Conducting a Socratic Seminar Can it be, Ischomachus, that asking questions is teaching? I am just beginning to see what is behind all your questions. You lead me on by means of things I know, point to things that resemble them, and persuade me that I know things that I thought I had no knowledge of. -- Socrates Quoted in Xenophon's Economics

First Notions Every science and every discipline is rooted in basic ideas. No matter how far we may advance in a subject, whatever we find to be true and sound resolves back into the first notions.

Fostering Critical Thinking The oldest, and still a most powerful, teaching tactic is Socratic teaching. In Socratic teaching we focus on giving students questions, not answers. We model an inquiring, probing mind by continually probing into the subject with questions.

What is a Socratic Seminar? Lynda Tredwell, professor at George Washington University, described the Socratic Seminar as "a form of structured discourse about ideas and moral dilemmas." 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.

Why Not Lecture? More efficient and penetrating than any student discussion could hope to be? Cut through the confusion of a particularly chaotic discussion and lead the class to clarity on the strength of his own advanced understanding. Many points should not be left hanging nor error left to prevail - no guarantees that students will make the most of every discussion.

Lecture or Discussion? The flow of concepts presented in a lecture is often too much to assimilate. A good lecturer will repeat key points and connections and even invite interruptions when the audience has lost the drift. Discussion, on the other hand, is essentially a series of interruptions. If all in the group are involved, none need be left behind. Discussion almost intrinsically guarantees understanding; lectures do not. It seems a happy combination This offers the prospect of the best thought being the best understood. Discussion is intrinsically inefficient. One can hardly expect mastery of a subject. At most, one can expect only to make a beginning. Quite so. But as the adage goes, a good beginning makes all the difference; and here at the beginning of inquiry, discussion is at its best. It is likened to a doctor treating the body. No doctor puts health into a sick body; rather, by his ministrations he allows the body to cure itself by the life it has in it. Likewise, the teacher only guides the student to see for himself by a light already in him.

Lecture—The Great Debate?? The vast majority of colleges in the U.S. and abroad use the lecture method. Yet what Socrates saw in it over two thousand years ago is still valid. There is a vital aspect of teaching that can never be implemented so well by lectures as by dialogue.

Dialogue and Debate—the Difference? 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.

Dialogue and Debate 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.

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.

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.

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.

Guidelines for Participants in a Socratic Seminar 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.

Guidelines for a Socratic Seminar The group must sit in a circle that allows all of the participates to make eye contact. A diverse group is actually a positive to a seminar. Read 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. I suggest creating an outside circle for students who have not read the material. In the outside circle they are 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.

Guidelines for a Socratic Seminar 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.

Participants are Responsible 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.

Harmonizing Thoughts The student is the primary actor in his own education, but nowhere is it truer than at the beginning. Something that turns awareness back on itself. This is why Socrates searched the souls of his disciples with questions. If any responded saying "I have heard such and such..." he would invariably reply: "But what do you think?" He was not asking for their opinion; he was asking just what they really thought and knew about things. It is not easy to say accurately just what we really think. Often upon hearing a response, Socrates would ask, "But don't you also think such and such about it? How do these two ideas fit together?" And so the discussion would go until the disciple began to harmonize his own thoughts. Until the disciple could bring his own concept out and into the "light of day," he would never know what he really knew. There may be short cuts to "know how" and technical skills, but not to wisdom.