SOCRATIC SEMINARS

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SOCRATIC SEMINARS

• Teaching Using Inquiry Based Learning

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Who wrote a book about this idea?

• Michael Strong
• Michael Strong is Director of Education Programs.
  He joined the organization in 2004.
• Michael has been the founding Director of Moreno
  Valley Charter School of Angel Fire, NM the
  founding Director of Middle School Programs for
  the Early Learning Institute of Palo Alto, CA
  founding Director of The Winston Academy of Ft.
  Lauderdale, FL (now closed) Director of Socratic
  Practice at The Judson Montessori School in San
  Antonio, TX and Paideia Teacher Trainer for
  School Districts in Homer and Anchorage, AK.

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The Habit of Thought

• Michael has provided educational consulting to
  hundreds of schools on Socratic Seminars,
  Socratic Practice, Paideia education, and
  Montessori secondary education. He is the author
  of "The Habit of Thought From Socratic Seminars
  to Socratic Practice." He is currently completing
  a manuscript, "Whole Lives The Creation of
  Conscious Culture Through Educational Innovation"
  based on his experience as the founder of
  innovative, humane schools to show why we need
  educational freedom in order to create a better
  world.

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A Little Bit More About Michael

• Prior to entering the field of education, Michael
  received a B.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John's
  College (Santa Fe) and an M.A. from the
  University of Chicago in the Committee on Social
  Thought. He began a dissertation on "Ideas and
  Culture as Human Capital" under the economist
  Gary Becker before concluding that the expected
  value of a career in academia was less than the
  expected value of a career as an educational
  innovator.

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What are Socratic seminars?

• A way to get students focused on questions, not
  answers.
• Students are likely to retain knowledge,
  understanding, and ethical attitudes and
  behaviors when they are actively engaged in
  learning as a collaborative effort.
• Seminars contribute to the development of
  critical thinking.
• We model an inquiring, probing mind by
  continually probing into the subject with
  questions.

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What are Socratic seminars?

• Students are more likely to retain "knowledge,
  understanding, and ethical attitudes and
  behaviors" when they are actively engaged in
  learning as a collaborative effort.
• Contribute to the development of vocabulary,
  listening skills, interpretive and comparative
  reading, textual analysis, synthesis, and
  evaluation - predominantly higher level thinking
  skills.
• Reinforces the formation of the classroom as a
  learning community.

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Whats so good about discussion?

• Discussion is essentially a series of
  interruptions. If all in the group are involved,
  none need be left behind.
• Discussion intrinsically guarantees
  understanding.
• It allows students to share interpretations,
  insight, and vision.
• Discussion can lead to critical thinking.

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Dialogue or Debate?

• In dialogue, one submits one's best thinking,
  expecting that other people's reflections will
  help improve it rather than threaten it.
• In debate, one submits one's best thinking and
  defends it against challenge to show that it is
  right.
• Dialogue calls for temporarily suspending one's
  beliefs.
• Debate calls for investing wholeheartedly in
  one's beliefs.
• In dialogue, one searches for strengths in all
  positions.
• In debate, one searches for weaknesses in the
  other position.
• Dialogue respects all the other participants and
  seeks not to alienate or offend.
• Debate rebuts contrary positions and may belittle
  or deprecate other participants.
• Dialogue assumes that many people have pieces of
  answers and that cooperation can lead to a
  greater understanding.
• Debate assumes a single right answer that
  somebody already has.
• Dialogue remains open-ended.
• Debate demands a conclusion.

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Heres the Bottom Line Difference!

• Dialogue is collaborative multiple sides work
  toward shared understanding.
• Debate is oppositional two opposing sides try to
  prove each other wrong.
• In dialogue, one listens to understand, to make
  meaning, and to find common ground.
• In debate, one listens to find flaws, to spot
  differences, and to counter arguments.
• Dialogue enlarges and possibly changes a
  participant's point of view.
• Debate defends assumptions as truth.
• Dialogue creates an open-minded attitude an
  openness to being wrong and an openness to
  change.
• Debate creates a close-minded attitude, a
  determination to be right.

