Socratic Seminars
What does Socratic mean? Socratic comes from the name Socrates Classical Greek philosopher who developed a Theory of Knowledge.
The Vision think for themselves Socrates believed that enabling students to think for themselves was more important than filling their heads with “right answers.”
The Vision Participants seek a deeper understanding of complex ideas through thoughtful dialogue, rather than by memorizing information.
How long is it? 30-50 minutes discussion
What does it look like? Inner Circle and Outer Circle Inner Participates and Outer Observes Written Evidence (specific to text) One Person Talks at a Time No Put Downs and No Interruption
This is it
Dialogue is NOT Debate!
Debate Dialogue Is oppositional Is collaborative One listens to counter arguments. Affirms participant's points of view. Defends assumptions as truth Creates a close-minded attitude Is collaborative One listens to find common ground Enlarges points of view Reveals assumptions for re-evaluation Creates an open-minded attitude
What was Socrates' Theory of Knowledge? Socrates was convinced that the way to attain reliable knowledge was through disciplined conversation He called this method dialectic.
What does dialectic mean? di-a-lec-tic (noun) --- the art or practice of examining opinions or ideas logically, often by the method of Question and Answer so as to determine their validity.
What is discussed? specific text A Socratic Seminar is a method used to understand information regarding a specific text Participants seek deeper understanding of complex ideas in text through thoughtful dialogue, rather than by memorizing bits of information.
questions The Text: You must use the text to help support your claims and to raise: questions There are no right or wrong answers. At the end of successful Socratic Seminars, participants often leave with more questions than they brought with them.
keeps the discussion focused on the text by The Leader: keeps the discussion focused on the text by asking follow-up questions helping clarify positions when arguments become confused involving reluctant participants
There are three ways to do this: The Participants In a Socratic Seminar, participants are responsibile for the quality of the seminar. There are three ways to do this: Preparing Participating Sharing
Starting Dialogue Students must risk making mistakes in order to learn how to learn to think critically, and work collaboratively.
7 Guidelines for Participants in a Socratic Seminar Refer to the text during the discussion. Do not stay confused; ask for clarification. Stick to the point. Don't raise hands; take turns speaking. Listen carefully and Speak up so that all can hear you. Talk to each other, not just to the leader. Discuss ideas rather than each other's opinions.
Socratic Seminar Question Should military/volunteerism service be required of all citizens?