Socratic Seminars

I was recently introduced to a teaching strategy called Socratic seminars. In these seminars there is a big question that is to be answered after a main material/resource has been given. These material/resources can vary greatly. They can include things such as a picture, a reading, a video, music, and so on and so forth. These seminars are designed to truly get students thinking critically. They will also learn appropriate ways for them to express their thoughts as well as to listen and accept other students’ answers even if they don’t agree with what is said. The Socratic seminars also teach students the patterns of communication, such as when it is their turn to talk. There is no hand raising in these seminars so the students have to learn to analyze social cues to figure out when it is an appropriate time to share their thoughts.

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I was able to take part in a Socratic seminar myself and I actually really enjoyed it. The leader of the seminar previously gave our group a reading that is what was discussed in the seminar. He asked the first initial question, but after that he let our group keep the conversation going on our own. We all discussed our thoughts and feelings that we had after reading the poem. We were able to connect this poem to our everyday lives as well as our lives as future teachers, and we made those connections without any specific guiding or direction from the leader of the seminar. If the conversation lulled he would ask another question that would get us talking again. The last part of a Socratic seminar is a very important part; reflections! After the discussion is over the students will be asked to reflect on either how they think the seminar went, any questions that they may have, or a specific question that the teacher wanted them to really grasp during the conversation.

This all sounded very nice to me, but I wondered how well this method could help those students who did not feel comfortable talking in front of the class. I didn’t understand how it would be beneficial if they didn’t participate. How would the teacher know they were seriously paying attention?  However, that question was answered for me. The leader of the seminar explained that in his class he has a few students who don’t like to speak in front of the other students, so he has them play the part of the ‘note-takers’ during the seminar. They will sit outside of the circle of students who will be talking and they write down what is happening; what is being said as well as what is being done. This gets these students involved and paying attention. He even said that these students are sometimes the ones that get the most out of the seminars. So, he found a way to really get everyone involved and having effective communication.

This is definitely something that I would love to try in a classroom!

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