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Field testing a student-led discussion technique

According to studies analyzed by Matthew Copeland, many secondary classrooms are

implementing discussions. However, discussions are typically characterized by teacher-led

strategies, making them the owner of knowledge, or the holder of the microphone. Often, the

majority of the dialogue occurs between the teacher and the student, rather than a student with

other students. That being said, I adapted Socratic Seminars in the form of Socratic Circles

within an 8th grade social studies classroom. I have implemented this approach to classroom

discussion in four other instances,however, success was inconsistent; thus, this particular study

will allow to focus on guiding students toward successfully conducting a Socratic Circle. After

adapting materials from Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), I will present an

implementation of them in two fashions: one with two sets of discussion groups and the other

with a variety of differentiated small groups. In conclusion, I contend that Socratic Circles often

lead to more in-depth student-led discussion and analysis of primary and secondary sources,

while providing opportunities for students to create leading questions and demonstrate skills of

historical analysis and the corroboration of primary and secondary sources. Literature further

suggests that Socratic Circles lead to better analytical, discussion and vocabulary skills for all

students. Therefore, this discussion strategy is of great importance to the discipline-specific use

within the history classroom.

In his Socratic Circles: Fostering Critical and Creative Thinking in Middle and High

School, Matthew Copelands opening vignette describes an encounter with a student that many

teachers are familiar with--that student who openly loathes the thought of reading, writing,

speaking, or listening to anything regarding a particular subject area. The apathy towards active

learning or critical thinking is familiar within the American history classroom, and persuading
students to dig below the surface with many documents is often a treacherous endeavor that does

not always resemble the enticing classroom environment like that of Mr. Keating from the Dead

Poets Society. To create this engaging environment, Copeland adapted the idea of Socratic

Seminars into what he calls Socratic Circles. His purpose for implementing Socratic Circles

within the secondary classroom is to provide students with authentic opportunities to engage

with their peers in crafting unique understandings about chosen documents or topic of discussion

(Copeland, 2015).

Ultimately, the purpose of Socratic Circles, like Seminars, is for students to make

meaning of a specific text that corresponds with a particular ideas being discussed in class.The

instructor must communicate with students that the purpose of the discussion is not to debate or

persuade their peers to agree. Rather, it is imperative that students understand that when they are

participating in a Socratic Circle, they are sharing and uncovering meaning of complex texts and

ideas. That being said, texts that allow for multiple interpretations and ignite a heightened level

of controversy will typically lend to fruitful discussions (Facing History). This means that

students will be interacting a text while engaging in inquiry with a posed essential question, prior

to the discussion ( Olsen & Gross, 2014) .

As mentioned by Matthew Copeland, an outsider or critic of the Socratic Circle may

claim that the discussion appears unstructured. However, as indicated in the outline below, the

preparation that occurs prior to implementation suggests that the Socratic Circle structure creates

an environment where students are prepared to openly engage in a discussion with their

peers.Other criticisms may include that students may not end come to a conclusion or solution

may be unfamiliar to the teacher, and the preparation is time consuming (Copeland, 2005).

Although these criticism are valid in their acclaims, the outline below suggests methods to
structure the Socratic Circle, the rules and roles during the discussion, and a sampling of adapted

resources.

Socratic Circle Outline

Before the Socratic Circle

1. Pre- discussion reading- For both uses of the Socratic Circle, students engaged
in specific texts. This process may include the use of annotating or marking texts through
strategies like close reading, or Cornell Notes.
i. For the first Socratic Circle, students engaged with
two texts that suggested conflicting views about whether or not our rights
should always be protected, or if the Federal government has the power to
restrict them. this particular question was their guiding question for the
unit. One text, from the American Civil Liberties Union, suggested that the
Federal government was violating the Constitution with the use of the
National Security Agency. The second source displayed data that
suggested Americans preferred protection of their security, rather than
their rights.
ii. For the second Socratic Circle, students explored a
variety of examples of commemorations to determine what they should
commemorate, in regards to the Mexican-American war. Although they
were not conducting a close read, students had to take sufficient contextual
notes about a specific topic from the Mexican-American War in
preparation for this discussion.
b. Pre-discussion question preparation- After interacting with the
text(s), students then created questions that related to three different levels. These
types of questions were adapted from a format used by AVID(Advancement Via
Individual Determination). As noted from the chart below, students were asked to
create questions that relate to the text, relate to the essential question or prompt,
and relate to the understandings of their peers:

