In: Psychology
As you think about your personal, professional, and social commitments, what concepts, data, or decisions require Socratic questioning?
In his lecture, Reich describes a kinder, gentler Socratic Method, pointing out the following:
- Socratic inquiry is not teaching per se. It does not include PowerPoint driven lectures, detailed lesson plans or rote memorization. The teacher is neither the sage on the stage nor “the guide on the side. The students are not passive recipients of knowledge.
- The Socratic Method involves a shared dialogue between teacher and students. The teacher leads by posing thought-provoking questions. Students actively engage by asking questions of their own. The discussion goes back and forth.
- The classroom environment is characterized by productive discomfort, not intimidation. The Socratic professor does not have all the answers and is not merely testing the students. The questioning proceeds open-ended with no pre-determined goal.
Considering the debate format of this method, I think that it is not applicable and beneficial for theoretical courses (math, engineering) courses. I generally ask questions in my classes and call on the students to answer, but my questioning lasts around 10 -15 minutes per lecture and does not cover the whole lecture.
The Socratic method has a wider application in social sciences as it is possible to cover a major part of a lecture by questioning and the debate format fits in with the nature of courses.
The Socratic method is widely used in contemporary legal education by most law schools in the United States. In a typical class setting, the professor asks a question and calls on a student who may or may not have volunteered an answer. The professor either then continues to ask the student questions or moves on to another student.