1. Discussions: Can they help students grow more and perform better?
Jennifer Porter- Cienega High School
David Shingler- Empire High School

2. Bell Work How familiar are you with the Socratic Seminar method?
How often do you use the Socratic Seminar method?
What are you hoping to gain from today’s presentation?

3. Presenters Information
David Shingler
11 years in Vail
Advanced Placement Teacher
9-12 grade all levels
30 Students
Jennifer Porter
10 years in Vail
Variety of levels and abilities
30 students

4. Objective
Become familiar with different types of Socratic Seminars to enhance “performance”
Learn discussion strategies designed to provide students different ways to demonstrate understanding
Larger school vs smaller school strategies and assessment
Understand how discussions can help students “grow more”
What does grow more mean for you and your students?
How does this affect standardized tests?

5. What is a Socratic Seminar?
Based on the belief that there is power in asking questions
Discussion-based
Revolves around texts and levels of questioning
Utilizes reading, listening, and verbal skills
Requires preparation by both student and teacher
Clear expectations and roles
Assessed

6. Small School Techniques

7. Dialogue Session - Free for All
There is a prize- the goal is to win it and anything goes
It may be the instructor's approval
It may be one's own self-esteem
“You win by looking not just smart, but by looking smarter.”
Just as important “...to make them look dumb as to make you look smart”

8. Dialogue Session - Beauty Pageant
Parading “my idea”
Seeks your admiration
Get ready for next appearance while you're “parading your idea”.
Not paying any attention to anyone else’s ideas

9. Dialogue Session - Distinguished House Tour
Advances an idea.
The rest of the seminar spends some time exploring her house.
Ask questions, explore for inconsistencies, try hard to understand the idea
Good grasp on it leads to the offering of a different and another idea
Whole different point of view on the same subject- explore that “house”
Are not compared nor does one person claim theirs is better.
Interesting “houses in their own right and each worth exploring”

10. Dialogue Session - Barn Raising
Community gathers to help them build the barn (idea)
Student describes the idea (opinion)
Talks about the kind of idea they had in mind,
Picks the topic and context for idea
Community pitches in and builds idea
Often the community would suggest changes and improvements as they are discussed

11. Dialogue Session Class Size: 30 (5 groups of 6) Grade: Senior
Objective:
Students will participate in:
A Barn Raising discussion
Using textual evidence and notes
Evaluate and synthesize readings from class
Topics will be determined by students (after 4 weeks through end of the year) or teacher (1st 4 weeks) to promote critical thinking skills and communication of ideas
Teacher can be in or out of discussion- ask permission of students

12. Dialogue Session Pre-discussion:
Students should have read “The Seminar” by Michael Khan
Students come up with a topic for discussion
May need prep if using lower grade students
Discussion minutes
Provide students with paper with notes
Post discussion minutes
How did the discussion go?
Strengths vs weaknesses
Ask students what type of discussion (of the 4) they had and why?
For next time what is the goal for each?

13. Discussion Log Activity
Class Size: 30 (4 groups of 7-8)
Grade: Senior
Objective:
Students will participate in:
A Barn Raising discussion
Using textual evidence; one note taker to take down comments from the discussion
Evaluate and synthesize readings from class
Topics will be determined by teacher to promote critical thinking skills and communication of ideas from a reading
2 MVC (Most Valuable Comments)

14. Discussion Log Activity
Procedure
Pre-discussion:
Notebooks with prompts
List of students per group
How to separate?
What are you looking to get from students?
Discussion: 7-10 minute discussions
Table Leader
Recorder- record important thoughts or ideas
Rotate notebooks clockwise so every group gets to discuss the prompt
Post discussion minutes
Groups end up with original notebook
Select 2 responses for MVC and give student credit aloud
Closing comments

15. Large School Techniques

16. Small Group Share-Out Goals are: Least formal Keeps students:
Check understanding
Demonstrate knowledge
Least formal
Keeps students:
Focused
Comfortable
On their toes
Multi-faceted
Support
Spiraling
Usually not graded on its own

17. Circle Discussion Whole class, varied sizes
Goal is an exchange of ideas and new understanding
Usually paired with in-class reading
Whole class is involved at one time
Less structured but still moderated
More student-driven and varied conversations
Can be challenging to grade
Usually participation-based

18. Inner Circle - Outer Circle
Whole class, varied sizes
Goal is to demonstrate understanding and analysis
More structured than many discussion formats
Set times for writing & discussion
Allows class to be grouped into smaller ‘chunks’
Pushes all students to be engaged all the time
Provides focus point(s)
Grading done in two ways
Written
Verbal

19. I-O Classroom Set-Up

20. Sample Inner Circle - Outer Circle
Students read and work through all of Slaughterhouse Five
Teacher sets up instructions and timing for I-O in the next class period
Initial question answered independently for homework
Class divided in half
Inner Circle starts with discussion question and discusses without repetition (10 minutes)
Outer Circle silently takes notes
Students switch places, then NEW Inner Circle starts discussion where the first left off (10 minutes)
New Outer Circle silently takes notes
Whole class discusses ideas (without repeating) and comes to new ideas/understanding
Closing question (based on class discussion) answered independently in writing
Initial question: SH5 is often regarded as a satirical novel. Do you think it is? If so, in way way(s) does Vonnegut use satire to present his views on war and its effects on society? If not, what is his purpose and how is it shown in the text?
Closing question: Would Vonnegut’s satire (and opinions) be as relevant to today’s society? Explain & support.

21. Standardized Testing Impact
Dialogue Session
Small Group Share Out
Textual Evidence to support rationale
Varied perspectives- listening and responding
Allows students to both support and push each other in smaller format
Analysis (break down information)
Every student has a voice to add to the dialogue- CONFIDENCE BUILDER
Evaluate the information and determine “best” for them vs best with most evidence on the test
Discussion Log Activity
Textual Evidence – evaluation and analysis
Circle Discussions

22. Closure What are your goals for using this technique?
What is your most valuable takeaway from this presentation?