Socratic dialogue: What is it? and how can it be used in teaching

Socratic dialogue is the practice of debate or stimulating questions posed in conversation to distil a greater truth (Nordquist, 2019). It allows those in conversation to identify their own errors or contradictions through the logical analysis of a thought or idea. In its origins seen in Plato's Dialogs, Socratics would pose questions to teach rather than distilling his teachings explicitly. The person would come to the truth on their own even if it was a contradiction to their original statement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz8zK_d4388

In teaching:
When students are empowered and engaged they can be active in the learning. Rather than passively accepting knowledge with Socratic dialogue, they are questioned. The teacher acts as a facilitator rather than giving answers (Socratic Teaching, n.d.). Students are prompted to use logical reasoning to deduce truths. Using guiding question any logical idea can be drawn out of a student.
Some believe this method is only practical for more objective topics related to the arts however, its place in math or science have been demonstrated (The Room 241 Team, 2018). The practice helps learners develop critical thinking skills which should transferable to any subject or domain. As well as other skills highlighted in the visual below.

This demonstrates the areas of growth which can be gained when Socratic dialogues are employed in the classroom.

For those looking to employing such practices, Paul and Elder (1997) offer practical guidelines

A Socratic questioner should:
a) keep the discussion focused
b) keep the discussion intellectually responsible
c) stimulate the discussion with probing questions
d) periodically summarize what has and what has not been dealt with and/or resolved
e) draw as many students as possible into the discussion.

References

Paul, R. and Elder, L. (April 1997). Foundation For Critical Thinking,
Online at website: www.criticalthinking.org)

Nordquist, R. (2019, January 08). What Is a Socratic Dialogue? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/socratic-dialogue-argumentation-1691972

The Room 241 Team. (2018, February 15). Socratic Method of Teaching: Pros and Cons. Retrieved from https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/should-educators-use-the-socratic-method-of-teaching/

Socratic Teaching. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/socratic-teaching/606