| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

21st Century Socratic Seminar

Page history last edited by Mrs. Jenkins 13 years, 4 months ago

 

Welcome fellow 21st Century Educators! 

 

Please use this page as a guide through my model lesson on "The 21st Century Socratic Seminar."  I will be using a PowerPoint Presentation format to guide my instruction as you use this page to access necessary links and documents.


 

PREVIEW

The format of the model lesson will be broken into the essential components of project-based learning:

  

-21st Century Socratic Seminar

  • Essential Question

  • "Hook"

  • Inquiry

  • Technology & Public Presentation

  • Feedback/Revision

  • Student Choice 

 

-Reflection on Learning

-Questions

 

 

How do technology-enhanced Socratic Seminars promote 21st Century learning?

 

Note: The actual Essential Questions designed for my students concerning their Socratic Seminar topics vary depending on the literature we are currently exploring. 

 

For example, an exploration of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" may focused on the question "What does Jackson's 'The Lottery' prove about change and tradition?" 

 

As an introduction to Socratic Seminars students participate in a SOCRATIC SEMINAR WEBQUEST.

  1. WEBQUEST PAGE
  2. WEBQUEST MAP-Directions & Guiding Questions 

 

 

Before delving into the Socratic Seminars we prepare for our dialogue of literature by using critical reading and critical writing in order to prepare for critical thinking.

 

Socratic Seminar Materials: 

  1. Sample Critical Reading and Critical Thinking (CRCT) Form- "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson
  2. Double Entry Journal Page
  3. About the Cornell Note-Taking Method
  4. Participation in SOCRATIC SEMINAR

 

Take a look at our Socratic Seminars in action! 

 

Fliqz has shut down their service. To access this video, email support with this video id: 378cb2f2c8b34ba39dd27092d822bcff


Now, you try...

Read the passage below from Kylene Beers's When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do and discuss its meaning with your "inner" circle. As a result of time restraints we will forego the "outter" circle.

 

He put down $10.00 at the window.  The woman behind the window gave $4.00. The person next to him gave him $3.00, but he gave it back to her.  So, when they went inside, she bought him a large bag of popcorn.

  

 

CRCT (Critical Reading & Critical Thinking) Questions to help guide your discussion:

 

1. Identify all aspects of the setting and provide support for your response.

 

 

2. Describe the relationship(s) of all the characters within the passage. Offer a thorough explanation for each.

 


  

 

 

Technology integration allows for the enhancement of the traditional Socratic Seminar that promotes inquiry-based learning by transforming the seminars into on-going project-based learning.

 

1. Wiki Notes: Students are asked to work with a peer partner to publish their Socratic Seminar Cornell notes on the couse wiki. Roating teams of students are asked to extend/enhance the notes by adding pictures, links, and videos.  Take a look at an example of our published Wiki Notes.

 

 

2. Edmodo: Social-networking forum that allows students to extend in-class discussion via online discussion.

*Join our Future is Now group (Code= peb549) and feel free to respond to the prompt I've provided.

 

Glimpse into my class's Edmodo seminar: 

 

 

 

This project is student-choice friendly.  Below as the major aspects of choice this project entails: 

 

  • Students sometimes get to choose which day they are "inner" or "outer" circle 
  • Students get to choose a select number of CRCT questions for preparation.
  • Students choose the direction of the dialogue during Socratic Seminar discussion--both in class and on Edmodo.
  • Students select their wiki notes partner.
  • Students choose which content from the wiki notes they wish to "enhance"--ultimately deciding what information their peers are accountable for.
  • Students choose which peer comments to respond to.
  • Students have a lot of say in when they complete their assignments--especially Edmodo--thus having choice in time management. 

 

 

REFLECTION ON LEARNING

 

As a result of teaching using the 21st Century Socratic Seminar I have discovered the following:

 

  • Increase in student motivation 
  • Increase in student understanding and retention
  • Increase in number of students on a weekly basis reaching higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy 
  • Improvement in students' oral and written communication
  • Growing understanding of students' digital literacy in terms of 21st Century technology in education 
  • Postitive impact on students when differentiating instruction
  • A personal growing interest in promoting inquiry-based learning 

 

 

 

Please see the Student Commentary Page detailing students' opinions of the various aspects of the Socratic Seminar including the in-class dialogues, the wiki notes, and the Edmodo discussions. 

 Who better to hear it from than the students themselves?

 

 

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your time & attention.  It was a pleasure sharing my learning experiences with you! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.