Description and Learning Obectives of Socratic Seminar
Another instructional method used in humanities content area instruction is the Socratic Seminar. The Socratic Seminar is a formal discussion of a specific text, in which open-ended questions are discussed. During the discussion, students think critically about the text, listen closely to the comments of others, and respond with their thoughts and their responses to the thoughts of others.
Part 1: Proposal
Create a proposal for a staff meeting/professional development you would like to present to your colleagues. Use the “Socratic Seminar Professional Development Proposal” to explain the Socratic Seminar to administrators, how it can be implemented in the classroom, and why it would be valuable to other teachers.
Your proposal should include:
Rationale for the proposal explaining why you would like to share this information at a staff meeting/professional development
Detailed description of the Socratic Seminar process as it would be implemented in a humanities content area classroom
State standard within your content area, and another state standard for an additional humanities content area to use as an example for the humanities concept/learning engagement experience. (You may use the same standard you used for assignments in Topic 1 and Topic 2 or select a different standard.)
A learning objective that could be used for cross-disciplinary instruction
Engaging learning experience example aligned with the identified standards and objective and including cross-disciplinary content that incorporates humanities subjects outside the content area
Example of one strategy that can be used in the learning experience to differentiate to meet the needs of diverse students
Part 2: Reflection
Along with your proposal, include a 250-500 word reflection on the importance of including the Socratic Seminar as an instructional method when teaching a humanities content area.
How is the Socratic Seminar well-suited to cross-disciplinary instruction in humanities content areas?
How will you implement the Socratic Seminar in your future professional practice?
Support your reflection with at least two scholarly resources.
APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.
This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.
Attachments
Socratic Seminar Professional Development Proposal
Rationale: The rationale for the proposal is that the information can benefit both the teachers and learners in a great way. Since the Socratic seminars method involves social interactions where questions can be asked and answered, it makes sense that this interactive method can help advance teachers’ and learners’ knowledge. The other reason for Socratic seminars is that the strategy also provides students with the opportunity and ability to respect and appreciate other people’s opinions. Students also learn to have different perspectives from which to view issues.
Description of Socratic Seminar: The Socratic seminar is a learning strategy in which Socrates’ methods are used in student-led discussions. The Socratic seminar process can be implemented through a number of steps. To begin with, the text to be used for discussion should be carefully identified and selected. The text should allow for different interpretations by the students, and therefore it needs to be short but not straightforward. Choosing a simple text will make it hard for learners to have enough material for discussion. The second step of the process is to allow the students enough time to prepare their ideas at the beginning of the seminar (Griswold, Shaw & Munn, 2017). The students can have a summary of the text before the start of the discussion. Thirdly, classroom rules need to be developed to guide the seminar. These include rules such as talking to each other without interrupting, using textual evidence to support ideas, and asking questions where necessary. Next, the discussion leader or teacher can ask open-ended questions to encourage critical thinking and interpretation of the text. Finally, students must reflect on the entire process and evaluate what they have learned throughout the process before the teacher or discussion leader gives the correct response.
State Standard for Your Content Area: In the Socratic seminar, the state standards ensure that students have enough time to study and critically understand the provided open-ended questions. This can be applied in all content areas.
State Standard from other Humanities Content Area for Cross-Disciplinary Instruction: The state standard for cross-disciplinary instruction is that the discussion should be under the leadership of the discussion leader or the teacher. The teacher should not interrupt the process but instead observe as learners try to reach the right conclusion through exchanging ideas and views.
Learning Objective: When it comes to learning objectives, the Socratic seminars are essential to both the student and the teacher in a number of ways. For instance, through exchanging opinions and ideas, students develop better critical thinking skills. According to Quinlan (2014), students can also respect other people’s views without engaging in unnecessary arguments. For the teacher, the seminars provide a way of gauging the students’ level of understanding. This can, in turn, offer insights into the areas that need to be emphasized in the classroom.
Engaging Learning Activity to Include Cross-Disciplinary Instruction: In the Socratic seminar, students will be majorly engaged in helping one another through group discussions to understand better issues and ideas presented in a text. Through the student-led discussions, learners can develop critical questioning skills to understand cross-disciplinary content.
Example Strategy to Differentiate: An example of a strategy that can be used in the Socratic ...