Socratic Seminar “There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.” Socrates

What does Socratic mean?  Socratic comes from the name Socrates.  Socrates (ca B.C.) was a Classical Greek philosopher who developed a Theory of Knowledge.

What was Socrates' Theory of Knowledge?  Socrates was convinced that the surest way to attain reliable knowledge was through the practice of disciplined conversation. He called this method dialectic.

What does dialectic mean?  di-a-lec-tic (noun) means the art or practice of examining opinions or ideas logically, often by the method of question and answer, so as to determine their validity.

How did Socrates use the dialectic?  He would begin with a discussion of the obvious aspects of any problem. Socrates believed that through the process of dialogue, where all parties to the conversation were forced to clarify their ideas, the final outcome of the conversation would be a clear statement of what was meant. The technique appears simple but it is intensely rigorous. Socrates would fein ignorance about a subject and try to draw out from the other person his fullest possible knowledge about it.

What is a Socratic Seminar?  A Socratic Seminar is a method to try to understand information by creating a dialectic in class in regards to a specific text. In a Socratic Seminar, participants seek deeper understanding of complex ideas in the text through rigorously thoughtful dialogue, rather than by memorizing bits of information.

Costa’s Levels Level 1Level 2Level 3 DefineAnalyzeApply Describe Compare/Contrast Evaluate ListGroupSpeculate ObserveInferJudge MemorizeSequencePredict ReciteSynthesizeHypothesize

Socratic Questioning  What do you mean by?  What do you think is the main issue here?  What does this question assume?  What would be an example?  What would change your mind?  Where did you get this idea?  What is an alternative?  What would someone who disagrees say?

Examine questions  In small, subject specific groups, determine a specific topic you may want to have a seminar about and write five questions about that topic.

Text for Socratic Seminar  Chosen for the richness of ideas, issues and values and ability to stimulate extended, thoughtful dialogue.  Good text raises important questions from participants’ minds and can make the participant leave with more questions.

Dialogue vs. Debate

Leading the Socratic Seminar  Begin with an open ended question arising from a genuine curiosity on the part of the leader.  This question has no right answer.  They can best be answered by references to the text.  Lead to other essential questions.

Participating in Socratic Seminar  Participation makes or breaks a seminar.  Text should be read and marked up before seminar day.  Participants must listen carefully.  Remember there is no right answer to questions.  Share ideas and questions without judging.  Thinking out loud is excellent. Ask for clarification if you are confused.  Participate without taking over the conversation.