IDEAS

Model 3: The Classic Socratic Method

“The Socratic questioner forces the class to think in a disciplined, intellectually responsible manner, while yet continually aiding the students by posing facilitating questions.”⁴

Learning Intention

The Classic Socratic Method is best suited to “demonstrate complexity, difficulty, and uncertainty” and develop critical thinking in students, rather than “to elicit facts about the world.”^2,5 By contrast, the Modern Socratic Method works well for leading students to discover facts and principles through inquiry.

Overview

The Classic Socratic Method flips the role of student and teacher so that learning begins with questions.⁴ Rather than acting as an expert with all the answers, the instructor takes on a role of curious inquisitor, posing questions for students to respond to or discuss and then challenging the responses with additional questions. This question-and-response discussion format allows students to explore and analyze assumptions underlying “common sense” ideas to develop deeper understandings of ethical and moral issues.

Instructions

1. “What is ...?” Begin by posing an open-ended question about a basic assumption or idea. For example, “What does it mean to be an ethical journalist?”
2. “Exceptions?” When students provide an answer, respond with another question that asks them to seek out exceptions to that answer. For example, “You suggested that ethical journalism involves making sure you only report factual, accurate information. What situations can you think of where ethical journalism might mean that the information you report is inaccurate?”
3. “Then, what is ...?” When students discover exceptions, return them to the original question to seek out new responses or revise their response to account for the exceptions. For example, “Because it can sometimes be impossible to tell for sure whether the facts you are reporting and completely accurate at the time, then we are back at our original question: what does it mean to be an ethical journalist?”
4. “Now, exceptions?” When they provide a new response, again probe to seek exceptions. Repeat this process until no further exceptions can be found, or until students have sufficiently addressed the scope of the issue and developed effective critical thought about its complexity.³

Considerations

• Developing a classroom environment conducive to “productive discomfort” is vital; students must feel supported in posing questions and experimenting with ideas.¹ Invest time early in the quarter to allow students to get to know one another, develop ground rules, and set the tone for respectful discourse.
• Promote the “Socratic Temperament” by showing your own love of learning. Let students see that you (1) love to discover your own errors, (2) are in touch with your own gaps in knowledge, (3) enjoy the hard work in the quest for knowledge, and (4) have a deep curiosity and desire for self-improvement.²
• To develop comfort with ambiguity, build up gradually by starting with less intimidating topics before moving to more difficult ones. You might also let students formulate responses in small groups before reporting to the class so they may be more comfortable taking academic risks.
• Keep the discussion focused by brainstorming probing questions prior to class so you have, at your fingertips, a variety of ways to phrase questions that will invite participation and insights.
• It might be helpful to students to periodically summarize the discussion, highlighting both questions/responses that have been dealt with and those yet to be considered.⁴
  

References

1. Chapman, S. (no date). The Socratic Method: Fostering Critical Thinking,
   
   The Institute for Learning and Teaching at Colorado State University.
   Available online.
2. Maxwell, M. (2009). The Socratic Temperament. The Socratic Method Research
   Portal. Available online.
3. Maxwell, M. & Melete (2014). How to Use the Socratic Method. The Socratic
   Method Research Portal. Available online.
4. Paul, R. and Elder, L. (April 1997). Socratic Teaching, Foundation For Critical
   Thinking. Available online.
5. Reich, R. (May 2003) The Socratic Method: What is it and How to Use It in the
   Classroom, presentation at Stanford Teaching Commons. Available online.