Socratic Seminars - Philosophers in the Making!

I have just recently introduced my Grade 3’s to the strategy of Socratic Seminars. The word “Socratic” comes from the name Socrates, a Classical Greek philosopher who developed a Theory of Knowledge. 

The Socratic Seminar is a discussion, based on a text or topic, in which the leader asks open-ended questions.  Within the context of the discussion, students listen closely to the comments of others, thinking critically for themselves, and articulate their own thoughts and their responses to the thoughts of others. They learn to work cooperatively and to question intelligently and civilly.

It is important that the students understand the purpose of a Socratic Seminar is to discuss not debate. By establishing student expectations, rules, positive language and how to assess the effectiveness of the students who participate then students understand the role of everyone involved. With that in mind, teachers should ensure they allow time to prepare their students before engaging in any socratic circles. 

My students have been learning how to write persuasive texts. I invited them to choose to write about a topic that interests them. After a vote, the children decided on, ‘Should Teachers Give Homework?’ Yes I know, you can imagine how passionate they are about this topic.

I saw this as an opportunity for my students to engage in a Socratic Seminar to discuss the different perspectives around the topic and enable them to form a strong opinion on where they stand in term of whether teachers should give homework.

I played my students a clip from a Channel 9 News report in Perth:

https://safeshare.tv/x/ss59016cc74cc88 (please follow the link to view)

I then distributed a worksheet with open-ended questions that enable students to develop higher-order thinking skills.

These are the questions I provided:

• Do you agree that homework creates ‘stress’?

• Would you recommend ‘projects and problem solving’ activities over ‘drills and worksheets’?

• What is the value of banning homework on the weekend and holidays?

• Would it be better if children were taught to manage their time better to fit homework in?

• How many hours a week do you think students should be doing homework?

• What are the benefits and implications of using computers, iPads and other ICT tools when completing homework?

• Do you approve or disapprove of the recommendation of no more than 2-3 extra curricular activities per week?

• Can you propose an alternative to homework?

• What conclusions can you draw from watching this news report?

• What is your opinion on whether teachers should give homework?

I gave my students time to independently think and reflect on these questions and jot down any ideas or thoughts they wish to discuss. 

I then selected 10 students to participate in the ‘inside’ circle of the socratic seminar who will be the ones discussing the topic questions. The remaining students were assigned a student to observe in the ‘inside’ circle and were required to record their observations on the effectiveness of that student’s ability to engage in the discussion. 

Peer assessment encourages student engagement, reflection and responsibility for their learning. 

The students that are observing their peers sit behind them in the ‘outside’ circle. Within the ‘inside’ circle there is a special spot called the ‘Hot Seat’. Yep that’s right the HOT SEAT, sounds intriguing I know! The Hot Seat is available for students sitting in the ‘outside’ circle to come and voice a ‘burning’ question or pressing point to those in the discussion. Once the student has shared their thinking or question they then go back to peer observations. 

The peer observations include watching for things such as:

• Does the student makes eye contact with others?
• How many times does the student engage in the discussion?
• Does the student interrupt other speakers?
• How many times does the student respond to the thoughts and questions of others?

My Grade 3’s loved discussing the topic of homework and had some interesting perspectives on the positive and negative impact homework has on students. They were amazing at providing real and relevant examples and justifying their thinking! 
I believe that by providing students with the opportunity to engage in a socratic seminar around their persuasive piece topic enabled them to recognise the varying perspectives on homework and form a strong opinion on the subject. My students produced some outstanding persuasive pieces on the topic, ‘Should Teachers Give Homework?’.

Here are two student examples with opposing views:

Majority of my students believe that teachers should give homework. They were very specific that the homework should be project based and involve the children playing sports and being outdoors! They all value time spent with their families and do not want homework to get in the way of that. If you ask me I think they made some very reasonable arguments! Well done super stars!!

So what is your opinion...should teachers give homework?