Unit Three: Socratic Discussions in Practice

Target Objectives

1. Users of this course will understand the basic components and principles of a Socratic Discussion after seeing examples of this tool in use and participating in one.

2. Users of this course will evaluate the effectiveness of a Socratic Discussion and be able to demonstrate its use to engage students in class discussion, with long-term impacts on reading, writing, and speaking skills.

Unit Objectives

· Observe and understand using this tool in the classroom by watching a series of applicable videos

· Participate in a Socratic Discussion

· Reflect upon strengths and weaknesses of using this tool in the ELA classroom

Lesson One: Forming a Group

The best way to learn anything is by participation and practice. In order to facilitate an effective Socratic Discussion in the most successful way, you should participate in one first. Participation can be done as a group of colleagues, group of peers, or even participating in a trial Socratic Discussion during your class (or in a colleague’s class). Try coming up with a group of an even number of people. Sometimes having an ideal setting can be difficult and it may not be possible for you to participate. For those who cannot find a group (keeping in mind you would only need 3 people minimum), read through the following list of instructions and participate individually as much as you can without the assistance of others. It may be difficult to achieve a full understanding of this tool without active participation and discussion with a group, but going through the entire process and seeing it laid out in a step-by-step format will be beneficial before proceeding with creating your own lesson using this tool.

Action

1. =Find a group to practice using this tool

Lesson Two: Learn from Others

Before jumping in and practicing on your own, watch these videos that show Socratic Discussions in ELA classrooms.

Note: It is not necessary to watch all of the videos, as several of them are very similar, and just examples of different Socratic Discussions. You should watch the first video as well as at least two of the examples to see differences in how this tool can be used and facilitated.

This is an excellent video of a lecture describing the entire process of a Socratic Discussion. Teachers and students are interviewed and answer a series of questions about the benefits of this tool and their experiences in the classroom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vviG8rPH9Y

This video gives a simple list of rules for a Socratic Discussion and then demonstrates those in a discussion about The Catcher in the Rye http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxZMGK6IdEs

This video is purely demonstrational and shows a Socratic Discussion in action. This is from an AP Literature class and it is a discussion about Wuthering Heights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxd__jjZI8o

This video shows an 8th grade ELA classroom using a Socratic Discussion with Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech. This shows the versatility of this tool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pGVR6ZF_2M

This video shows more of the versatility and use of the Socratic Discussion in other content courses. This particular video shows this format used in a Science classroom with the teacher leading a discussion about stem cells.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFtoRvPFXc4

Questions for Discussion and Reflection

1. After seeing this type of lesson in use in a classroom, have you preconceptions or opinions of its use changed? Why or why not?

2. Reflect upon either the MLK Jr or the science video. If you aren’t an ELA teacher, how could you use this tool in your lessons? If you are an ELA teacher, how could you use this tool in a unique way instead of just for a major novel?

Lesson Three: The Lesson

1. Read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow [1]

a. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41/41-h/41-h.htm

i. Note: This text is public domain. If the layout and format of the Project Gutenberg website is not ideal or user-friendly with your particular web browser, then it should be easily found by utilizing a quick Google search.

2. Each person should be given a partner. If there is an odd number of people, that is okay, although not ideal as they will have to do a little extra work. After everyone is partnered up, one person in the pair will be Participant 1 and one will be Participant 2.

3. After determining which partner will be the first participant and which will be the second, answer the following questions based upon which discussion group you will be in:

a. (Participant 1) Contrast Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones. How are they different in their physical appearance? How are there actions different? What would’ve made Katrina attracted to each of them?

b. (Participant 2) Compare the school where Ichabod Crane taught to the school you teach in. How is your school similar to and different from Ichabod’s school?

4. The group of Participant 1s who answered Question A will begin the discussion. Participant 2s will be observers for the first part of the discussion.

5. Separate seating with participants sitting together in a circle facing one another with observers sitting around the outside of the circle behind them observing.

6. Choose a facilitator – their primary responsibility is to make sure no one person dominates the conversation, that everyone participates, and to ask the different parts of the question (ex. Talk about Bones and Crane physical appearance and then facilitate discussion to move on to how actions are different and then onto Katrina’s attraction).

7. Participant Responsibility – talk about the ideas you wrote down in response to the question. Continue writing down notes about ideas and topics that other participants bring up. Try to respond directly to at least one comment made that was not brought up by your initial comments.

8. Observer Responsibility – Focus only on your partner’s participation and responses to the discussion.

a. Rate your partner from 1-5 (1 being never and 5 being always) on the following: Does your partner speak loudly and clearly? Do they have effective arguments and valid points? Do they increase the flow of the discussion by their comments?

b. Write an evaluation of how effective they were communicating and how they could improve their communication in this setting in the future.

9. When the discussion is completed, have the participants reflect upon their experiences and read their partners notes.

10. Repeat this process switching roles and continuing on with the next question

11. After completing, discuss as a group the benefits and disadvantages of leading a discussion this way. Reflect upon your observer responses and how/if their feedback was different from what you had expected of yourself.

Observer Evaluations can be done in a loose, unstructured format with minimal guidelines, like in this example, or can be done as a formal rubric. As the main facilitator of the discussion in your classroom, you can design the evaluation part of the Socratic Discussion to meet whatever standards you are focusing on for the particular unit or text you use this tool for. You can have a more informal observer role or have very specific guidelines to evaluate specific objectives. The great part about using this tool is that you don’t have to monitor each student on your own, the observers will record that information for you.

Questions for Discussion and Reflection

1. How did participating in a Socratic Discussion change your view of using this tool?

2. Would you be willing to try this in your own classroom?

References

[1] Irving, Washington. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. N.p.: Project Gutenberg, 2012. N. pag. Project Gutenberg. Ilana M. (Kingsley) Newby and Greg Newby, 26 Nov. 2012. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. <http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41/41-h/41-h.htm>.