The Power of the Socratic Classroom

Education & Reference

synopsis

Synopsis

Do You Have 21st-Century Skills to Help Your Students Succeed? Do Your Students Have 21st-Century Skills to Think for Themselves? The Power of the Socratic Classroom has the answers you are looking for—answers that will supply the strategies to show students how to succeed into the future. A future that has unknown products, unidentified jobs, and unanticipated challenges. In Socratic Seminar, teachers shift to the role of facilitator, where they help their students develop the collaborative interpersonal skills, the critical and creative thinking skills, and the speaking and listening skills to face the upcoming challenges of the 21st century.

bio

Author Biography

Charles Fischer has taught in public and private schools in a variety of settings, from rural Maine to inner city Atlanta. In the past 20 years, he has worked with a wide range of students from 4th grade to AP English and has been nominated for Teacher of the Year four times. He has his Master’s degree in Teaching & Learning from the University of Southern Maine, and received his B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from Binghamton University. His latest book, The Power of the Socratic Classroom, has won four awards, including the NIEA Best Education Book. His first novel, Beyond Infinity, won a 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award bronze medal (YA fiction). His areas of expertise are Socratic Seminar, Active Listening, Inquiry, Teaching & Learning, and Critical & Creative Thinking. He is currently working on a book of poetry, a short story collection, and several novels.

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Author Insight

Should I assign seats for seminar?

Since Socratic Seminar is about the gradual release of responsibility, students should be invited to participate in the decision-making process as soon as possible. Draw a conversation map or use an app like Equity Maps to collect data about participation and debrief with the class about how the seating may have influenced the conversation. Set personal and group goals for improvement to work out any issues.When things go well, reflect on what seemed to help. Remember, conversations should flow naturally and smoothly, spiraling upward into collective insight.

Book Excerpt

The Power of the Socratic Classroom

First of all, if you already use assigned seating for behavioral issues, then yes, you probably should use them for seminars. This is especially true for larger classes where you will want to strategically think about how to split the class into two groups for an inner and outer circle. Remember that specific positions in the formation such as next to and across from are usually the most troublesome.

If you normally use assigned seating, consider letting the students decide where they want to sit for seminar. This could pose the first potential problem for the students to solve over the course of the next several seminars. If the first seminar goes smoothly, then the students already made good choices. If the seminar does not go well, debrief with the students about what happened. They may even recommend having assigned seats.

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Charles Ames Fischer

The Power of the Socratic Classroom

Synopsis

Author Biography

Author Insight

Should I assign seats for seminar?

Book Excerpt

The Power of the Socratic Classroom

Comment on this Bubble