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

True Participant

This role is really only possible when the teacher is able to shed classroom authority enough so that the student voices are elevated to a similar level. With much younger students, this is often not really possible, but the work becomes trying to equalize it anyway. For example, a 2nd-grade teacher could sit on the floor and have the students sit on chairs. The goal remains to maximize the group's collective intelligence.

Book Excerpt

The Power of the Socratic Classroom

In the role of true participant, feel free to contribute to the dialogue in an organic way, adding whatever occurs to you to further the conversation. There is no need to hold back if the students are performing at a high enough level to view you essentially as an equal. Many a facilitator makes the mistake of never saying much during seminars, but this means the students will not be able to benefit from the teacher’s experience and wisdom. In the beginning, when the students are learning to perform as a group, not participating (for example, by sitting outside of the circle) may be essential to their development. But as the students become more self-sufficient, the facilitator should move toward becoming a true participant so that the group benefits from his/her knowledge, experience, and expertise.

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Charles Ames Fischer

The Power of the Socratic Classroom

Synopsis

Author Biography

Author Insight

True Participant

Book Excerpt

The Power of the Socratic Classroom

Comment on this Bubble