Socratic Seminar-ssignment Sheet What is a Socratic Seminar? ackground 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 with "right" answers. Therefore, he regularly engaged his pupils in dialogues by responding to their questions with questions, instead of answers. This process encourages divergent thinking rather than convergent. uring 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. fter "reading" the common text "like a love letter", open-ended questions are posed. Open-ended questions allow students to think critically, analyze multiple meanings in text, and express ideas with clarity and confidence. fter 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. ialogue is exploratory and involves the suspension of biases and prejudices. iscussion/debate is a transfer of information designed to win an argument and bring closure. mericans 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. What are the goals of a Socratic Seminar? To engage in dialogue, not debate, about abstract concepts To be able to disagree politely with one another To reason collectively and build on each other's ideas To refine your abstract thinking and logical reasoning To analyze a group discussion What are the rules of a Socratic Seminar? 1. Speak so that all can hear you. 2. Listen closely 3. Take notes (esp. observers) 4. Speak without raising hands 5. Refer to the text 6. Talk to each other and to the middle of the circle, not to the teacher! 7. sk others for clarification. on t stay confused 8. Invite and allow others to speak 9. onsider all viewpoints and ideas 10. Know that you are responsible for the quality of the seminar Helpful hints for successful conduct Use I messages. Examples: I disagree because... I believe that... What I ve heard so far is... Wait until others have spoken before you speak again. Speak to each other, not the facilitator who is busy taking notes.
Invite others to speak. Examples: Susana, what do you think? amon, I saw you nod your head. o you agree? Summarize every 7-10 minutes. sk each other questions and follow up questions. Examples: ould you explain...? What do you think...? I didn t hear all that. ould you repeat it? Respect each other. e open to changing your mind. uild on each other's ideas. Use the text to prove your point. Make connections with other material or with your own life. Listen to each other. Remember that there might be lulls in discussion. This is okay until someone comes up with another idea. ome back to the main question. You may pass if called on to speak (but you cannot earn points if you do not participate). There is no ONE right answer. There are only ideas that are better supported than others. on t hog the spotlight. Just because you have a lot to say doesn t mean that you have to speak constantly. How is a Socratic Seminar set up? The room will be set up in two concentric circles. On the day of the Socratic Seminar you will come in, get out your materials and wait to be called to sit in either in the inner or outer circle. You will find out which circle you will be in on that day. Students not called for the circle will remain in their seat and be members of the gallery Students participating in that day s seminar (iscussion Group) will be seated in the center circle. They must discuss the text and seminar question(s) *One seat in this circle will be left vacant (hot seat). Student s observing the seminar (observers) will be seated in the outside circle. Observers will be listening to the seminar and analyzing the discussion itself. In addition, observers may move into the hot seat in order to make an important comment or ask an important question. They must leave the hot seat immediately after the comment or question is made. Observers and gallery members may move in and out of the hot seat as needed. Gallery members will be seated in the vacant desks in the classroom. They should be carefully noting the dynamics of the seminar and what they are learning about the text. They should also me taking notes about their personal learning experience during the seminar. s the facilitator, my task is to take notes and grade you on your ideas, understanding, and participation. I will begin the seminar with a question. Occasionally I will intervene with a new question or ask you to explore the meaning of something further. I may also stop the discussion periodically and ask you to summarize what has been said. However, I will not be calling on individual participants to speak-it is your job/ responsibility to participate and facilitate the discussion. The less I have to intervene, the better you are doing. Seminar Roles in etail: ircle Participants: Inner ircle(iscussion Group)-When you are in the inner circle you will be directly participating in the discussion. iscuss the question(s) iscuss the question(s) and use the text to support your answers. If you do not have a new point to say, it s okay to summarize, or ask a question, or make a connection with your own life or something else you have read. uild off something that someone else said. If you have spoken a lot, try being silent or ask a question of someone you haven t heard from. If you are doing your job well, the acilitator should not have to interject into the discussion; however, you may not simply read from the question list in order to keep the discussion moving- that is what your original questions are for. lso, be sure to move the discussion along; do not ask the same questions over and over.
