斯诺教授,介绍了斯诺教授及其团队在论辩型教学领域的研究成果,并探讨对中国中小学课堂的启示。论辩型教学是以讨论与辩论为核心的课堂组织形式,其开发是为青少年的词汇学习创造真实的使用情景,但它更独特的价值在于激活学生的主观能动性,提高课堂专注参与度。论辩型教学可构成整堂课,也可与传统的讲解授课形式相结合;在长时间讲解中穿插的简短讨论依然有效。经培训,教师可运用方法与技巧,摆脱班级规模限制,令不同基础、背景、个性的学生皆有效参与互动。论辩型教学帮助学生成为更优秀的阅读者、思考者、写作者,从而有利于他们在标准化考试中获得成功。在开展初期,课堂讨论的话题最好设置为一个没有理想答案的两难困境。教师的角色需要从知识的拥有者和传授者,转变为与学生同等的探索者。论辩型教学在各国的教育体制中有不同程度的基础,体现出在中国课堂中的发展潜力。

This article is comprised of an interview with Professor Catherine Snow, an expert on English language and literacy education from Harvard Graduate School of Education and former president of American Educational Research Association. It aims to introduce Prof. Snow and her team’s recent research findings on argumentation instruction, as well as to discuss the implications of this research for Chinese elementary and middle school classrooms. Argumentation instruction is a discussion-and-debate-centered approach to classroom learning and teaching. Although the curriculum on argumentation was first developed to create authentic scenarios for adolescents’ vocabulary learning, the unique value of argumentation is that it inspires students to take initiative and increases their engagement and participation in class. Argumentation can constitute the whole lesson, or it can be combined with traditional lecture-based instructional approaches;short discussion activities embedded within long lectures are still found to be effective. Teachers can be trained to utilize methods and techniques so that students with diverse preparation levels, backgrounds, or personalities can effectively participate in classroom interactions. Argumentation instruction helps students become better readers, thinkers, and writers, facilitating their achievements in standardized assessments. When launching argumentation instruction, the suggestion is to set the discussion topic as a dilemma without a singular answer. Teachers need to switch their role from the owner and conveyer of knowledge to a fellow knowledge seeker with the students. Argumentation instruction is implemented in varying degrees in different countries and education systems;it shows great potentials for implementation in Chinese schools.