Engaging Minds: Enhancing Critical Thinking with Socratic Seminars

1. Socratic Seminars

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

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

4. Debate Dialogue • Is oppositional • One listens to counter arguments. • Affirms participant's points of view. • Defends assumptions as truth • Creates a close-minded attitude • Is collaborative • One listens to find common ground • Enlarges points of view • Reveals assumptions for re-evaluation • Creates an open-minded attitude

5. Debate Dialogue • 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 • Expects other’s 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

6. The Participants • Share responsibility for the quality of the seminar. • Most effective when participants: • study the text closely in advance • listen actively

7. The Participants • Most effective when participants: • sharetheir ideas and questions in response to others • search for evidence in the text to support their ideas

8. 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!

9. Let’s Not: • Interrupt or dominate the discussion • Repeat another person’s point with no additional commentary • Seek to entertain or appear prepared rather than participating authentically • “Zone out” or get distracted or off topic

10. I Blame Facebook, Texting, Twitter, etc.! • Let’s avoid one-way conversations! • The goal behind speaking is to not only express your thoughts, but to encourage others to open up and share!

11. Conducting a “Fishbowl” Divide the class into “Inner” and “Outer” circles

12. 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

13. Preparation for Socratic Seminar 50 / 50 / 50 Write-up! *due next Wednesday! • 1st: 50 words minimum – Summarize the major ideas in the article • 2nd: 50 words minimum – Share your personal opinions about the article • 3rd: 50 words minimum – How does this article relate to: “Romeo & Juliet, ” the Perfect Mate, and the Love Survey • Finally: Create 2 to 3 interpretive discussion questions. These questions should be thought-provoking and challenging – yet, enjoyable to answer!!!

14. 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

15. Guidelines for Questioning Learning occurs based on thekinds 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