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

Rescue Questions

One of my favorite "rescue questions" is: "How can you unconfuse yourself?" I usually get raised eyebrows and hesitations as first responses, but students almost immediately get the idea. The question itself is asking for a strategy or a process in order to get unstuck. Sometimes they need a few follow-up questions, like: "Where did you first get confused?" or "Where did you first feel like you lost the thread?" or "Where did the idea begin to be unclear?" Any or all of these help can help students rescue their thought process and hopefully lead to new ideas.

Book Excerpt

The Power of the Socratic Classroom

Most facilitators prepare several opening questions, and often several types of opening questions, in case the first one falters. If this happens, ask procedural questions in order to rescue the situation. This gets students talking about the seminar itself and not necessarily about the text, but at least they will be conversing. Ask a question like, “How can we make meaning out of line 6?” Or perhaps, “What do we need to do in order to get unstuck?” Questions of this nature help pass the responsibility of the seminar over to the students. When students get better at asking questions, they can get involved in asking opening questions themselves.

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Charles Ames Fischer

The Power of the Socratic Classroom

Synopsis

Author Biography

Author Insight

Rescue Questions

Book Excerpt

The Power of the Socratic Classroom

Comment on this Bubble