AVID Career Research

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

Guidelines for Participants in a Socratic Seminar

1.      Refer to the text often. It is the basis of the whole discussion. The goal is to understand the author's motivation or claims or bias; to explore ideas, issues, and values;  to reflect on the text and its bigger connection to the world and critical thinking.

2.      Your input into the discussion can include encouragement of another class member, a request for clarification, a disagreement on a point, an assertion, a connection to another piece of text, an anecdote from your own life experience, etc. Your input is not limited to statements such as, "I think paragraph X is saying this..."

3.      Be prepared to participate! Read the article thoroughly the night or week before. Annotate the text and come ready to address certain concepts. If you didn't read the article, be honest. (We'll all be able to tell!)

4.    Stick to the point and speak concisely. Watch your tone of voice and remain respectful at all times. Make notes or Post-It stickies about ideas you want to come back to.

5.     Listen with the intent to understand. If you find your mind preparing your next argument, you weren't listening.

6. Speak up so that everyone can hear you. Talk to each other, not to the teacher.

What is the difference between a seminar (dialogue) and a debate?

• Dialogue is collaborative: multiple sides work toward shared understanding.
  Debate is oppositional: two opposing sides try to prove each other wrong.
• In dialogue, one listens to understand, to make meaning, and to find common ground.
  In debate, one listens to find flaws, to spot differences, and to counter arguments.
• Dialogue enlarges and possibly changes a participant's point of view.
  Debate defends assumptions as truth.
• Dialogue creates an open-minded attitude: an openness to being wrong and an openness to change.
  Debate creates a close-minded attitude, a determination to be right.
• In dialogue, one submits one's best thinking, expecting that other people's reflections will help improve it rather than threaten it.
  In debate, one submits one's best thinking and defends it against challenge to show that it is right.
• In dialogue, one searches for strengths in all positions.
  In debate, one searches for weaknesses in the other position.
• Dialogue assumes that many people have pieces of answers and that cooperation can lead to a greater understanding.
  Debate assumes a single right answer that somebody already has.
• Dialogue remains open-ended. WE DO NOT HAVE TO REACH A CONCLUSION OR SOLVE A PROBLEM.
  Debate demands a conclusion.