“Socratic Circles” – AIS English Conference 2011 (Dougal Parsons)
Please note:
My presentation was a ‘prezi’ and cannot be sent or viewed (unless I’m signed
in), but for those participants wondering what I had used to create the
presentation the website www.prezi.com may be of use to you.
The major resource for my workshop notes and ideas was the book Socratic
Circles by Matt Copeland. Most parts of it are viewable at ‘Google Books’
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=rPGPlQ8RgC0C&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&dq=socratic+circles&so
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“Socratic Circles” – AIS English Conference 2011 (Dougal Parsons)
From Copeland’s text: “Socratic circles turn partial classroom control, classroom direction, and
classroom governance over to students by creating a truly equitable learning community where the
weight and value of student voices and teacher voices are indistinguishable from each other. …
Socratic circles change the ways individuals read, think, discuss, write and act: they have the power
to change a student’s perspective on living, learning, and behaving. Critical reading, critical thinking,
discussion skills, listening skills, team-building skills, vocabulary improvement, and student
ownership, voice, and empowerment are all valid reasons for including Socratic circles in the
classroom.”
In terms of pedagogical philosophy this equals: collaborative; student-centred; constructivist.
This opposes the view of didactic, teacher-centred, singular processes of learning.
And Copeland states that “The result was a group of students with a deep understanding of a
selection of text, improved skills in comprehension, vocabulary, listening, speaking, and critical
thinking.”
It moves away from an obsession with answers and places focus on the generative power of
questioning: “Questions define tasks, express problems, and delineate issues. Answers on the other
hand often signal a full-stop in thought. Only when an answer generates a further question does
thought continue its life as such.” … “all ideas can be further developed and better explained, and
that questioning helps us explore these realities” … “Socratic questioning is a systematic process for
examining the ideas, questions, and answers that form the basis of human belief. In involves
recognising that all new understanding is linked to prior understanding.”
How powerful it is then, when these ‘questions’ and subsequent answers and further questions, are
generated exclusively by the students.
How powerful, also, it would be if students could also monitor the effectiveness of each other’s
discussions and hence provide valuable feedback concerning the process of gaining greater depth of
knowledge.
The physical set-up:
Outer
Inner
Teacher
“Socratic Circles” – AIS English Conference 2011 (Dougal Parsons)
How it works:
1. Before the scheduled Socratic Circle activity a short passage of text is distributed to
students.
2. Students spend individual time reading, analysing and creating their own notes on the text.
3. During the scheduled class, students are randomly divided into equal groups of concentric
circles: an inner circle and an outer circle.
4. The inner circle engages in discussion for a set time (usually 10 minutes). During this time
the outer circle is to silently observe the discussion and take notes.
5. After this, the outer circle responds to the inner circle’s discussion by affirming points raised
and providing feedback on the quality of the discussion and what could have potentially
improved it. The inner circle are silent during this time (usually 5-8 minutes)
6. Students in the inner and outer circles now exchange roles and positions.
7. The inner circle now holds a discussion to be followed by the outer circle’s discussion /
feedback.
Students in the outer circle respond to the inner circle’s discussion. The content of the ‘outer
discussion’ is responsive to the preceding ‘inner discussion’. Examples include praise for insights (“I
thought Sonia’s point about the symbol of darkness in the poem was excellent…”), evaluation of the
group discussion dynamic (“It might have helped if students had not talked over the top of each
other…”), response to discussion content (“I think the point on ‘poetic form’ that Jacinta raised
needed to be discussed further…”). The only rule of ‘outer discussion’ is that comments must be
constructive.
Common text – It’s important that the discussion is based on text that is familiar to all students.
Antecedent learning involves students reading / viewing (and potentially responding to) a text.
Preparation for discussion is integral to effective learning during the ‘circle’ discussions. An obvious
strength of this is that the requirement for all students to contribute in discussion acts as a gentle
extrinsic motivator for learning.
Discussion Time for Inner circle: Up to the teacher; 10 minutes is advised.
Discussion Time for Outer circle: Up to the teacher; 4-5 minutes is advised.
The discussion can serve as a learning tool in a variety of ways. Examples include: an introductory
discussion / brainstorming; a formative exercise that leads into writing; a summative exercise in
which students discuss what they have written. I think it’s important to have students writing either
before or after the Socratic discussions, or both.
Questions?
Feedback?
Discussion?