"collaborative, intellectual dialogue facilitated with open-ended questions about a text."
Click on the picture to learn more about socratic seminars based on research from The National Paideia Center.
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THE STRATEGY
Socratic seminars are named for their embodiment of Socrates’ belief in the power of asking questions, prize inquiry over information and discussion over debate. Socratic seminars acknowledge the highly social nature of learning and align with the work of John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky, Jean Piaget, and Paulo Friere. The Socratic seminar is a formal discussion, based on a text, in which the leader asks open-ended questions. Within the context of the discussion, students listen closely to the comments of others, thinking critically for themselves, and articulate their own thoughts and their responses to the thoughts of others. They learn to work cooperatively and to question intelligently and civilly (Elfie, 89).
THE RESEARCH Israel, Elfie. “Examining Multiple Perspectives in Literature.” In Inquiry and the Literary Text: Constructing Discussions n the English Classroom. James Holden and John S. Schmit, eds. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 2002. The National Paideia Center Case, Ann Dinsmoor. "Dialogue and Discussion: Effective Groups Practice Both." 13 July. 2000 <http://www.lacoe.edu/pdc/professional/ socratic.html#elements>. |