Title: Socratic
1Socratic Seminars
2The Vision
- Socrates believed that enabling students to think
for themselves was more important than filling
their heads with
right answers.
3The Vision
- Participants seek deeper understanding of complex
ideas through rigorously thoughtful dialogue
discussion, rather than by memorizing bits of
information.
4Discussion Dialogue
- Discussion in the dictionary is "a close
examination of a subject with interchange of
opinions, sometimes using argument, in an effort
to reach an agreement.
5Discussion Dialogue
- Dialogue is "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.
Effective groups need to use both dialogue and
discussion
6Dialogue is NOT Debate!
7Debate vs. dialogue
- Debate...
- defends thinking to show that it is right
- calls for investing in ones beliefs
- searches for weaknesses
- rebuts contrary positions and may devalue others
- assumes a single right answer
- demands a conclusion
- Dialogue...
- expects others reflections will improve their
own thinking - is temporarily suspending ones beliefs
- searches for strengths
- respects others and seeks not to alienate
- assumes that cooperation can lead to greater
understanding - remains open-ended
8The TEXT
- Our text for today is Myths Truths about Rigor
by Robyn Jackson - Number the paragraphs (do not number the intros
at the tops of each page) - We often is 1
- Rigorous thinking is involved in is 13
- There is no absolute value for rigor. is 25
- Read the article, including the intros on each
page - Circle important vocabulary
- Underline main ideas
- Use ! by A-Ha statements and a ? by statements
you would like to learn more about
9What are Socratic Seminars?
- Usually range from 30-50 minutes
- An effective
Socratic Seminar
creates dialogue
as opposed to
debate.
10Dialogue is NOT Debate!
11Four Elements
- An effective seminar consists of four
interdependent elements - 1. the text being considered
- 2. the questions raised
- 3. the seminar leader, and
- 4. the participants
12The Participants
- Share responsibility for the quality of the
seminar.
- Most effective when participants
- study the text closely
in advance - listen actively
13The Participants
- Most effective when participants
- share their ideas and
questions in response
to others - search for evidence
in the text to support
their ideas
14The TEXT
- Our text for today is Myths Truths about Rigor
by Robyn Jackson. - Please revisit and review the notes you made
while reading this article yesterday.
15Tips
- Respond to the opening question
- Examine the text to support your answer
- I agree with but would like to add
- I disagree withbecause
- I am confused by
16Wingman Formation
Inner Circle are speakers, referring to the text
in their dialogue. This seat is rotated so that
everyone gets a chance to speak.
Thoughtful dialogue
Outer Circle are wingmen, supporting their
speaker with ideas passed up on stickies or index
cards. OC does not speak.
17The Question
- An opening question has no right answer
- For this initial seminar, we will begin with the
leaders question.
Question Does rigor align with the goals of LEAD
2021? Why or why not? (Think about
differentiation, learning platform, best
practices, etc.)
18Debrief
- Debrief the topic
- If you have changed your mind about a particular
point or issue, what made you change it???? - Debrief the PROCESS
- What seminar guidelines were observed?
- What social skills did the group exhibit?
- What might the group goal be for the NEXT
seminar? - Socratic Seminar at HMS
19MATH EXAMPLE
20MATH EXAMPLE
21Extensions modifications
- Depending on the needs of your classes, you may
want to consider - Allowing students to generate and pose their own
questions - Structuring time for triads to discuss other
questions posed during the seminar - Running multiple, student-led seminars at a time
- Printing sentence stems for ELLs
- Strategically grouping students in triads and/or
determining the first inner circle - My two cents
22Content Socratic Seminar
- Discuss with your PLC how this could be used in
your classrooms