Utilizing Socratic Seminar @ Daniel Webster Middle School

Benefits

The best Socratic Seminars are those in which something new and unexpected is discovered. This happens when the seminar is approached as a joint search. Benefits of this classroom strategy, both content and skill related, include:

·  time to engage in in-depth discussions, problem solving, and clarification of ideas

·  building of a strong, collaborative work culture

·  enhanced knowledge and research base

·  increased success for all students

·  teaching respect for diverse ideas, people, and practices

·  creating a positive learning environment for all students

Dialogue and Debate

Dialogue is… Debate is…

collaborative; multiple sides working toward shared understanding. / oppositional; two opposing sides try to prove each other wrong.
listening to understand, to make meaning, and to find common ground. / listening to find flaws, to spot differences, and to identify counter arguments.
enlarging and possibly changing
a participant’s point of view. / an affirmation of a participant’s point of view.
keeping an open-mind, an openness to being wrong and to change. / a determination to be right and defending assumptions as truth.
about temporarily suspending one’s beliefs. / About defending one’s beliefs.
searching for strengths in all positions. / searching for weaknesses in the other position.
about respect for all the other participants and seeks not to alienate or offend. / about alienating or belittling other participants.
cooperative exploration of different possibilities or solutions. / having one right answer.
open-ended. / conclusive.


Elements of Socratic Seminars

Socrates believed that enabling students to think for themselves was more important than filling their heads with “right answers.” In a Socratic Seminar, participants seek deeper understanding of complex ideas through rigorously thoughtful dialogue, rather than by memorizing bits of information or meeting arbitrary demands for “coverage.” A Socratic Seminar fosters active learning as participants explore and evaluate the ideas, issues, and values in a particular text. A good seminar consists of four interdependent elements: (1) the text being considered, (2) the questions raised, (3) the seminar leader, and (4) the participants. A closer look at each of these elements helps explain the unique character of a Socratic Seminar.

The Text Socratic Seminar texts are chosen for their richness in ideas, issues, and values, and their ability to stimulate extended, thoughtful dialogue. A seminar text can be drawn from readings in literature, history, science, math, health, and philosophy or from works of art or music. A good text raises important questions in the participants’ minds, questions for which there are no right or wrong answers. At the end of a successful Socratic Seminar, participants often leave with more questions than they brought with them.

The Question A Socratic Seminar opens with a question either posed by the leader or solicited from participants as they acquire more experience in seminars. An opening question has no right answer; instead, it reflects a genuine curiosity on the part of the questioner. A good opening question leads participants back to the text as they speculate, evaluate, define, and clarify the issues involved. Responses to the opening question generate new questions from the leader and participants, leading to new responses. In this way, the line of inquiry in a Socratic Seminar evolves on the spot rather than being pre-determined by the leader.

The Leader In a Socratic Seminar, the leader plays a dual role as leader and participant. The seminar leader consciously demonstrates habits of mind that lead to a thoughtful exploration of the ideas in the text by keeping the discussion focused on the text, asking follow-up questions, helping participants clarify their positions when arguments become confused, and involving reluctant participants while restraining their more vocal peers. As a seminar participant, the leader actively engages in the group’s exploration of the text. To do this effectively, the leader must know the text well enough to anticipate varied interpretations and recognize important possibilities in each.

The Participants In Socratic Seminar, participants share with the leader the responsibility for the quality of the seminar. Good seminars occur when participants study the text closely in advance, listen actively, share their ideas and questions in response to the ideas and questions of others, and search for evidence in the text to support their ideas. Participants acquire good seminar behaviors through participating in seminars and reflecting on them afterward. After each seminar, the leader and participants discuss the experience and identify ways of improving the next seminar. Before each new seminar, the leader also offers coaching and practice in specific habits of mind that improve reading, thinking, and discussing.


Leading a Seminar

Seminar leaders, whether they are teachers or students, must realize that the purpose they serve is to create activity in the participants’ minds. They seek to help students achieve their own understandings. The ideas of the leader are important only to the degree they spur the ideas of the participants. Seminar leaders should listen carefully and, through thoughtful questioning, ask follow-up questions to expose and correct fallacies and clarify ambiguities. Leaders must make clear to participants that they do not have all the answers. They should use their own experience and learning to raise the participants’ levels of thinking and reasoning so that they feel free to form their own ideas and discover their own answers.

Seminar leaders must choose texts that they find engaging, are curious about, and know well. They should help participants establish what the author has communicated as fuel for the students’ own thinking. To do so, they must ask open-ended questions and wait for responses. Critical to good seminar interaction is the “think time” participants take prior to sharing their ideas. As stated previously, youngsters must be encouraged via leader modeling to use all levels of critical thinking, especially analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Seminar leaders must also be thoughtful, close listeners. They must encourage participants to listen closely to one another as well. Seminar leaders should always ask questions about the participants’ answers, encouraging them to carefully examine their own thought processes; they should be held accountable for their statements, being asked to give examples from the text and provide logical explanations and reasons. They should also be asked to explain, clarify, give supportive details and explanations, and to understand the flaws of their statements.

