Embracing the
Socratic Temperament
Socratic Seminars are powerful
opportunities for students to be fully engaged in their learning. Today, I am not focusing on what, how, or why.
I am focusing on who – the Socratic Teacher.
In this way, I hope to lift your
practice to new levels.
Socrates believed that a
continuous journey of self-improvement was vital for every person. As educators, we are on our own journey, but
also guiding the journeys of our students. Socratic Seminars can create
opportunities for students to be more receptive to new learning and more
effective in gaining knowledge and increasing understanding.
To be successful at designing and
facilitating Socratic Seminars, the Socratic Teacher must be able to live and
model positive attitudes about inquiry and self-reflection. In my experience, teachers who do not embrace
a Socratic Temperament, will have a difficult time bringing a Socratic Seminar
to life in their classrooms.
Characteristics of the Socratic Temperament:
The Socratic Teacher loves to discover her own errors.
The Socratic Teacher embraces the discovery of error as a joyful
moment. The teacher cherishes this
moment of realization because a step towards knowledge and understanding is taken
with every misunderstanding we uncover. The
capacity to examine our own cherished ideas and beliefs without the fear is an
essential part of the Socratic Temperament and the Socratic Seminar. Students learn this best by watching their
teachers live it.
The Socratic Teacher is in touch with her own ignorance.
Socrates said that the only thing he knew was that he knew nothing. The Socratic Teacher sees her students as
teachers and embraces learning from them.
She knows that it is possible for the students to be wise in unexpected
ways. This realization makes it easy for
the Socratic Teacher to treat all students as sources of understanding, who
have the power to teach the teacher.
The Socratic Teacher models the joy of hard work in the quest for
knowledge.
The Socratic Teacher sees knowledge as a great treasure. She experiences true satisfaction in working
hard to gain knowledge. Thus, the
Socratic Teacher takes opportunities to demonstrate and communicate the value
of hard work to her students and the joy that can be found in the work of
learning.
The Socratic Teacher experiences deep curiosity and the desire for
self-improvement.
It is impossible to value knowledge so greatly yet remain indifferent. The Socratic Teacher is deeply curious and always
desires to improve her understanding. The development of understanding is seen
as essential to self-improvement. The
Socratic Teacher creates opportunities to model a deep curiosity and passionate
desire for self-improvement for her students.
Knowing this, I try to make small shifts every day to empower students
as learners. Designing, facilitating,
and coaching Socratic Seminars is when I feel most connected to my Socratic
Temperament. As I live the teaching life
with a Socratic Temperament, I know that when the students engage in Socratic
Seminars I can step back and observe, assess, and reflect on their powerful
learning. The results are amazing for my
students and for myself. I encourage you
to embrace your own Socratic Temperament!
Q1. How can
(or how do) Socratic Seminars support high levels of student learning and
engagement?
Q2. What can
Socratic Seminars do for your classroom culture?
Q3. How can
Socratic Seminars shift the power of learning to our students?
Q4. How does
the Socratic Temperament align with your learning or teaching style?
Q5. In what
other ways can the Socratic Temperament influence student learning?
Join the Twitter chat - Tuesday, March 7th at 8:30
p.m.
Chris Job
Instructional
Coach at Murphy Elementary
Resources:
No comments:
Post a Comment