Socratic Questioning PPT
Socratic Questioning
Dr. Noe Pablo Lozano
l Fundamental part of the Method
l Objectives:
– Examine the student’s thoughts:
l Use to demonstrate complexity, difficulty and uncertainty
l Learn what is known
l Learn what is not known
l Force evaluation of current beliefs
l Know facts, yet what do students thinks about these facts
– Strengthen Socratic ability
l Focus on what specific students thinks and avoid what the World or others think;
l Encourage questioning self and others
l Teach how to construct deep, meaningful questions
l You do not need to know all the knowledge
Socratic Questioning
l Fundamental part of the Method
l Objectives:
– Examine the student’s thoughts:
l Use to demonstrate complexity, difficulty and uncertainty
l Learn what is known
l Learn what is not known
l Force evaluation of current beliefs
l Know facts, yet what do students thinks about these facts
– Strengthen Socratic ability
l Focus on what specific students thinks and avoid what the World or others think;
l Encourage questioning self and others
l Teach how to construct deep, meaningful questions
l You do not need to know all the knowledge
Key Differences
l Lecturer
– Does not lecture
– Poses a question, but does not answer
– Fosters the analysis through Socratic Questions
l Students
– Must listen and actively engage
– Focus on the underlying principles
– Account for beliefs in class
– Ask questions of Lecturer and fellow students
l Environment of familiarity, yet “productive discomfort” verses intimidation and panic
l Three Way Dialogue with equal status
– The Individual student contribution
– The other students’ perspectives
– The lecturer’s focus and emphasis
Effectiveness
l Advantages
– Fosters critical thought above memorization
– Enforces the beliefs of students as ideas are subject to examination
– Teaches to question, understand, and extend
– Reveals the complexity of seemingly simple statements
– Focus students on articulating their values and on their ideas holding up to scrutiny
l Disadvantages
– Difficult to apply in certain classroom settings
– Not as suited for imparting worldly facts and standard lecture
– Not optimal for imparting logical facts, theorems, and knowledge generated by conventional lectures.
Method in Practice
l Participate in the dialogue
– Professor and student must be willing to accept new ideas
– “I don’t know” is an acceptable answer for anyone
– Remove deference to authority
l Silence is productive
– Be reasonable (10 seconds)
– Do not answer questions, rephrase instead
Environment for the Method
l Create the proper environment
– Learn the names of each person
– Short interventions, not speeches, when needed
– Small groups for larger classes
l Encouraging Thought
– Alternative positions are acceptable
– Follow-up on responses
– Emphasize active participation
Forming the Question
l Ask a single question
– “How are A and B the same, and why are they different”? vs. “Why is A different from B?”
l Concise, clear questions
– Eliminate unnecessary words
– Easily understood, yet accurate language
l Ask appropriate kind of question
– Analysis
– Comparison
– Observation
In “Techie” Environments
l Application Classes
– Seminars for theoretical understanding
– Substitute for pure lecture may be undesirable
– Possibility: Schedule “Socratic Seminar” periods with standard lecture
l Theoretical Classes
– Seminars can be used to advance the class
– Teaches required critical thought with the concepts involved
– Possibility: Focus on extending concepts learned
l “The unexamined life is not worth living”
l Equally True: “The unexamined problem set is not worth doing.”
l How many questions do you need to ask yourself in order to optimize your learning for each class?
l Focus is on content and principals and not personal narratives…
DOWNLOAD FILE PDF
