Purpose:

The goal of a Socratic Seminar is for students to help one another understand the ideas, issues, and values reflected in a specific text. Students are responsible for facilitating a discussion around ideas in the text rather than asserting opinions. Through a process of listening, making meaning, and finding common ground students work toward shared understanding rather than trying to prove a particular argument. A Socratic seminar is not used for the purpose of debate, persuasion, or personal reflection, as the focus is on developing a shared meaning of a text.

Teacher Note: If you need additional assistance in conducting a Socratic Seminar in your classroom, consult this guide from Facing History & Ourselves or this guide from the National Council of Teachers of English.

Directions:

1. Before the Seminar
   1. Prepare students with expectations for participation.
   2. Provide students with seminar questions in advance and consider having them draft responses in advance of the seminar to make the session more productive.
   3. Offer a mix of required and optional seminar questions.
2. During the Seminar
   1. Open with a round robin question to allow each student to share their response.
   2. Regardless of strong and divergent opinions on the subject, remind the class of the expectations set up ahead of time (maintain an open mind; listen attentively).
   3. Facilitate, don’t dominate. Consider your primary function during a Socratic seminar as that of a mirror—reflect back or clarify what students say.
3. After the Seminar
   1. Allow time for reflection. This step encourages students to practice metacognition, evaluating their own performance during the seminar. 
   2. At the end of each seminar, allot ten minutes for students to respond to five questions:
      1. What did you find most interesting about today’s seminar?
      2. What did you find most surprising?
      3. Did anything make you change your mind or think more deeply? What, how, and why/why not?
      4. What did you contribute to today’s seminar? Be specific.
      5. What might you do differently at our next seminar? Be specific.