Mary Hernandez

Update # 6

Socratic Seminars during E-Sports Projects

(Special Education Students)

This year I made my teachers start thinking outside of the box when it came to developing engaging projects for their students. A project my staff developed was using socratic seminars during an ESports project in our high school ELA class. My school is a Therapeutic Day School, where all students have special needs.

Peer feedback and peer reviews is something crucial for class projects. Students learn from others through this type of feedback. Incorporating Socratic Dialogue into the classroom can change the dynamics of a project.

The Socratic method of teaching is based on Socrates’ theory that it is more important to enable students to think for themselves than to fill their heads with correct answers. During Socratic Seminars students are given opportunities to look over a text,(this can vary depending on subject). After reading the text open-ended questions are posed from the teacher. Open-ended questions allow students to think critically. Students analyze multiple meanings in text, and express ideas. This is not a debate but a discussion that helps lead to the answer that may vary depoending how the conversation goes. Participants in a Socratic Seminar respond to one another with respect by carefully listening instead of interrupting.

Nouri, A., & Pihlgren, A. (2018), completed a study on socratic seminars with students on the Autism Spectrum. Research has proven that Socratic dialogue may result in improved language, interactive, and critical thinking abilities, as well as have effect on students' self-evaluation (Nouri, 2018).

(This video shows an example of a Socratic seminar. )

References

Nouri, A., & Pihlgren, A. (2018). Socratic Seminars for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dialogic Pedagogy, 6. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.elmhurst.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1166997&site=ehost-live&scope=site

The Weimar Republic: Socratic Seminar. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.facinghistory.org/professional-development/ondemand/weimar-republic-socratic-seminar.