DE.M.O.S. - DEbate as innovative MethOd to enhance critical thinking and life skillS

"The project ""DE.M.O.S. - DEbate as innovative MethOd to ​​enhance critical thinking and life skill"" turns around the implementation of the debate methodology as a tool to develop students' key competences and thus foster their employability, socio-educational and professional development, as well as participation in the civil and social life, thus contributing to responding to the main priority of E +. The proposal stems from the cooperation between IISS Dalla Chiesa di Montefiascone and five European schools from Holland, Turkey, Latvia, Portugal and Poland.DE.M.O.S. is addressed to students aged 16-19 and aims to achieve the following goals:- contribute to the development of students' key, transversal and life skills through the innovation of teaching methods- innovate the approach to teaching and learning of foreign languages ​​through the implementation of interactive, proactive methods that privilege interaction and orality- adapt the skills and methodological tools available to teachers to respond more effectively to social challenges, supporting them through training and European comparison in the development of innovative teaching and assessment methodsand the following specific objectives:- structurally introduce the practice of debate in partner schools and share the benefits with other institutions in the various countries represented in the consortium and at EU level- allow the teachers of the partner schools to acquire the pedagogical, methodological and managerial skills necessary to implement the debate in an effective and sustainable manner over time- train the directly involved students, through the international use of the debate, to be active and aware citizens, develop critical thinking, argumentation skills, communication skills and a whole set of transversal skills that will make them more competitive in work and in life- improve pupils' language skills through the activities foreseen in short-term exchangesThese objectives will be achieved through the organization of mobility for students and joint staff training meetings. 20 students and 5 professors per partner will be involved in the mobility, but the expected impact at the institute level will be much greater. During each of the exchanges the students will be able to deepen some specific technical aspects of the debate, which will then be put into practice during sessions where students, organized in international groups, will compete on controversial and wide-ranging topics. DE.M.O.S. makes a predominant stress also on the empowerment of the teaching staff, aimed at the structured integration of the debate as an interdisciplinary teaching methodology in the school curriculum. Two joint staff training events were planned, at the start and at the end of the project, to allow the teachers of the partner schools to discuss the organizational and managerial methods of structural introduction, but also on the pedagogical and didactic functions linked to the evaluation of the skills acquired through this tool. The teachers will be trained to play the role of judges in a debate, to draft a motion according to the criteria of the World Schools debate, to organize a competition, and will reflect on the use of the debate as a cooperative learning method, as a declination of a laboratory approach and so on.The methodology used to conduct the debate sessions is the World School Debate; in general, interactive and engaging formats, cooperative learning and peer education will be used throughout the project.At the end of the project, important concrete products will be developed:- A compendium of the motions discussed during the mobility, with annexed methodological notes and learning outcomes highlighted by the teachers- A booklet that collects the most significant experiences lived by students and teachers that enrich the existing literature on Debate and contribute to the dissemination of the methodology on a national and European scale, highlighting the benefitsas well as learning outcomes related to transversal and life skills such as: knowing how to argue, speaking in public, developing critical thinking, gaining awareness of the rights and duties connected to citizenship.In terms of medium-long term benefits, the creation of a European network of schools, which share the debate as a good didactic practice, both curricular and extracurricular, represent a great asset, supporting the sharing between educational systems and cultures. In fact, our project sustainability plan provides the possibility of exporting the pilot project by extending it to other countries and schools, thus ensuring the maximum impact of the project."