Socratic Methods in the Classroom: Encouraging Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Through Dialogue

Since the Renaissance, the Socratic Method has been adapted to teach diverse subjects, including medicine, law, and mathematics. Each discipline selects elements and emphases from the Socratic Method that are appropriate to teaching individuals or groups how to reason judiciously within that subject.

By looking at some of the great practitioners of Socratic questioning in the past, Socratic Methods in the Classroom explains how teachers may use questioning, reasoning, and dialogue to encourage critical thinking, problem solving, and independent learning in the secondary classroom. Through a variety of problems, cases, and simulations, teachers will guide students through different variations of the Socratic Method, from question prompts to the case method. Students will learn to reason judiciously, gain an understanding of important issues, and develop the necessary skills to discuss these issues in their communities.