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The Key

• Allow the students to discuss a topic openly and
  freely.
• Teacher is simply the facilitator, nothing more.
• Teacher should give no response, negative or
  positive, to the students discussion.
• Facilitator's sole responsibility is to ask well
  thought-out, open-ended questions.
• Goal to create open-ended questions that create
  discussion that follows discussion.

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The Socratic Questioner

• Acts as the logical equivalent of the inner
  critical voice which the mind develops when it
  develops critical thinking abilities.
• Contributions from the members of the class are
  like so many thoughts in the mind. All of the
  thoughts must be dealt with and they must be
  dealt with carefully and fairly.
• By following up all answers with further
  questions, and by selecting questions which
  advance the discussion, the Socratic questioner
  forces the class to think in a disciplined,
  intellectually responsible manner, while yet
  continually aiding the students by posing
  facilitating questions.

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The Socratic Questioner

• A Socratic questioner should
• keep the discussion focused
• keep the discussion intellectually responsible
• stimulate the discussion with probing questions
• periodically summarize what has and what has not
  been dealt with and/or resolved
• draw as many students as possible into the
  discussion.

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Guidelines for Participants

• Refer to the text when needed during the
  discussion. A seminar is not a test of memory.
  You are not "learning a subject" your goal is to
  understand the ideas, issues, and values
  reflected in the text.
• It's OK to "pass" when asked to contribute.
• Do not participate if you are not prepared. A
  seminar should not be a bull session.
• Do not stay confused ask for clarification.
• Stick to the point currently under discussion
  make notes about ideas you want to come back to.
• Don't raise hands take turns speaking.
• Listen carefully.
• Speak up so that all can hear you.
• Talk to each other, not just to the leader or
  teacher.
• Discuss ideas rather than each other's opinions.
• You are responsible for the seminar, even if you
  don't know it or admit it.

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Socratic Seminar Guidelines

• The group must sit in a circle that allows all of
  the participates to make eye contact.
• Not reading the material before the seminar is
  not an option. A student may not participate in
  the discussion if they have not thoroughly read
  the material.
• The outside circle is responsible for taking
  notes on the inner groups discussion.
• Quiet is not bad, allow students adequate time to
  formulate their thoughts.
• One of the greatest skills being developed in a
  Socratic Seminar is critical thinking.
• Allow the discussion to flow on its own. You want
  discussion to follow discussion. Even if the
  topic derails a little, this can often provide
  valuable insist for the students.
• To keep students on task with the discussion as
  the facilitator you may need to remind them to
  connect their discussion to the text.
• A Socratic Seminar is not a two-way debate. If
  two students dominate the discussion, you as the
  facilitator may need to ask another open-ended
  question and directly ask other students to
  answer the question.

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General Rules

• Respect is another essential skill that the
  Socratic Seminar builds. You may want to consider
  a discussion or a short story that illustrates
  the concept of respect that you can use as
  pre-seminar material.
• One students speaking at a time, and the other
  students actively listening in order to respond
  is the apex of a Socratic Seminar.
• If students are still discussing items the
  following day or have additional questions that
  have risen overnight, then you will experience
  the fruit of a Socratic Seminar.

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Responsibility of Participants

• Being prepared for the seminar.
• The flow of the discussion within the seminar.
• Determining the meaning of the seminar
• Constructing their own analysis of the seminar.
• Utilizing critical thinking,listening, and
  communicating skills.

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My Previous Experience with Socratic Seminars

• Its crucial to model Socratic seminars, start
  off small.
• Not all students were built to seminar. With
  some students you will need to draw them in.
• Lay down the rules and address them often.
• Dont give up. The rewards are too valuable.
• Remember with this process you are also teaching
  concrete communication skills.
• It is well worth the time you take.