Socratic Seminar

1. Socratic Seminar Creating successful shared inquiry discussions Click on the link to view a sample Socratic Seminar. Shared Inquiry Discussion

2. What do you notice? What is the teacher doing? What are the students doing?

3. What is a Socratic seminar? • Socratic seminars are named for their embodiment of Socrates’ belief in the power of asking questions, prize inquiry over information and discussion over debate. Socratic seminars acknowledge the highly social nature of learning.

4. A Socratic Seminar • is a discussion and not a debate. In other words, we are not looking for a winner. In a Socratic seminar, every person in the room not speaking is expected to listen respectfully. The goal is to engage everyone in the discussion.

5. Student Role •  You engage in discussion, actively participating (if you are silent you will fail). •  You read aloud excerpts of the text to support or make a point, drawing our attention to the words the author chose to use (diction). •  Listen to each other carefully. •  Look the speaker in the eye. •  Do not interrupt. •  Refer to one another by name: “What John said about….” •  Paraphrase what the speaker before you has said to respond responsibly. Support or refute the prior speaker’s ideas. •  Stick to the text. Your point or opinion only matters if you can support your ideas. •  If you are confused about another’s point, question her/him. •  Discuss ideas; do not attack people. It is the dialectic, the debate that makes us all more informed. Changing your mind or adding to your understanding means that your mind was open. We all win, if we learn from our discussion.

6. Discussion Leader • Opens with an leading question. • Directs the participates to the text. • Encourages open ended questions. • Introduces a new leading question. • Observes and takes notes.

7. Inner Circle • Inner circle participants may: • ask for clarification if a person’s comment confuses you. • add to a comment made by another person. • voice an opposing viewpoint. • No one may: • criticize anyone’s opinions, comments, or beliefs. • interrupt when someone is speaking. • respond in a manner that is in any way contemptuous or derogatory.

8. Outer Circle •  You are silent but “talking back” by taking posting your ideas onto lino. •  When do you think the inner circle “sparked”? How did that happen? •  To what idea were you dying to respond? What would you have said? •  What was the single most important idea that was discussed? Why? •  What was the single most important idea that didn’t get discussed? Why? •  What could have made the discussion even more constructive?

9. Guidelines for Final Socratic Seminar onThe Giver • For our final discussion on this book, you will need to spend some time prepare critical ideas to share in our Socratic Seminar. • There will be two circles. Inner circle will be the discussion group. Each discussion group will last for 20 minutes. The outer circle will be the observation group. You will participate by creating sticky notes and posting to the linot board. Your notes will be comments and ideas that you observe from the discussion. Everyone will participate in both the inner and outer circle. You will receive a grade for each. • Paper or IPAD notes are acceptable. You will be turning in notes on paper or via Schoology. • Bullet points are fine, but make sure that they are adequate enough to guide and demonstrate your thinking. • It will not be enough to simply talk; your ideas must add depth to the discussion! • Make sure that you come up with several ideas. • Textual evidence is crucial. Use sticky notes to mark passages in your book. You will want to read from the text. Passage should be short (no more than 20 seconds to read). • Team work is vital: Everyone in your circle is expected to participate. The more participants the better the group scores. • Remember: Thoughtful preparation now means effective participation (aka: success!) later.

10. Socratic Seminar Rubric • 5 Exceeds the Standard (Rock Star!) • frequently contributes meaningfully to the discussion (BUT DOES NOT DOMINATE) • uses specific references to the text (READS A SPECIFIC PASSAGE/QUOTE) • builds on another's point explains ideas thoroughly • explains ideas clearly • initiates new ideas • pays attention when others speak • makes direct references to points made by other students • includes others through verbal exchange or invitation into conversation • 4 Meets the Standard (Admirable!) • occasionally contributes to the discussion • refers to the text in general ways • occasionally refers to another's point • attempts to explain a new idea • pays attention when others speak

11. SOCRATIC SEMINAR RUBRIC • 3 Approaching the Standard (Almost there!) • rarely contributes to the discussion • shows little evidence of knowledge regarding the text • presents unexplained ideas • makes tangential remarks • becomes involved sporadically • rarely pays attention when others speak • 2/1 Does not Meet the Standard (Didn’t Cut It) • makes little or does not contribute to the discussion at all • does not show evidence of knowledge regarding the text • speaks of topic • shows uninvolved attitude • interrupts when others speak • dominates • makes personal criticisms of the ideas of others • shows disrespect • attempts to obstruct the discussion