UP-LEVELING THE
SOCRATIC SEMINAR
Let us examine this question together,
my friend, and if you can contradict
anything that I say, do so, and I shall be
persuaded.
- Crito, Plato
WHY SOCRATIC SEMINAR?
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to support one another in deep exploration of
TEXT through collaborative dialogue
encourages you to develop the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Exploration
Curiosity
Inquiry
Dialogue
Problem-solving
Cognitive flexibility
RATIONALE
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“The goal of the Socratic seminar … is not to
arrive a ‘correct’ interpretation of a text via the
seminar teacher’s skillful questioning. Instead, it
is the assumption of this method that
knowledge and understanding are
constructed by learners themselves, rather
than discovered or received. In other words,
understanding is emergent, uncertain, and
subject to revision; it is connected to what
learners already know; and it is a new creation
by cooperative action, rather than a product
solely of the author’s or teacher’s effort.”
-- Peter Winchell, Socratic Seminars West
DISCUSSION AND DIALOGUE
 Discussion
in the dictionary is a close
examination of a subject with interchange
of opinions, sometimes using argument, in
an effort to reach an agreement.
 Dialogue,
on the other hand, is an
interchange of ideas especially when open
and frank and seeking mutual
understanding. It is a collective inquiry
in which we suspend opinions, share
openly, and think creatively about
difficult issues.
SOCRATIC SEMINAR DEMANDS DIALOGUE NOT DEBATE
Dialogue
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Collaborative
Goals is understanding
Listening for deeper
meaning
Re-evaluating assumptions
Open-minded
Temporarily suspending
beliefs
Search for strengths in all
ideas
Respects all participants
People have pieces to
answers
Open-ended
Debate
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Oppositional
Goal is proving others wrong
Listening for flaws
Defending assumptions
Close-minded
Defending beliefs
Searches for weakness
Belittles or deprecates others
There is one right answer
Demands closure
A NEW TYPE OF SOCRATIC SEMINAR
CONFIGURATION:
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Triad (with Pilots & Co-Pilots)
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Student Facilitator and Co-pilots monitor student interactions (with
text, peers, and facilitator)
STUDENT ROLE:
BEFORE THE SEMINAR
1.
Read and evaluate the texts using the following:
Pre-read the text, with the purpose in mind. You have read
several articles connected to SOCIAL NETWORKING.
 So far, you have:
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2.
Identified the big ideas found in the three articles.
Determined the two sides of the articles (positives and negatives of
social networking)
Evaluated the authors’ evidence in the three articles
Create open-ended, high level prompts (using Costa’s
and Thinking Tool icons) that demonstrate a thorough
understanding of the text.
STUDENT ROLE:
BEFORE THE SEMINAR
Costa’s Levels of Inquiry +
Thinking Tool icon =
a scholarly prompt!
Students will write 4 prompts for discussion on the
left-hand side of their Cornell Notes.
 Sample Prompts:
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Analyze the change over time presented in Elizabeth
Stone’s “Grief in the Age of Facebook.” Why is Social
Networking not always appropriate to use?
 Compare the authors’ perspectives regarding the value of
social networking in Ham’s “We Shall Overshare” and
Schawbel’s “How Recruiters use Social Networking.”
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FACILITATOR: DURING THE SEMINAR
Opens the seminar with the Essential Question(s).
 Facilitates the discussion, keeping scholars focused
on the text.
 Encourages scholars to cite text to support their
conclusions.
 Asks follow-up, “digging deeper” questions.
 Involves reluctant participants to ensure class-wide
involvement in the discussion.
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Paraphrasing
 Summarizing
 Posing a new question
 Sharing an additional prompt
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STUDENT ROLE:
DURING THE SEMINAR
 Expected
Note-taking (on the right
side of their Cornell Notes)
can relate to the prompts they created
 reflect the critical points made by peers
 continue to generate prompts and/or copy down
prompts of their fellow scholars to address.
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STUDENT ROLE:
DURING THE SEMINAR
Using TRIADS to Increase Writing & Speaking to Learn…
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Pilots will be responsible for contributing to the
analysis of text(s) in the following ways:
Prepare a minimum of three prompts for the seminar
 Share one discussion prompt (as written on Cornell notes)
during an initial seminar Whip-Around
 Listen to other pilot ideas and questions and actively respond
and question accordingly
 Seek support from Co-pilots
 Share ideas from Co-pilot consultations
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STUDENT ROLE:
DURING THE SEMINAR
Using TRIADS to Increase Writing & Speaking to Learn…
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Co-pilots support the pilot:
 Take notes on the conversation transpiring between
pilots
 Make annotations/highlights on text(s) to support ideas
 Converse with pilot regarding the question at hand
 Rotate to the pilot position
 Enter the “Hot Seat” to contribute fresh ideas that will
move the dialogue forward in a productive way