Socratic

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Socratic Seminars
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The Vision

• Socrates believed that enabling students to think
  for themselves was more important than filling
  their heads with
  right answers.

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What are Socratic Seminars?

• Highly motivating form of intellectual and
  scholarly discourse.
• An effective
  Socratic Seminar
  creates dialogue
  as opposed to
  debate

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Debate Dialogue

• Is collaborative
• One listens to find common ground
• Enlarges points of view
• Reveals assumptions for re-evaluation
• Creates an open-minded attitude

• Is oppositional
• One listens to counter arguments.
• Affirms participant's points of view.
• Defends assumptions as truth
• Creates a close-minded attitude

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Debate Dialogue

• Expects others reflections will improve their
  own thinking
• Temporarily suspending one's beliefs
• Searches for strengths
• Respects others and seeks not to alienate
• Assumes that cooperation can lead to greater
  understanding
• Remains open-ended

• Defends thinking to show that it is right.
• Calls for investing in one's beliefs.
• One searches for weaknesses
• Rebuts contrary positions and may belittle others
• Debate assumes a single right answer
• Demands a conclusion

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The Participants

• Share responsibility for the quality of the
  seminar.

• Most effective when
  participants
• study the text closely
  in advance
• listen actively

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The Participants

• Most effective when participants

• share their ideas and
  questions in response
  to others
• search for evidence
  in the text to support
  their ideas

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Things to Do!

• Make direct textual references
• Summarize others views AND expand on those views
• Ask thoughtful questions AND ask clarifying
  questions
• Be respectful AND exhibit leadership!

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Lets Not

• Interrupt or dominate the discussion
• Repeat another persons point with no additional
  commentary
• Seek to entertain or appear prepared rather than
  participating authentically
• Zone out or get
• distracted or off topic

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I Blame Facebook, Texting, Twitter, etc.!

• Lets avoid one-way conversations!
• The goal behind speaking is to not only express
  your thoughts, but to encourage others to open up
  and share!

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Conducting a Fishbowl
Divide the class into
Inner and
Outer
circles
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Conducting a Fishbowl

• Inner circle active participants
• Outer circle students observe an active
  participants for
• New ideas Positive comments
• Question asked Negative Behavior
• Referred to text Side conversations

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Preparation for Socratic Seminar

• 50 / 50 / 50 Write-up! due next Wednesday!
• 1st 50 words minimum on Barneys Case Stirs Talk
  of Shopping While Black article - include both
  summary and commentary
• 2nd 50 words minimum on Stop and Frisk Is Not
  Racial Profiling article include both summary
  and commentary
• Summary should highlight rhetorical appeals
  (logos, pathos, ethos) used in the articles!
• 3rd 50 words minimum How do these articles
  relate to Crash and A Class Divided share both
  factual info, as well as personal insights

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Preparation for Socratic Seminar

• Finally AND Most Importantly
• Create 2-3 interpretive discussion questions.
  These questions should be thought-provoking and
  challenging yet, enjoyable to answer!!!
• Make sure your questions...
• (1) promote discussion. We want questions that
  do not have a clear answer.
• (2) directly rooted in the two articles
  (Barneys and Stop and Frisk), and in the
  films (A Class Divided and Crash).
• (3) lead to bigger ideas outside of the articles
  and films. Example How does racial bias,
  stereotyping, bigotry, acts of discrimination,
  etc. impact you? How do you react/respond to it?

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Inspiration for your Questions!

• Stop and Frisk Is Not Racial Profiling

• Barneys Case Stirs Talk of Shopping While Black

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Guidelines for Questioning

• Ask hypothetical questions
• Ask questions with no right or wrong answers
• Continue to ask Why?
• Probe the responses of the participants with
  further questioning
• Allow yourself to both guide the
  discussion but to go with
  it as well

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Guidelines for Questioning

• Learning occurs based on the kinds of questions
  asked

• Develop opening, core, and closing questions
  before the seminar
• Non-judgmental and derived from the text
• Questions that raise questions
• Avoid using YES/NO questions