https://doi.org/10.24552/00002200 ©青森県立保健大学
Comparison of First and Fourth Grade University Students’ Development of Arguments in Mock Discussions
（Diploma Policy;“The Ability to Improve Yourself” Evaluation Report I）
Yutaka Asada, Kie Kawauchi, Sangun Lee, Mellisa Ogasawara, Masashi Yamada, Naoko Hiromori
and Harumi Kadohama
Aomori University of Health and Welfare
（Recieved March 18, 2022; Accepted July 20, 2022）
ABSTRACT
［Objective］In order to examine the content of discussions, the interaction between group members,
and differences in proficiency levels between grades in mock discussions, and assess what impact a
topic discussion guide has on group discussions.
［Methods］Four groups of university students, two first-year and two fourth-year, were created, and
one group from each year level received a guide showing a path and points for discussion, while the
others did not. All four groups discussed Surveillance Camera Installations. Transcriptions of recorded
data were made, and only meaningful utterances were used as target data to analyse students’
perceptions on the issue and how the discussion developed.
［Results］Differences emerged in the content and development of discussions between first-year
students and fourth-year students, and between guided and unguided groups, on ten issues, including
“The advantages of surveillance from the perspective of those who monitor”, “Measures to reduce the
disadvantages of surveillance cameras” and “Comparisons with other countries from a global
perspective”. The unguided group of first-year students were unable to deepen their discussions because
they were easily influenced by other group members, and the guided group of first-year students were
not sufficiently able to deepen their discussions from a professional point of view. Students in the fourth-
year group without a guide had repeated discussions from multiple perspectives and were able to
discuss and make proposals based on the content of their own presentations. The guided fourth-year
group was able to complement each other’s opinions from a professional standpoint by using academic
articles, and broad discussions that expanded on specific ideas were observed.
［Conclusions］Because a higher degree of self-improvement in fourth-grade than in first-grade
students was demonstrated, the curriculum should be maintained and developed by devising ways
to provide further guidance and support for discussion.
Key words: The Ability to Improve Yourself, Educational Evaluation, Mock Discussions