Socratic method
In the second half of the 5th century BC, sophists were teachers who specialized in using the tools of philosophy and rhetoric to entertain, impress, or persuade an audience to accept the speaker's point of view.
Socrates (as depicted by Plato) generally applied his method of examination to concepts such as the virtues of piety, wisdom, temperance, courage, and justice.
[citation needed] Socrates rarely used the method to actually develop consistent theories, and he even made frequent use of creative myths and allegories.
[citation needed] In Plato's early dialogues, the elenchus is the technique Socrates uses to investigate, for example, the nature or definition of ethical concepts such as justice or virtue.
[9] Some qualitative research shows that the use of the Socratic method within a traditional Yeshiva education setting helps students succeed in law school, although it remains an open question as to whether that relationship is causal or merely correlative.
[10] Yet, W. K. C. Guthrie in The Greek Philosophers sees it as an error to regard the Socratic method as a means by which one seeks the answer to a problem, or knowledge.
Guthrie writes, "[Socrates] was accustomed to say that he did not himself know anything, and that the only way in which he was wiser than other men was that he was conscious of his own ignorance, while they were not.
The goal of this activity is to have participants work together to construct meaning and arrive at an answer, not for one student or one group to "win the argument".
[13] This approach is based on the belief that participants seek and gain deeper understanding of concepts in the text through thoughtful dialogue rather than memorizing information that has been provided for them.
[13] While Socratic seminars can differ in structure, and even in name, they typically involve a passage of text that students must read beforehand and facilitate dialogue.
The seminars encourage students to work together, creating meaning from the text and to stay away from trying to find a correct interpretation.
[18] It provides the anchor for dialogue whereby the facilitator can bring the participants back to the text if they begin to digress.
Furthermore, the seminar text enables the participants to create a level playing field – ensuring that the dialogical tone within the classroom remains consistent and pure to the subject or topic at hand.
The pedagogy of Socratic questions is open-ended, focusing on broad, general ideas rather than specific, factual information.
[18] There is no designated first speaker; as individuals participate in Socratic dialogue, they gain experience that enables them to be effective in this role of initial questioner.
The leader also seeks to coax reluctant participants into the discussion, and to limit contributions from those who tend to dominate.
The leader guides participants to deepen, clarify, and paraphrase, and to synthesize a variety of different views.
[22] Some have countered this thought by stating that the humiliation and ridicule is not caused by the method, rather it is due to the lack of knowledge of the student.
It can be used to clarify meaning, feeling, and consequences, as well as to gradually unfold insight, or explore alternative actions.
