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SOCRATIC SEMINARS GET TO THE CORE! ANGIE JOHNSON, N.B.C.T. LAKESHORE PUBLIC SCHOOLS [email protected] @ANGKJOHNS
SOCRATIC SEMINARS GET TO THE CORE!
ANGIE JOHNSON, N.B.C.T.
LAKESHORE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
@ANGKJOHNS
WHAT MAKES A SOCRATIC SEMINAR DIFFERENT?
• Freedom within structure!
• Transparent and intentional emphasis on CORE SKILLS:• COMMUNICATION • EVIDENCE• REASONING• ACADEMIC VOCABULARY• SOCIAL MEANING-making• METACOGNITION • CRITICAL THINKING through
COLLECTIVE INQUIRY• INDIVIDUAL and COLLECTIVE
RESPONSIBILITY for above.
WHAT THEY SAID
And my favorite…
PHYSICAL SPACE MATTERS!
• MUST sit in circle (can be inner/outer).
• Teacher in circle, w/o back to anyone.
• Boy-girl-boy-girl in early sessions (in MS).
• Spread out talkers/non-talkers.
• Desks clear except for text.
• Pencil for marking text, evaluation sheets.
NICE—BUT WHO HAS CLASSES OF 15 KIDS??
NOTICE DIFFICULTY OF PEOPLE NOT SEEING OTHERS
SQUARE MIGHT WORK…BUT NOT LONG AND NARROW
HERE’S MY PREFERENCE: ROOM FOR 34 KIDS!
GROUND RULES
1. No raising hands! Take turns.
2. Everyone’s participation is everyone’s responsibility.
3. Look at your classmates; not at the teacher.
4. Refer to the text for evidence.
5. Stay on topic.
GOAL SETTING
• After 1-2 seminars
• Based on previous performance
• Students set individual goals.
• Set group through discussion.
INDIVIDUAL GOAL-SETTING EXAMPLE
SEMINAR PARTS: 1 CLASS PERIOD
Ground rules, Goal-setting
Essential question
Discuss the question, letting students take as much control as possible
Reflect and self-evaluate
NITTY GRITTY PART 1: PRESENT THE TEXT
1. Show or read text aloud.
2. Early sems = use short video.
3. MOVE TO poem, short story, or
short news/internet articles.
4. LATER move to longer texts read ahead, curriculum texts.
5. Students underline vocab they don’t know; clarify before discussion.
NITTY GRITTY PART 2: ASK THE QUESTION
• MUST be open-ended.
• NO right/wrong answer.
• Better if it’s a question you authentically have.
• Think of where question is likely to take the group.
• Think broadly, think of “big ideas.”
• Have fall-back questions!
• Allow authentic questions to emerge.
• Don’t be afraid to change directions—especially with a new text.
• Use suggestion lists to help (see web site).
NITTY GRITTY PART 3: DISCUSS!
• Wait time is essential! DO NOT BE AFRAID TO WAIT. YOUR NON-TALKERS NEED TIME!
• Rephrase question, then get out of the way! Remain calm!
• Paraphrase: So I’m hearing you say that…
• Follow up: What do the rest of you think? Does anyone agree with that? Does anyone disagree?
• Encourage participation: I’d like to hear from those who haven’t spoken yet. If you’ve talked, please remain quiet for the next 5 minutes. Is there anyone new who’d like to contribute?
• Encourage evidence: Where in the text do you see that? What makes you think that? Can you show us where that is?
• Ask for clarification: What did you mean when you said… Can you explain that in different words? Why do you say that…
NITTY GRITTY PART 4: REFLECT AND SELF-EVALUATE
• ALWAYS STOP DISCUSSION WITH TIME TO REFLECT!
• AT 1st, VERBAL ONLY, ROUND ROBIN: Everyone share one word they’d use to describe this experience. Say one word to describe our performance today. On a scale of 1-5 what rating would you give us and why? What one thing did we do the best today? What one thing do we most need to improve on?
• Later individual & group goal-setting: At start of sem, choose an individual goal and write it down. To what extent did we meet our individual and group goals?
• You will be impressed by your students’ honesty!
BEYOND THE BASICSIntegrate TechnologyCenter circle talks, outer circle back-channels based on a specific question (We use Edmodo.com):
• Post your thoughts as you listen.
• Post every time you agree or disagree with something.
• Post every time you hear someone say something that moves the conversation forward.
• Post the most interesting thoughts you hear.
Continue the conversation on a blog:
• Our discussion has led us to another interesting question. Everyone is responsible for posting twice tonight: either your own thoughts or responses to others’ thoughts.
• Summarize what you learned in seminar today.
WARNING(S)!• This WILL feel scary!
• You WILL be uncomfortable!
• Your students WILL be confused!
• You WILL be discouraged at times!
• You WILL have seminar flops!
• You WILL need patience.
• You WILL need persistence & confidence in your students.
• You WILL see growth IF you persist.
• You WILL meet your students where they are and move them forward from there.
• You WILL see INCREDIBLE GROWTH!
NO FEAR!!
THERE’S SO MUCH MORE!
Go to http://akwasnikjohnson.wordpress.com/socratic-seminars/
For…
• Beginning text selections
• Self evaluation forms
• Handouts
• Essential question suggestions
• This presentation
• MORE TO COME
Go for it!
