Socratic Dialogue Discussion Strategy: Explanation

Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher.

He is known to us through the writings of his pupil, Plato.

In Plato’s books, Socrates discusses ideas with lots of other people.

His general method is to question the assumptions, concepts and categories upon which other people’s ideas rest.

Socrates’ purpose is not to patronise others or to make himself look better than them, rather, he is in search of truth, understanding, consistency and clear thinking.

He wants to encourage these traits in others and to demonstrate the extent to which we assume certainty or correctness where, in fact, we do not have good cause to.

Socrates is a philosopher. This is how he does philosophy.

If you want to see Socrates in action, try reading some of Plato’s work. Crito and Euthyphro are good places to start.

Here, we can look at how to use Socratic Dialogue in the classroom.

Socrates asked roughly four types of question:

Gadfly Questions

These nip away at learner thinking. They are digging deeper questions. Questions that push learners to tell us more and to unpack their thinking. Here are some examples:

• What do you mean by that?
• But what if this happened …?
• Does that always apply? Why?
• What evidence do you have?
• Can you be certain that is true?

Midwife Questions

These are questions that help give birth to ideas. Questions that draw out what learners are thinking, making it easier for them to articulate themselves. Examples include:

• That’s an interesting idea. Could you explain it in a different way?
• How might that affect things?
• What made you think of that idea?
• Where could we look for something that supports what you are saying?

Ignoramus Questions

This is where we play dumb (and ask ‘dumb’ questions). The idea is that we are pushing everything back onto the learner, encouraging them to give us more explanation and to go into greater depth. Here are some examples:

• What does that even mean?
• I don’t understand. Can you go back and start from the beginning for me?
• So, do you mean …?
• I’m really confused. Can you explain it to me, so I understand?

Stingray Questions

These are big questions that pack a jolt. Stingray questions are designed to get learners looking at a topic from a different perspective. They are intended to shake up learner thinking. For example:

• Imagine that wasn’t true. Then what?
• What if everything was turned on its head?
• You say that, but what if things changed? What then?
• What if World War Two hadn’t happened?
• What if gravity wasn’t constant?

When using Socratic Dialogue, you or a learner can play the role of Socrates, as we will see.

Whoever is playing Socrates should ask questions using the four Socratic roles. A cheat sheet using the examples listed above can be helpful.

Socratic Dialogue begins with a question being posed.

This should be open-ended and connected to the topic.

Learners are given time to reflect on the question and to gather their thoughts.

The dialogue can then be teacher-led or learner led.

Teacher-led Socratic Dialogue

The teacher chooses a learner to begin the discussion.

They share their response to the question.

The teacher uses the four Socratic techniques (gadfly, midwife, ignoramus and stingray) to probe the learner’s answer.

A dialogue takes place between teacher and learner with the rest of the class listening in.

The teacher’s aim is, through questioning, to encourage the learner to think more deeply about the ideas, concepts, and categories their opinion rests on.

The teacher may choose to stay in dialogue with that one learner, or to open dialogues with a few other learners.

The opportunity may also arise to bring in other pupils to further question the original learner, or to offer support for what they are arguing.

Learner-led Socratic Dialogue

This works in the same way, except learners are in groups and one person in each group takes on the role of Socrates.

They question their peers, leading the discussion and flitting between the four Socratic questioning types.

This approach requires greater preparation as learners need to understand how to question and probe appropriately.

Training and repetition are useful. Using this approach repeatedly helps learners get used to the roles they need to play, helping to quickly improve outcomes.

Socratic Dialogue Discussion Strategy: Example

Topic: How to write up an experiment

The teacher poses the question: What is the best way to write up an experiment?

Learners are given time to think about this and to formulate an answer.

The teacher chooses someone to begin the discussion.

This learner says: ‘The best way to write up an experiment is to follow a structure and to make sure you include everything that happened.’

Such a comment invites many questions.

Concentrating only on the concept of structure, we could ask the following:

• What do you mean by a ‘structure’?
• What is the benefit of using a structure?
• What is it that a structure does?
• What specific structure do you have in mind? Why that structure? Could someone use a different structure?
• What limitations might there be around using a structure?
• If someone was to write up their experiment without using a structure, would that be a bad thing?
• Could it not be the case that by relying on a structure, you miss opportunities to think critically about your experiment?

As these examples demonstrate, the aim in Socratic Dialogue is to get beneath the surface.

To interrogate the foundations upon which our statements, beliefs, and ideas rest.

This leads us to the two greatest benefits of Socratic Dialogue:

1. It encourages learners to think critically.
2. It causes learners to look more deeply at what they think they know, and to question the legitimacy of that knowledge.

Both lead learners to better understanding and improved reasoning.

Socratic Dialogue Discussion Strategy: Extensions and Developments

1. If you use the learner-led method, walk around the room keeping an eye out for particularly good examples of Socratic Dialogue in action. At the end of the activity, ask one of the best groups you spotted to give a quick replay of their discussion for the rest of the class. This is essentially peer modelling, with the highly effective group demonstrating to the rest of the learners how to do Socratic Dialogue in the best way possible.
2. Create exemplar sheets for learners that explain the roles of gadfly, midwife, ignoramus and stingray. Include a picture (to aid memory) and a set of generic questions. Learners can then use these as a scaffold when they are doing their own Socratic Dialogues. (They can also use them when you are leading a Socratic Dialogue from the front. In this situation, the sheets help learners spot what kinds of questions you are asking.)