Socratic Seminar - youngscholarsinaction.org Sem for YS in... · • Gradual release of...
Transcript of Socratic Seminar - youngscholarsinaction.org Sem for YS in... · • Gradual release of...
They all think they know things, whereas I am aware that I know nothing.
If I really am the wisest person in the world, as the Delphic oracle suggests, then it is because of the difference between me and the others –
As students develop their linguistic skills, they hone
the quality of their thinking and become intellectually and socially empowered.
Ernest L. BoyerCarnegie Foundation
To succeed in life, students
should be able to write and speak with clarity and
to read and listen with
comprehension.
Language and thought
are inextricably connected.
Making a Selections for Seminars
Needs to
•Address complex issues and ideas
•Connect to curriculum
•Be ambiguous and challenging
•Lead to enduring understandings
Possibilities
• Short Stories or picture books
• Poetry or song lyrics• Art prints• Historical documents• Plays• News articles – content-
related or student-interest
Three Parts to Socratic Seminars
Preparation• Building
background knowledge
• Preliminary conversations
• Preparation Packet• Response• Vocabulary• Open-ended
questions
Seminar Discussion• In a circle• Use etiquette • Student roles• Gradual release
of responsibility• Goals for
participation and dynamics –individual and group
Seminar Follow-Up• Processes
discussion and possible changes in thinking
• Not a project –be creative to keep product choices fresh
Assessment for 21st
Century Learner
Open-ended
Performance-based
Multi-part
Engaging
Relevant
Multiple Skills
Assessment
should be
deliberately
designed to
improve and
educate
student
performance,
not merely to
audit it.
-Grant Wiggins
A Mini-lesson I Anticipate My Class Might Need in Preparing for Seminar is…
A Cooperative Structurethat I Might Use to Make this Interactive is…
I liked getting deeper meanings from the stories by discussing them.
I learned things from other people’s ideas that I may not have thought of without these discussions.
What the Students Say. . .
I got to think about a lot of different points of view.
I like the freedom we have to express our opinions.
I really like how everybody gets the chance to speak their mind and they don’t get cut off in interrupted.
I like the wave of intelligence that flowed across the room.
I like voicing my opinion about things and I like having people listen to me without them cut me off.