Opening Questions Core Questions Closing Questions

Level 1- Relates to the Level 2- Discusses the essential Level 3- Asks for a specific
reading. question or prompt. solution or suggestion.

Examples Examples Examples

1. What do you think 1. If we were to commemorate the 1.In what ways do you think a
the monument was that Mexican-American War, would it be commemoration about the
we looking at in this more important to make an monument Mexican-American War would
picture? about heroes, triumphs, or tragedies? fit in with the other monuments
in Washington D.C.?
2.Where do you think it 2. From the monument that you looked
is located? at, did it commemorate a hero,
triumph, or tragedy, and how do you
know?

2. Classroom Set up:

There are a variety of ways to set up the classroom for a Socratic Circle, but for this particular
method, I have illustrated the set up that I implemented. Many often use two full circles,
however I adapted these for the what would fit in my classroom during this field tests, as well as
where the different roles would sit. As you will see in the section over rules and roles, it is
important for coaches to see their discussion leaders. Therefore, I have indicated where these
individuals would sit, in regards to their partner.

1. Roles:
Inner Circle- The individuals selected to participate in the inner circle are the students
leading the discussion. First, I have the students write their discussion question up on the
board so that the note takes on the outside circles can write them down. These individuals
then discuss their questions and ideas for about 8-12 minutes while their coach observes
their performance.
 Outer Circle- I adapted the roles of the outer circle in two ways: some students are
coaches, while other are note takers, and sometimes all students participate in both
coaching and note taking. However, for the coach, they are specifically assigned to a
single discussion leader that is performing in the inside circle. Therefore, their role is to
indicate how many times this individual meets a list of criteria. Below are the items from
a check-list that I adapted from AVID that the coaches use while observing their partner:

Socratic Seminar Observation Checklist- Coaches

Speaks in the discussion
Makes eye contact with other speakers or as she/he speaks
Refers to the text
Asks a new or follow-up question
Responds to another speaker
Paraphrases and adds to another speakers ideas
Encourages another participant to speak
Interrupts another speaker
Engages in side conversation
Dominates the conversation

After the discussion concludes, the coaches provide feedback by giving what I call two stars,
and one wish, in other words, they are to discuss two things their partner did well, and one area
for improvement

Note Takers

As for when the students take notes, I have adapted a simple style of Cornell Notes where they
students write the questions down on the left side, while on the right side of the page, they record
the responses from their peers. At the end of the discussion, they must summarize the ideas that
were shared. This is a role I give to students who are not quite ready to lead a discussion.

Sample of Notes

This is a condensed version of what was adapted for the first field test

Questions: Notes/details that Answer the Questions:

Su Summary of the Discussion:

During Discussion

Before starting the timer, create a mutual agreement on what the rules of discussion are. This
may happen right before your Socratic Circle, or during any previous class period where you
implemented a discussion technique. Below are some examples of the rules you may include
(Gross and Olsen, 2014)

Rules-

1. Discuss, not debate

2. Be prepare with questions
3. Be respectful
4. Lean in
5. Speak directly to your classmates
6. Make eye contact
7. Ask questions
8. Refer to the text or class notes
9. Take notes

Teacher Roles-

As the teacher, it is extremely it is natural to want to jump in and save students when the
conversation becomes dull or awkward.Because this is a learning experience, the students must
learn how to work through the silence by either asking direct questions or presenting their own
ideas. However, Matthew Copeland does suggest that if students are seemingly unprepared to
discuss a complex text, the teacher may take on the role of a discussion facilitator. What must be
understood is that the teacher should not dominate the discussion, rather they are only there for a
support to guide students towards leading the discussion on their own (Copeland, 2005). Ideally,
when students are discussing, the teacher may sit on the outside circle to assess students, or
model to the outside circle how they should be taking their notes.

