By: Prof. Guillermo Nikus A. Telan Socrates, the Socratic Method and the Historical/Educational Foundations of Instructional Conversations By: Prof. Guillermo Nikus A. Telan

Who was Socrates? What is his Legacy? An enigmatic classical Greek philosopher (469 B.C. – 399 B.C.) The founder of modern Western Philosophy His logic helped give birth to the Scientific Method A champion of oral modes of communication Influential students: Plato (founded the Academy) Aristotle (founded the Lyceum) A literary figure, reliable information about him comes from Plato’s writings rather than traditional history A social and moral critic, his attempts to improve Athenians’ sense of justice may have led to his death 2) Philosophers before him referred to as Pre-Socratic 3) the idea of a hypothesis as first stage of scientific method comes from his dialectic method of inquiry 5) Plato’s “Academy”, which became the base word for educational institutions in later European languages. Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great, “Lyceum” also means educational institution 6) A rebel, one of the first known popular “anti-establishment” figures, a provocateur

What is the Socratic Method? Arguably the most important contribution to Western thought A type of pedagogy that seeks to encourage fundamental insight into issues and ideas via questioning Designed to encourage self-examination: “The highest form of human excellence is to question oneself and others” Argument, cross-examining, testing, scrutinizing “Life without examination [dialogue] is not worth living.” Two styles: Classic (two-way freestyle) & Modern (constructive) the Classic style is more true to Socrates himself the Modern style may be Plato improving upon Socrates 1) He applied his methods to examine big, complex moral concepts such as “justice” and “good” 2) Aristotle attributed to Socrates the discovery of the method of definition and induction (causing or bringing about – via questioning), which he regarded as the essence of the scientific method. 3) Socrates, to a fault his contemporaries might have argued, was constantly challenging commonly held truths that shape opinions and beliefs 4) these techniques, central to the Socratic Method, must be applied with care and respect by the teacher in a non-confrontational way. 5) it is interesting that “examination” and “dialogue” are used interchangeably. Why don’t teachers “examine” students more often via the dialectic? 6a) Classic (freestyle): very difficult to employ, risky. Has a deconstructive and a constructive phase. Most effective when dealing with ambiguous or controversial issues. Either a person will be inspired to a better and more vigorous thinking about a question, or they will get discouraged by having their perspective challenge. The challenge lies in getting from the deconstructive to the constructive phase by turning the person being questioned into a teacher or helper. If employed effectively, the questioner actually assumes a subordinate role; that of a seeker of understanding. We see this style quite frequently in legal education, especially in the first year of instruction. 6b) Modern (constructive): essentially, this is what we know to be an I.C. A constant progression of knowledge in which the student is lead to correct answers that build upon each other until the original question is answered. In the modern style, the questioner (teacher) adopts a constructive agenda and sets out to bring that agenda to life in the minds of the respondents. Many teachers employ this method unknowingly, because it is so fundamental to academic discourse. When employed intentionally, it is a powerful teaching tool.

How is the Socratic Method Implemented? Teacher’s temperament is vital: a respectful, non-confrontational “devil’s advocate” Questioning process challenges assumptions and moves students toward greater specificity Proposition of hypothetical situations Students come to knowledge in their own through carefully worded questions that spur a particular train of thought For the modern method to work, students are expected to be prepared for class in advance Pedagogically, the modern method encourages students to reason critically rather than appeal to authority 5) Preparation can reside within students’ funds of knowledge, or via advance reading and familiarization with the general outlines of a given subject matter 6) in this context, what is “authority” (teacher, other ‘expert’ opinions?)

How is the Socratic Method Implemented? - Mechanics for Teachers *Start with a “big” conclusion or question and work backwards Teacher and students agree on the topic of instruction Students agree to attempt to answer teacher’s questions Teacher and students are willing to accept any correctly reasoned answer – the reasoning process is more important than facts or beliefs Teacher’s questions expose errors in students’ reasoning or beliefs, then formulate questions that the students cannot answer except by a correct reasoning process. NOTE: the teacher has prior knowledge about classical errors in reasoning. When the teacher makes an error of logic or fact, it is acceptable for a student to draw attention to the error. NOTE: this must be made explicit! The modern, constructivist Socratic method is only suitable for use where the principles (prior knowledge) are known by the teacher and likely to be known by students. The teacher must be knowledgeable and proficient enough in the subject matter to spontaneously ask questions in order to draw out conclusions and principles from the students. It is important to remember not to move on to more advanced or complicated topics until an adequate understanding of basic principles is achieved.

How is the Socratic Method Implemented? - - A dramatic interpretation Plato’s Slave of Meno: An Example of the Modern Socratic Method A person is led to knowledge through inductive questioning The knowledge gained is anticipated by the questioner “Baby Steps” Constructivist * Think about these four elements and see if you can identify them during the skit. Solving a geometry problem assumption that Meno thinks the boy knows nothing because he is a slave Socrates tries to prove that, despite being “uneducated”, knowledge exists within the boy

Why is the Socratic Method Important to Teachers? We teachers are descendents of Socrates and his students Historically and Philosophically, the Socratic Method constitutes the foundation of what we know to be Instructional Conversations Facilitates exploration of issues and ideas while developing and elevating students’ critical thinking skills Help our students to feel confident about questioning anything – including their own ideas and beliefs If we as teachers can place our students in a situation where they are questioned in a way that is friendly, respectful and useful, we will empower them to experience the value of good questions 1) Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and others were not just philosophers – they were teachers. Their ideas, actions, and beliefs form the foundation for what we know to be academics. 2) If we want our students to become independent thinkers and skeptics, Socratic method will lead the way 3) Real, tangible critical thinking skills cannot be developed if we do not overcome our fear of questioning. This is an essential, maybe the essential democratic value.