Using Socratic Questioning, Paideia Project,

Part B

Later Friday January 25, 2013

So what does Socratic questioning LOOK like?

How does it fit into my daily life as a teacher?

Study the chart below, taken from the Paideia Project by Mortimer J. Adler

Socratic questioning in NOT a method for delivering content.  (Robert Bird on Youtube.)

FYI-Paideia – is a classical Greek system of education and training; called Humanities in Latin. The term was combined with enkyklios (complete system or circle) forming ‘encyclopedia’ to identify a large compendium of general education.  -Dictionary.com

Maieutic – (ancient Greek-Spiritual midwife) referring toquestions that help draw out the truth and knowledge latent in a person (wikipedia)

“The Socratic method is a negative method of hypothesis elimination, in that better hypotheses are found by steadily identifying and eliminating those that lead to contradictions. The Socratic method searches for general, commonly held truths that shape opinion, and scrutinizes them to determine their consistency with other beliefs. The basic form is a series of questions formulated as tests of logic and fact intended to help a person or group discover their beliefs about some topic, exploring the definitions or logoi (singular logos), seeking to characterize the general characteristics shared by various particular instances. The extent to which this method is employed to bring out definitions implicit in the interlocutors' beliefs, or to help them further their understanding, is called the method of maieutics. Aristotle attributed to Socrates the discovery of the method of definition and induction, which he regarded as the essence of the scientific method.”-Wikipedia

Finally!

The Socratic Questioning process: (adapted from a Youtube clip)

1. Look for statements of common sense in your curriculum area: Mine for you is:

“Questioning skills are important in the learning process.”

2. Use Socratic questioning to examine this statement. Can you come up with any exceptions to it?

3. If there is an exception then the statement is false or imprecise.

4. See if you can change the original statement to account for the new information.

5. Repeat the steps until you can not disprove the statement.

A social studies example (from a website):

“Material goods give you happiness”.

Exceptions?

False or imprecise?

Refine original statement.

Repeat till proven.

Socratic questioning is an effective means of:

-defining concepts

-clarifying issues

-seeking examples

-evaluating evidence

-uncovering assumptions

-following implications

--acknowledging objections

-in any subject discipline. List some common sense statements from your discipline that students may struggle with that this method may address: