The current research was to investigate the effects of discussion activities based on Israeli’s Havruta style
on university students’ discussion ability and social problem-solving. The subjects were 32 students
registered for teacher certificate related courses in K university in Seoul. Subjects participated in online
discussion activities by being randomly and evenly assigned either to control and experimental group. The
experiment was conducted for 14 weeks with six discussion topics. The statistical differences between
pre-test and post-test results regarding discussion ability and social problem-solving were examined. As
research results, the discussion ability and social problem solving of experimental group were higher than
those of control group. Specifically, critical thinking and listening ability, and problem-definition and
alternative generation of social problem-solving were different with significant difference. The research
results proved that online discussion based on Israeli’s Havruta style positively affected university students’
discussion ability and social problem-solving. The results will contribute to effective strategies for online
discussion activities.