Conference Program

Since its introduction in Trentino in 2010, the debate tournament ‘A suon di parole’ has experienced exponential growth over 15 years. It now engages the majority of local higher secondary schools (as well as some institutes from neighbouring regions) and has involved approximately 17,000 students in Italian-language debates. This scenario expands further when considering participants in German and English competitions, and all students taking part in internal school qualification rounds.

Two primary factors seems to be responsible for the success of the tournament:

• its adaptable debate format: developed ad hoc, it integrates into both curricular and trans-curricular teaching, proving particularly effective for civic and citizenship education.

• its being a student-centered "game": the core of the tournament's appeal is its focus on student agency. Participants actively research, verify information, and then demonstrate what they can do with their knowledge — testing their skills in and through the debate.

Existing analysis already acknowledges the tournament's role in fostering teamwork, rational verbal dispute, critical thinking, and listening skills.

This talk focuses on the most recent research project on ‘A Suon di Parole’, aimed at a systematic evaluation of the participants’ experience in the changing scenario of the last few years, marked by a widespread use of artificial intelligence and a growing crisis in democratic values and practices. Through a questionnaire distributed to a sample of students and teachers with repeated debate experience, aspects related to both argumentative and socio-emotional skills are explored in order to assess the tournament's impact on critical thinking and interpersonal competencies as perceived by teachers, tutors, and, especially, students. Moreover, by incorporating items from a 2016/2017 version, the questionnaire will track changes in perception over time, offering a valuable longitudinal perspective.

The next phase of the research will involve a qualitative, in-depth analysis of distinguished practices and approaches adopted by individual classes and institutes. This will provide nuanced insights into the tournament participation, in its possible forms and results.

This plan promises to add substantial empirical evidence to the understanding of participating in ‘A Suon di Parole’ as a powerful educational practice, documenting its evolving impact on students' cognitive and interpersonal development in rapidly changing times.