___________________________________
OVERVIEW
___________________________________
Lesson #1 - FORTIFYING OUR CONVERSATIONS
Learning to speak in formal, academic conversations
___________________________________
Lesson #2 - ELABORATING and CLARIFYING
___________________________________
Lesson #3 - SUPPORTING IDEAS with EXAMPLES
___________________________________
Lesson #4 - BUILDING ON and CHALLENGING an IDEA
___________________________________
Lesson #5 - PARAPHRASING
___________________________________
Lesson #6 - SYNTHESIZING CONVERSATION POINTS
___________________________________
Socrates, a Classical Greek philosopher, was convinced that the surest way to attain reliable knowledge was through the practice of disciplined conversation. He called this method dialectic, meaning the art or practice of examining opinions or ideas logically, often by the method of question and answer, so as to determine their validity.
The Socratic method of teaching is based on Socrates' theory that it is more important to enable students to think for themselves than to merely fill their heads "right" answers. A Socratic Seminar is a method to try to understand information by creating a dialectic class in regards to a specific text. In a Socratic Seminar, participants seek deeper understanding complex ideas in the text through rigorously thoughtful dialogue. This process encourages divergent thinking rather than convergent.
In a Socratic Seminar, students are given opportunities to "examine" a common piece of text, whether it is in the form of a novel, poem, art print, or piece of music. After "reading" the common text, several questions are posed -- primarily open-ended, world connection, universal theme, and literary analysis questions. Such questions allow students to think critically, analyze multiple meanings in text, and express ideas with clarity and confidence. After all, a certain degree of emotional safety is felt by participants when they understand that this format is based on dialogue and not discussion/debate.
Dialogue is a transfer of information designed to win an argument and bring closure. Americans are great at discussion/debate. We do not dialogue well. However, once teachers and students learn to dialogue, they find that the ability to ask meaningful questions that stimulate thoughtful interchanges of ideas is more important than "the answer."
Participants in a Socratic Seminar respond to one another with respect by carefully listening instead of interrupting. Students are encouraged to "paraphrase" essential elements of another's ideas before responding, either in support of or in disagreement. Members of the dialogue look each other in the "eyes" and use each other names. This simple act of socialization reinforces appropriate behaviors and promotes team building.
|
|