CREATING SOCRATIC DISCUSSIONS

Coverage Vs Engaged Thought

Textbooks tend to be written in declarative statements

“the civil war stated on April 12th, 1861”

Educators should change learning from declarative to interrogative.

“What day did the civil war start”

Thinking is Driven by Questions

Every field of study comes from a cluster questions.

Two reasons: 1. Answers are Needed2. Answers are Highly Desired

Field only thrives from the creation of fresh new questions that are taken seriously.

Thinking is Driven by Questions

Questions Define: 1. Tasks 2. Express Problems 3. Delineate Issues

Answers tend to stop thought. An Educators job is to improve

students ability to “Ask the right Questions”.

The Problem of Most Classrooms

Classrooms should avoid feeding students tons of facts & statements to memorize.

Students should come to class prepared.

Thinking is of no use unless it goes somewhere.

Questions always determine where thought goes.

Types of Deeper Questions

Purpose Information Interpretation Assumption Implication

Point of View Relevance Accuracy Precision Logic

Bad Questions Stagnate Thought

Most High School Students tend to ask Dead Questions.

Forces the teacher to become the generator of all questions in a classroom.

Teachers must move students from Superficial Questions. Low level questions = Low level

understanding Silent student = Silent Mind

Bad Questions Stagnate Thought

Your Generated Questions must Stimulate Thought, be comfortable with silence.

Implement a 10 second rule, builds productive tension. Use a cold call if no one responds.

Always be open to learning something new, and don’t be afraid of saying “I’m not sure”.

Teacher must stay away from long speeches or lectures.

Socratic Dialogue as Art Form

Classroom becomes instantly dynamic.

Students become Active Participants which makes them Active Learners.

Critical thought comes from the application of Socratic Dialogue.

Socratic Dialogue as an Art Form

It establishes higher thinking- Which Forms Reasoning- Which reconstitutes our level of

thinking and creates Strong Inner Voice.

Teachers Engaged in a Socratic Dialog Should:

Respond to all answers with a further question (that calls upon the respondent to develop his/her thinking in a fuller and deeper way)

Seek to understand–where possible–the ultimate foundations for what is said or believed and follow the implications of those foundations through further questions

Treat all assertions as a connecting point to further thoughts

Teachers Engaged in a Socratic Dialog Should:

Treat all thoughts as in need of development

Recognize that any thought can only exist fully in a network of connected thoughts. Stimulate students — through your questions — to pursue those connections

Recognize that all questions presuppose prior questions and all thinking presupposes prior thinking. When raising questions, be open to the questions they presuppose.

Content Driven Questions

First thing that you must do is Pre Think the main Question you want discussed.

Do this by using Prior Questions to establish dialogue.

You can use Bloom’s or Rhodes' Typology to create questions.

A Sample List of Prior Questions

What is history?

What do historians write about?

What is the past?

Is it possible to include all of the past in a history book?

Prior Questions

How many of the events during a given time period are left out in a history of that time period?

Is more left out than is included?

How does a historian know what to emphasize or focus on?

Do historians make value judgments in deciding what to include and what to leave out?

Prior Questions

Is it possible to simply list facts in a history book or does all history writing involve interpretations as well as facts?

Is it possible to decide what to include and exclude and how to interpret facts without adopting a historical point of view?

How can we begin to judge a historical interpretation?

How can we begin to judge a historical point of view?

Preparing Students

Students should come to class prepared.

Must read text, take notes attempt to analyze.

Must be ready to ask questions.

Clarification Questions

Have theses types of Questions posted on your white board, everyday.

How do you know…? Where did you get…? Why did you do…? What does…tell you? What does…mean? Where on your (graph, motion map, diagram)

…?

Extension Questions

What if we changed…? How is this problem different

from…? How is this problem similar to…? Is there another way to do this? What is key to solving this problem? How does…compare to…?

Create Comfortable Environment

Allow students to present without interruption

Promote peer questioning Show respect for student conclusions Get students to agree Let students feel that a new idea is theirs Make students feel that they have

contributed.

Create Comfortable Environment

Discourage students from deferring to authority.

Find a classroom setting that encourages interaction. Small groups or place students in a circle.

Don’t be scared of size, this can be used in any size classroom.