Outer ircle(observation Group)- Your role is essential. Getting better at discussion requires paying attention to the process. Your feedback will help the discussion get better next time. Each student in the outer circle will be assigned to observe the person directly in front of you in the inner circle. Use the tally sheet (in your packet) to help you focus. Make sure that you listen to the entire dialogue and not just your subject. You are primarily an observer, but if you are just dying to say something, you may get up and move to the hot seat in the inner circle. Wait to be recognized, then add your comment and return to your observation seat in the outer circle. Gallery- s a member of the gallery, you will not be participating in the seminar; however, you should be paying close attention and taking notes on what is happening. You will need these notes in order to complete your Seminar Reflection Paper. s a member of the gallery you may utilize the hot seat in order to contribute to the discussion should you have something to add or ask; however, you must remember to return to your seat as soon as you have spoken. You may not stay and become part of the seminar. acilitator- The teacher acts as facilitator. However, I will not call on students to speak; you are responsibnle for the flow of discussion. My task is to take notes on the dialogue, so my head will be down much of the time. I will begin the seminar by posing a question, after that the iscussion Group should be able to maintain a dialogue on their own. Occasionally, I will ask you to go around the circle and explore the meaning of something else you have brought up. I may also stop the discussion periodically and ask you to summarize what has been said. If I pose a new question (or call for summarization/ elaboration) do not speak to me when you respond; instead, you should continue to address the group. Think of me as the voice of god interjecting when needed, but not actually participating. What am I responsible for completing? Seminar preparation (in class) *including 5 original questions Seminar participation (see rubric) o You must attach a copy of the rubric to the front of your reflection paper! Seminar Observation Sheet (see form) o ttach a copy of this form to the back of your reflection paper! Post seminar Reflective Essay (see assignment document) This assignment cannot be made up under any circumstance! e here on these days!
Your Name: ate: Period: Socratic Seminar-Observer Evaluation ttach to the K of your Seminar Reflection Paper. Name of person you are observing Seminar Topic 1) Record a tally mark below for each time the person you observed contributed in a meaningful way: Total: 2) On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest, how well did your partner do at the following? nalysis and Reasoning Things to consider: id your partner. ite reasons and evidence for his/her statements with support from the text? emonstrate that they had given thoughtful consideration to the topic? Provide relevant and insightful comments? emonstrate organized thinking? Move the discussion to a deeper level? Notes/omments: iscussion Skills id your partner Speak loudly and clearly? Stay on topic? Talk directly to other students rather than the teacher? Stay focused on the discussion? Invite other people into the discussion? Share air time equally with others (didn t talk more than was fair to others)? Notes/omments: ivility id your partner Listen to others respectfully? Enter the discussion in a polite manner? void inappropriate language (slang, swearing)? void hostile exchanges? Question others in a civil manner? Notes/omments:
Socratic Seminar Grading Rubric ttach this sheet to the RONT of your reflection paper. o NOT fill it out! ategories:. Number of ontributions - How often did you speak?. Quality of ontributions - quality contributions offers a new idea, not yet expressed, or the comment takes a new approach to previously stated ideas. id you build off the ideas of others without repeating information? id you ask questions that further the discussion? id you stay on topic while helping move the discussion forward?. onduct id you listen actively to others and focus only on the seminar?. elivery id you speak clearly and succinctly to the group, not the teacher?. Number of contributions (10 points) points No comments 1 comment 2 comments 3 comments 4+comments. Quality of contributions (50 points) points Little or no comment; shows lack of preparation Repeats others comments; no text support; off topic; shows poor preparations Some original ideas expressed but lack depth; not always supported by text; shows only fair preparations Original ideas expressed; adequate text support; shows adequate preparation Original ideas expressed; advanced understanding expressed; offers new idea/approach; shows thorough preparation. onduct (20 points) points istracts others, interrupts or insults others. Lacked focus/ did not participate but did not distract, disrupt, or act in an insulting or inappropriate manner. emonstrates