1. UP-LEVELING THE SOCRATIC SEMINAR
WHY? to support one another in deep exploration of TEXT through collaborative dialogue
Let us examine this question together, my friend, and if you can contradict anything that I say, do so, and I shall be persuaded Crito, Plato

2. RATIONALE:
“The goal of the Socratic seminar … is not to arrive a ‘correct’ interpretation of a text via the seminar teacher’s skillful questioning. Instead, it is the assumption of this method that knowledge and understanding are constructed by learners themselves, rather than discovered or received. In other words, understanding is emergent, uncertain, and subject to revision; it is connected to what learners already know; and it is a new creation by cooperative action, rather than a product solely of the author’s or teacher’s effort.”
-- Peter Winchell, Socratic Seminars West

3. What’s the difference: DISCUSSION vs. DIALOGUE
Discussion = close examination of a subject with interchange of opinions, sometimes using argument, in an effort to reach an agreement.
Dialogue = an interchange of ideas especially when open and frank and seeking mutual understanding. It is a collective inquiry in which we suspend opinions, share openly, and think creatively about difficult issues.

4. Socratic Seminar Demands Dialogue NOT Debate
Collaborative
Goals is understanding
Listening for deeper meaning
Re-evaluating assumptions
Open-minded
Temporarily suspending beliefs
Search for strengths in all ideas
Respects all participants
People have pieces to answers
Open-ended
Debate
Oppositional
Goal is proving others wrong
Listening for flaws
Defending assumptions
Close-minded
Defending beliefs
Searches for weakness
Belittles or deprecates others
There is one right answer
Demands closure

5. A NEW TYPE OF SOCRATIC SEMINAR CONFIGURATION: TRIADS
GOAL:
Contribute fresh ideas that will move the dialogue forward in a productive way.
format: pilot & 2 co-pilots (king + prince/princess)
Pilot:
Listen to other pilot ideas/questions & actively respond/question accordingly
Seek support from co-pilots
Share ideas from co-pilot consultations
Co-pilot: supports the pilot Converse with pilot (about the question)
Take notes on the conversation transpiring between pilots
Rotate to pilot position (change headgear)

6. STUDENT ROLE: BEFORE THE SEMINAR
read several articles connected to SOCIAL NETWORKING.
WE HAVE:
Identified the big ideas found in the three articles.
Determined the two sides of the articles (positives and negatives of social networking)
Evaluated the authors’ evidence in the three articles
NOW: Create 3 open-ended, high level prompts that demonstrate a thorough understanding of the texts.

7. Student Role: BEFORE the Seminar
Costa’s Levels of Inquiry +
Thinking Tool icon =
a scholarly prompt!
Students will write 3 prompts for discussion on the left-hand side of their Cornell Notes.
Example prompts:
Analyze the change over time presented in Elizabeth Stone’s “Grief in the Age of Facebook.” Why is Social Networking not always appropriate to use?
Compare the authors’ perspectives regarding the value of social networking in Ham’s “We Shall Overshare” and Schawbel’s “How Recruiters use Social Networking.”

8. Take notes (on the right side of your Cornell Notes)
DURING THE SEMINAR
Take notes (on the right side of your Cornell Notes)
can relate to the prompts they created
reflect the critical points made by peers
continue to generate prompts and/or copy down prompts of their fellow scholars to address.

9. DURING THE SEMINAR TRIADS: Co-pilots support the pilot (headgear):
Converse with pilot (about the question)
Take notes on the conversation transpiring between pilots
Rotate to the pilot position (change headgear)