*Used with permission, Dennis Gray, Socratic Seminar Consultant—Guidelines for Socratic Seminar Leaders and A Sample of Generic Questions for Socratic Seminars.


The Role of the Leader

·  know the text well before you begin

·  have a series of questions about the text ready to help define the discussion and give it direction

·  have NO predetermined agenda to get the RIGHT answer; instead, think of the seminar as a joint search

·  be an active listener

·  have respect for each participant

·  help participants work cooperatively, not competitively

·  involve reluctant participants while restraining more vocal members

·  facilitate discussion among participants rather than with you, the leader

·  examine and query responses by participants trying to draw out reasons and implications in the thinking

·  help participants rephrase questions and answers for clarity if necessary

·  encourage participants to USE THE TEXT to support their responses

·  be patient enough to allow participants’ understanding to evolve


Guidelines for Questioning

The learning in the seminar occurs based on the kinds of questions asked. Keep these guidelines in mind for questions.

·  develop opening, core, and closing questions before the seminar so that you are prepared to keep the discussion going if necessary

·  be sure your questions are void of judgment and derived from the text

·  ask questions that raise questions

·  avoid using YES/NO questions

·  ask hypothetical and complex questions

·  ask questions in which there are no right or wrong answers

·  continue to ask “Why?” or to probe the responses of the participants with further questioning

·  allow yourself to both guide the discussion with your questioning but to go with it as well

Example Questions

·  By what reasoning did you come to that conclusion?

·  What would you say to someone who said ______?

·  Are the reasons adequate? Why?

·  What led you to that belief?

·  How does that apply to this case?

·  What would change your mind?

·  Who is in the position to know if that is so?

·  Why did you say “they?”

·  What view would be in opposition to what you are saying?

The Role of the Seminar Participant

Preparing for the seminar

·  read the text carefully and for understanding

·  use highlighters to mark crucial text and make notes in margins

·  look for places where the author is stating his views, arguing for them, or raising questions

·  make connections between parts of the text by using your marginal notes

·  think about what you have read and how you understand it

·  make connections between the ideas in the text and what you know in your life and the lives of others

During the seminar

·  be prepared to participate; the quality of the seminar is diminished when participants speak without preparation

·  refer to the text often and when needed; a seminar is not a test of memory

·  ask good questions and for clarification when confused

·  take turns speaking instead of raising hands

·  listen carefully and actively to your fellow participants

·  speak so that all can hear you

·  dialogue with your fellow participants, not just the leader

·  discuss the ideas of the text, not each other’s opinions

·  show respect for differing ideas, thoughts, and values

·  give evidence and examples to support your responses

·  help fellow participants clarify questions and responses

·  keep your mind open to new ideas and possibilities

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Utilizing Socratic Seminar @ Daniel Webster Middle School

Critiquing or Debriefing the Seminar

Spending some time after the seminar to critique and evaluate the process is critical. This reflection allows for the growth of the skills necessary to achieve quality seminars and high levels of thinking. The following questions may be asked of participants or outer circle observers to help evaluate the seminar process.

Questions to ask about a Socratic Seminar

Did the participants . . .

·  speak loudly and clearly?

·  cite reasons and evidence for their statements?

·  use the text to find support?

·  listen to others respectfully?

·  stick with the subject?

·  talk to each other, not just the leader?

·  paraphrase accurately?

·  ask for help to clear up confusion?

·  support each other?

·  avoid hostile exchanges?

·  question each other in a civil manner?

·  seem prepared?

Did the leader . . .

·  get participants engaged early? How?

·  make sure that questions were understood?

·  ask questions that led to further questions?

·  use answers as the basis to follow-up questions?

·  allow for discussion of disagreements?

·  listen carefully to participants’ statements?

·  accept participants’ answers without judgment?

·  keep attention on ideas in the text/art being discussed?

·  correct misreadings of the text?

·  allow time (pauses) for thinking?

·  draw out reasons and implications?

·  draw in all participants?

In the course of the seminar . . .

·  what was the most interesting question?

·  what was the most interesting idea to come from a participant?

·  what was the best thing you observed?

·  what was the most troubling thing you observed?

·  what do you think should be done differently in the next seminar?

Socratic Seminar Name______

Observation Tally

Period____ Date ______

Name of person being observed______

Number of Statements—

Number of Questions—

Number of Summaries—

Number of Interruptions—

Number of Invitations to Speak—

Interesting Behaviors—


Socratic Seminar Evaluation Name ______

Period ____ Date ______

1)  Briefly summarize the main points of today’s discussion.

2)  Describe something about the discussion that pleased you and something that frustrated you.

3)  Give an example of someone else’s “thinking” that you found yourself actually thinking about (identify that person by name).

4)  Describe how the above example affected your opinion.

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