Although dialectical thinking plays an important role in daily life, this ability among adults, including university students, is not always well developed. The present study used three experimental designs to explore efficient ways to promote university students' dialectical thinking ability. The results showed that university students' dialectical thinking ability can be improved after receiving instruction according to specific teaching practices. The debate approach was a more interesting and efficient teaching method for cultivating dialectical thinking ability than the lecture approach. These findings broaden and deepen our understanding about the development of dialectical thinking ability and suggests that debate can be used as an alternative way, in many university courses or training projects, to improve students' dialectical thinking ability.