respect and participates in an acceptable manner loses focus occasionally. emonstrates respect and enthusiasm for seminar, listens actively & participates. emonstrates superior respect and enthusiasm for seminar, listens actively & participates.. elivery (20 points) points ails to participate, passes when engaged in conversation or otherwise speaks in an unacceptable Exhibits little or no awareness of audience, speaks too softly, no pacing Exhibits some awareness of audience thru eye contact, speaks too softly, attempts pacing ttends to audience with good eye contact gestures, speaks clearly, uses pacing appropriately. leary attends to audience through succinct speech, good eye contact & gestures, speaks clearly, uses pacing effectively E. Observer Evaluation (10 points) points. Reflective Essay (40) points Total: / 150 points
How do I write the Reflective Essay? fter our Socratic Seminar you will have to complete a reflective writing assignment. This will be a one and a half page essay (ML format, typed, etc.) broken up into three parts: 11. Paragraph 1- Inner ircle (discussion group) Perspective: Write your first paragraph from the perspective as a participant. iscuss both your performance as well as the quality of discussion within your group. iscuss your performance with your observer in order to reflect on your involvement in the Seminar. Include what you could do next time to improve your participation or discussion skills. In addition, discuss the conversation itself. Was the discussion thoughtful? Was it Insightful? Were responses supported by the text? id you learn anything new about the text or other possible interpretations of it? 12. Paragraph 2- Outer ircle (observer) Perspective: Write another paragraph from your perspective as an observer. Look at the tally sheet and goals of seminar and above criteria how did your subject do? iscuss her/his strengths and any suggestions you might have. iscuss the strengths/ weaknesses of the discussion round as a whole. 13. Paragraph 3- Gallery Perspective: Write your final paragraph from your perspective as a gallery member. iscuss how the seminar went overall (from your gallery observations), considering the criteria above and the goals of Socratic Seminar. Think also about the following id the conversation make sense? How deep did it go? Were there any missed opportunities to go further? id people respond well to each other? What kinds of questions were asked? id everyone participate? Were their different points of view? Was the text cited often? Were connections to personal lives made? Were you satisfied with conclusions reached? What did you learn from listening? id the dialogue lead you to change your mind about anything? Why do you think the work being discussed is significant? What lessons or ideas can we take away from this story and apply to our daily lives?
How do I prepare? Hopefully you have been annotating and analyzing (remember those questions I handed out?) as we have been reading. If not, you have more work than you may want ahead of you. I always suggest that students use Post-it notes as a way of flagging their pages. Labeling the Post-it with the question number and brief note is also helpful. In addition to your annotations and notes, you should come to the Socratic Seminar prepared with five original questions of your own. ll questions should be open-ended (meant for discussion-no right or wrong answer). In addition, each of your original questions should fall into one of these categories: WORL ONNETION QUESTION: Write a question connecting the text to the real world. Example: If you were given only 24 hours to pack your most precious belongings in a back pack and to get ready to leave your home town, what might you pack? (fter reading the first 30 pages of Night). MORL/ETHIL ILEMM QUESTION: Write a question that evaluates the moral or ethical standpoint of a character s actions or decisions in the text. Example: Was Elizabeth Proctor morally justified in not encouraging her husband to lie in order to save his own life? (fter reading the conclusion of The rucible) HRTER MOTIVTION QUESTION: Write an insightful question about the text that will require proof and group discussion and "construction of logic" to discover or explore the answer to the question. Example: Why did Gene hesitate to reveal the truth about the accident to inny that first day in the infirmary? (fter reading the mid-point of Separate Peace). UNIVERSL THEME/ ORE QUESTION: Write a question dealing with a theme(s) of the text that will encourage group discussion about the universality of the text. Example: fter reading J.. Salinger s The atcher in the Rye what do you think Salinger would say about the search for identity? LITERRY NLYSIS QUESTION: Write a question dealing with HOW an author chose to compose a literary piece. How did the author manipulate point of view, characterization, poetic form, archetypal hero patterns, for example? Example: In Mama lora s amily, why is it important that the story is told through flashback? Notes: