SOCRATIC SEMINAR Guidelines and Expectations Who was Socrates

SOCRATIC SEMINAR Guidelines and Expectations

Who was Socrates? Ancient A Greek philosopher teacher Believed in the power of students’ minds working together Held philosophical discussions where he encouraged all students to participate Believed that the more minds you have working towards a solution/idea/philosophy, the better conclusion the group will come to

Expectations of the Socratic Seminar inner circle Every person in the group must participate. Only one person may speak at a time. Do not have side conversations. If you make a comment, you must support it with an example from the story/article/essay. If you agree or disagree with someone, you must explain WHY. Encourage other people to participate by asking them questions. The group will only have 25 minutes to discuss, so you must jump into the conversation quickly. Don’t wait until the last few minutes.

Expectations of the Socratic Seminar outer circle You may not speak; your role is to listen. Take notes on your partner’s comments, questions, and textual references. Be ready to move to the inner circle and to add to the discussion that the previous inner circle had. Mrs. Boehm and Ms. Curran will not participate in the discussion; they will simply observe and record the comments made. They will only interrupt if the group is not following an expectation. At that point, the group will have 30 seconds to correct the problem.