After Discussion

Although adapted for a 45 minute class period, each discussion should ideally last about 15
minutes (Copeland, 2015). For this particular field test, each discussion lasted about 8-10
minutes. After the discussion concluded, coaches found their discussion leaders to debrief for
about 5 minutes. During this debriefing process, the coach discusses the items they witnessed, as
indicated by the checklist, and they share their two stars and one wish.

After the first discussion, the second round of students--those who began on the outside circle--
will typically switch to the inside circle. Due to student readiness, the first field test only required
one group of students to participate at discussion leaders, whereas the second field test
incorporated both groups. Regardless of how whether or not both groups participate, the final
step in the Socratic Circle process is the student reflection piece. The reflection should include a
summary of the ideas discussed and new understanding, a reflection over the students
contribution, and goals they have for the next discussion (AVID). The following is a sample of
reflection questions that all students were asked following the second field test.

Sample Reflection Question:

1. How did you feel about the discussion?
2. In what ways did your change or add to your opinion of the prompt?
3. Create two new questions that you believe would have made the discussion better.
4. What went well during the discussion?
5. What are some improvements with the discussion that could be improved?
6. What are some improvements you could make, in regards to your role?

Evaluation and Discussion of how to proceed

Preparing questions ahead of the discussion seemed to give students a great deal of guidance,
avoiding a lull in conversation
Students had adequate time to interact with the sources for a variety of purposes
Students had practiced speaking and listening skills in small groups with Kagan structures like
talking chips
Students did a great job of discussing rather than debating

The coaching checklist gives the outside circle something to focus on, however, the students may
focus more on making check marks for mannerisms like eye contact, rather than listening to
shared ideas.

Therefore, refocus the coaching part by creating a rubric that requires students to take notes, as
well as recording mannerisms of a good discussion leader
discussion seemed to end somewhat abruptly, so perhaps give students a warning when there are
only 2 minutes left and they have to make concluding points
Looking for ways to adapt this structure for classes that typically perform lower in regards to
discussion skills

an evaluation of your performance and that of the students; and,

a discussion of how to proceed with the technique in the future

Works Cited

AVID. Elective Teacher Training: Socratic Seminars. AVID Weekly Retrived from:
http://www.santeefalcons.org/apps/download/Qc101URJbVZajxNp3vVZnm5eacpjdh6cGkpxp4f
4mPwiBuxY.pdf/Socratic%20Seminar%20Handouts.pdf

Copeland, Matthew (2005). Socratic Circles: Fostering Critical and Creative Thinking in Middle
and High School. Stenhouse Publishers.

Facing History and Ourselves. Socratic Seminar. Retrived from:

https://www.facinghistory.org/for-educators/educator-resources/teaching-
strategies/socratic-seminar

Mary E. Styslinger and Jessica F. Overstreet (2014). Strengthening Argumentative Writing with
Speaking and Listening (Socratic) Circles. Voices from the Middle, Volume 22 Number
September 2014. http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/VM/0221-
sep2014/VM0221Strength.pdf

Olsen, J and Sarah Gross (2014). Skills Practice: Socratic Seminars Using Informational Text.
The New York Times. Retrived from: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/skills-
practice-socratic-seminars-using-informational-text/?_r=0
Smith, M. W., Wilhelm, J. D., & Fredricksen, J. E. (2012). Oh, Yeah?! Putting argument to work
both in school and out (exceeding the common core state standards). Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.