Socratic Questioning; the Key to Opening the "Thinking" Door

Dr. Wendy Ghiora - Posting #31 - October 4, 2009

“Can it be, Ischomachus, that asking questions is teaching? I am just beginning to see what is behind all your questions. You lead me on by means of things I know, point to things that resemble them, and persuade me that I know things that I thought I had no knowledge of.”
-Socrates (Quoted in Xenophon’s Economics)

Is asking questions teaching? Questioning is undeniably an extremely potent teaching tool; and soliciting answers is not new to the art of teaching. Today, we will examine a specific questioning strategy used by none other than Socrates. Since the Socratic method of questioning covers such a broad scope, this posting will focus on understanding the basics of what Socratic Questioning is all about.

Socratic Questioning Background
Socratic Questioning is a method of teaching developed by Socrates (ca. 470-399 B.C.). It is also known as Socratic Seminar. Socrates was known for engaging his students in intellectual discussion by responding to questions with questions, instead of answers. This method encouraged his students to think for themselves rather than being told what to think. Great teachers realize it is doing a disservice to a student to do something for him that he can very well do for himself. A self-discovered truth brings immeasurable joy and self-confidence to the student.

This early Greek philosopher/teacher used the practice of disciplined, rigorously thoughtful dialogue. Socrates theorized that it is more important to enable students to think for themselves than to merely fill their heads with "right" answers. Teachers focused on student learning, endeavor to engage students toward that exact end. Therefore, Socrates regularly engaged his pupils in dialogues by responding to their questions with questions, instead of answers. This process encouraged divergent thinking rather than convergent.

The instructor using this practice professes ignorance of the topic under discussion in order to elicit engaged dialogue with students. Socrates was convinced that disciplined practice of thoughtful questioning enables the scholar/student to examine ideas logically and to be able to determine the validity of those ideas. This type of questioning can correct misconceptions and lead to reliable knowledge construction.

Dialogue Vs. Debate
Students are given opportunities to "examine" a common piece of text, whether it is in the form of a novel, poem, art print, or piece of music. After "reading" the common text like a “love letter", open-ended questions are posed.

Open-ended questions allow students to think critically, analyze multiple meanings in text, and express ideas with clarity and confidence. After all, participants feel a certain degree of emotional safety when they understand that this format is based on dialogue and not discussion/debate.
Americans are great at discussion/debate. Unfortunately, we do not dialogue well. However, once teachers and students learn to dialogue, they find that the ability to ask meaningful questions that stimulate thoughtful interchanges of ideas is more important than "the answer." Discussion/debate is a transfer of information designed to win an argument and bring closure, whereas dialogue is exploratory and involves the suspension of biases and prejudices.

Participants in a Socratic Seminar respond to one another with respect by carefully listening instead of interrupting. Students are encouraged to "paraphrase" essential elements of another's ideas before responding, either in support of or in disagreement. Students listen intently, willing to learn from others. Members of the dialogue look each other in the "eyes" and use each others names. This simple act of socialization reinforces appropriate behaviors and promotes team building.

Although "Socratic questioning" appears simple, it is in fact intensely rigorous. As described in the writings of Plato, a student of Socrates, the teacher feigns ignorance about a given subject in order to acquire another person's fullest possible knowledge of the topic. Individuals have the capacity to recognize contradictions, so Socrates assumed that incomplete or inaccurate ideas would be corrected during the process of disciplined questioning, and hence would lead to progressively greater truth and accuracy.

If you are excited about leading your students on this path to greater understanding and truth, then get ready! Next week we will take a closer look at some specific examples using the Socratic Questioning Strategy.

"The unexamined life is not worth living."-Socrates