Socratic Seminars

There are many ways to gauge whether students have grasped a concept or idea, or to see exactly what they know. One of the most effective techniques is the Socratic Seminar or scored discussion.

A truly Socratic Seminar follows the teaching style of the Greek philosopher Socrates. As Plato reported in his dialogues, his teacher, Socrates, believed in the power of questioning. Every question would be followed by another question until there are no questions left to ask. At this point the participants have discovered the truth.

Using the Socratic Method in the class room takes some practice, and the topic needs to be well selected for the seminar to work well. At first students will have a difficult time just asking questions without comments or opinions. The Socratic Method slows the discussion down because the students have to think about how to phrase the question they are using to answer someone else's question. Early in the seminar there are lots of giggles and silly questions. After a few minutes everyone usually settles down and good questions start flying.

The topic is vital to the success of a Socratic Seminar. The seminar topic has to be interesting to the majority of the students and complex enough that there are lots of questions that can be asked. A movie such as The Matrix has enough elements to it that there is no problem coming up with questions. Short stories, editorials and even cartoons can be used as the basis of a seminar. The topic should be controversial or complex or have some kind of current relevance. What the topic will be, of course, depends on the subject of the class. Social studies and English classes are easily adapted to the seminar method, but science, math and foreign languages can use the Socratic Seminar as well.

The benefit of the seminar is making students think critically about what others have said, and what they want to know. It is very difficult for students to make things up with this technique because they have to base their question on the previous question. The Socratic Seminar forces students to reflect on questions asked, not just sit passively and wait for answers.

As far as grading the seminar, there are different ways this can be done. Since Socratic Seminars are more about the process than the answers a simple pass/fail participation grade can be used. Students could also be asked to analyze the seminar and the analysis is then graded. Giving traditional point grades for Socratic Seminars can undermine the effectiveness of the technique because students will be more interested in how many points they are receiving instead of thinking and learning from one another.

If you are looking for a fun and unique way to challenge your students try the Socratic Seminar early and often.