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Socratic Seminars
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
-Socrates
Guidelines
for Participants in a Socratic Seminar
1.
Refer to the text when needed during the discussion. A seminar is not a
test of memory. You are not "learning a subject"; your goal is to
understand the ideas, issues, and values reflected in the text.
2.
It's OK to "pass" when asked to contribute.
3.
Do not participate if you are not prepared. A seminar should not be a
bull session.
4.
Do not stay confused; ask for clarification.
5.
Stick to the point currently under discussion; make notes about ideas you
want to come back to.
6.
Don't raise hands; take turns speaking.
7.
Listen carefully.
8. Speak up so that all can hear you.
9. Talk to each other, not just to the leader or teacher.
10. Discuss ideas rather than each other's opinions.
11. You are responsible for the seminar, even if you don't know it or admit it.
Expectations of Participants in a Socratic Seminar
When I am evaluating your Socratic Seminar
participation, I ask the following questions about participants. Did
they….
Speak loudly and clearly?
Cite reasons and evidence for their statements?
Use the text to find support?
Listen to others respectfully?
Stick with the subject?
Talk to each other, not just to the leader?
Paraphrase accurately?
Ask for help to clear up confusion?
Support each other?
Avoid hostile exchanges?
Question others in a civil manner?
Seem prepared?
What is the difference
between dialogue and debate?
- Dialogue is
collaborative: multiple sides work toward shared understanding.
Debate is oppositional: two opposing sides try to prove each other wrong.
- In dialogue,
one listens to understand, to make meaning, and to find common ground.
In debate, one listens to find flaws, to spot differences, and to counter
arguments.
- Dialogue
enlarges and possibly changes a participant's point of view.
Debate defends assumptions as truth.
- Dialogue
creates an open-minded attitude: an openness to being wrong and an openness
to change.
Debate creates a close-minded attitude, a determination to be right.
- In dialogue,
one submits one's best thinking, expecting that other people's reflections
will help improve it rather than threaten it.
In debate, one submits one's best thinking and defends it against challenge
to show that it is right.
- Dialogue calls
for temporarily suspending one's beliefs.
Debate calls for investing wholeheartedly in one's beliefs.
- In dialogue,
one searches for strengths in all positions.
In debate, one searches for weaknesses in the other position.
- Dialogue
respects all the other participants and seeks not to alienate or offend.
Debate rebuts contrary positions and may belittle or deprecate other
participants.
- Dialogue
assumes that many people have pieces of answers and that cooperation can
lead to a greater understanding.
Debate assumes a single right answer that somebody already has.
- Dialogue
remains open-ended.
Debate demands a conclusion.
Dialogue is characterized by:
- suspending
judgment
- examining our
own work without defensiveness
- exposing our
reasoning and looking for limits to it
- communicating
our underlying assumptions
- exploring
viewpoints more broadly and deeply
- being open to
disconfirming data
- approaching
someone who sees a problem differently not as an adversary, but as a
colleague in common pursuit of better solution.
Socratic
Seminar: Participant
Rubric
A
Level Participant
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Participant offers enough solid
analysis, without prompting, to move the conversation forward
Participant, through her
comments, demonstrates a deep knowledge of the text and the question
Participant has come to the
seminar prepared, with notes and
a marked/annotated text
Participant, through her
comments, shows that she is actively
listening to other participants
Participant offers clarification and/or
follow-up that extends
the conversation
Participant’s remarks often
refer back to specific parts of the text.
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B
Level Participant
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Participant offers solid analysis
without prompting
Through
comments, participant
demonstrates a good knowledge of the text and the question
Participant has come to the
seminar prepared, with notes and
a marked/annotated text
Participant shows that
he/she is
actively listening to others
and offers clarification and/or follow-up
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C
Level Participant
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Participant offers some analysis,
but needs prompting from the
seminar leader
Through
comments, participant
demonstrates a general
knowledge of the text and question
Participant is less prepared,
with few notes and no
marked/annotated text
Participant is actively listening
to others, but does not offer
clarification and/or follow-up to others’
comments
Participant relies more upon his
or her opinion, and less on the text to drive her comments
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D
or F Level Participant
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Participant offers little
commentary
Participant comes to the seminar
ill-prepared with little
understanding of the text and question
Participant does not listen to
others, offers no commentary to
further the discussion
Participant distracts the group by interrupting other speakers or
by offering off topic questions and comments.
Participant ignores the discussion and its participants
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