Socratic Questioning
Learning Influencer Training Slides
Produced by: Matt Bromley of Bromley Education
Produced for: WYCC FE Catalyst Learning Project for DfE
Created: March 2022
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
About the Knowledge Facilitator
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Contact the Knowledge Facilitator
Website: www.bromleyeducation.co.uk
Email: admin@bromleyeducation.co.uk
Twitter: @mj_bromley
Bio: bit.ly/MattBromley
Books: bit.ly/MJBromley
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
About the training materials
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About the training delivery
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Next steps…�What actions will you take to put your learning into practice..?
What? Objective | How? Actions | Who/when? Resources/timescales | Why? Intended outcomes |
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The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Objective-setting
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Introduction
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Discuss
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Self-assessment
No confidence Very confident
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Group discussion
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Socratic questioning is…
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Socratic questioning is…
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We can use Socratic questioning in the FE classroom to…
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We can use Socratic questioning in the FE classroom to…
The success of this strategy can therefore be measured in the extent to which all students are engaged (contribute), think and learn.
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Reflection
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Self-assessment
No confidence Very confident
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6 types of Socratic question
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When using these six Socratic questions, we should try to:
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The best place to start planning a series of Socratic questions is with a big question to be discussed.
Once the big question has been formed, you can develop a series of prior questions that lead up to it.
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For example…
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1. Conceptual clarifications
“Why do you say that?”
“What exactly does this mean?”
“Could you explain that further?”
“What do we already know about that?”
“Can you give me an example?”
“Are you saying ... or ... ?”
“Can you rephrase that, please?”
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2. Probing assumptions
“Is that always the case?”
“Why do you think that assumption holds here?”
“Please explain why/how ... ?”
“How can you verify or disprove that assumption?”
“What would happen if ... ?”
“Do you agree or disagree with ... ?”
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
3. Probing rational, reasons and evidence
“Why do you say that?”
“Is there reason to doubt the evidence?”
“How do you know this?”
“Show me ... ?”
“Can you give me an example of that?”
“Are those reasons good enough?”
“How might it be refuted?”
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
4. Questioning viewpoints
“What is the counter-argument?”
“Can anyone see this another way?”
“What is the difference between... and...?”
“Why is it better than ...?”
“What are the strengths and weaknesses of...?”
“How are ... and ... similar?”
“How could you look another way at this?”
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5. Probing implications
“But if…happened, what else would then result?”
“How does…affect…?”
“What are the implications of ... ?”
“How does ... fit with what we learned before?”
“Why is ... important?”
“What is the best ... ? Why?”
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
6. Questioning the question
“Why do you think that I asked that question?”
“Why was that question important?”
“Am I making sense? Why not?”
“What else might I ask?”
“What does that mean?”
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Planning
Think of a class / topic where Socratic questioning might be used…
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Planning
Think of a class / topic where Socratic questioning might be used…
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Planning
Think of a class / topic where Socratic questioning might be used…
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Planning
Think of a class / topic where Socratic questioning might be used…
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Planning
Think of a class / topic where Socratic questioning might be used…
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Group discussion
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Next steps…�What actions will you take to put your learning into practice..?
What? Objective | How? Actions | Who/when? Resources/timescales | Why? Intended outcomes |
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The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Self-assessment
No confidence Very confident
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Putting Socratic questioning into context
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Socratic questioning forms part of a strategy called dialogic teaching…
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Socratic questioning forms part of a strategy called dialogic teaching…
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Dialogic teaching: A learning process
One way to help students achieve this is to follow this 3-step process…
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Thinking hard…
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Reflect on…
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…but efficiently
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Reflect on…
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Activating prior learning
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Reflect on…
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Planning
Think of a class / topic where Socratic questioning might be used…
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Dialogic teaching: Teacher instruction
When introducing students to new information, it might also help to follow this 4-step sequence…
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1. Teacher explanations
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2. Teacher modelling
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3. Co-construction
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4. Independent practice
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Planning
Think of a class / topic where Socratic questioning might be used…
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Checking for understanding
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Formative assessment: 5 key strategies
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Checking for understanding: Hinge Questions
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The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Which of these is alliteration?
a) The golden disc of the sun burned
b) The sizzling summer sun smiled sweetly
c) I felt the red hot sun on my back
d) The trees swayed gently in the wind
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Which object can be picked up by a magnet?
a) An iron nail
b) A copper wire
c) A piece of wood
d) A piece of glass
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Which of these sentences best summarizes the main point of this lesson?
a) b) c) d) e)
How would you make your chosen answer even better?
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What is the capital of Moldova?
A. Baku
B. Tbilisi
C. Chisinau
D. Minsk
E. Yerevan
What is the capital of Moldova?
A. Paris
B. London
C. Chisinau
D. New York
E. Berlin
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Checking for understanding: Exit tickets
According to Fisher and Frey (2004), there are three categories of exit slips:
1. Prompts that document learning: E.g. Write one thing you learned today; Discuss how today's lesson could be used in the real world ; etc.
2. Prompts that emphasise the process of learning: E.g. I didn't understand…; Write one question you have about today's lesson; etc.
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Checking for understanding: Exit tickets
3. Prompts to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction: E.g. Did you enjoy working in small groups today?; Did you find peer-assessment helpful?; etc.
Other useful exit ticket prompts might include:
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Exit tickets
A good exit ticket, therefore, must be closely aligned to the lesson’s objectives.
A good exit ticket must also:
• Assess students’ understanding in all aspects of the lesson
• Differentiate accurately between levels of understanding
• Be quick to answer and assess
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
When assessing the exit tickets students have handed in on their way out of the room, we are likely to find that:
• All students got the right answer – in which case we can move on to the next topic, or…
• All students got the wrong answer – in which case we can re-teach the topic next lesson before moving on, or most likely....
• Some students got the right answer but some got it wrong – in which case we can briefly recap on the topic next lesson (perhaps as a starter activity), get a student who ‘got it’ to peer-teach the topic or share their work as an exemplar to deconstruct (or group students to do this in pairs), and/or sit down with the students who didn’t get it when there’s a suitable opportunity next lesson and re-teach them whilst the others move on to the next topic.
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Next steps…�What actions will you take to put your learning into practice..?
What? Objective | How? Actions | Who/when? Resources/timescales | Why? Intended outcomes |
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| | | |
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The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Self-assessment
No confidence Very confident
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Building the foundations for Socratic questions
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The foundations…
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Metacognition
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Metacognition
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A metacognitive cycle
1. The planning stage:
During the planning stage, learners think about the learning goal the teacher has set and consider how they will approach the task and which strategies they will use. At this stage, it is helpful for learners to ask themselves:
• ‘What am I being asked to do?’
• ‘Which strategies will I use?’
• ‘Are there any strategies that I have used before that might be useful?’
2. The monitoring stage:
During the monitoring stage, learners implement their plan and monitor the progress they are making towards their learning goal. Pupils might decide to make changes to the strategies they are using if these are not working. As pupils work through the task, it is helpful to ask themselves:
• ‘Is the strategy that I am using working?’
• ‘Do I need to try something different?’
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
A metacognitive cycle
3. The evaluation stage:
During the evaluation stage, pupils determine how successful the strategy they’ve used has been in terms of helping them to achieve their learning goal. To promote evaluation, it is helpful for pupils to ask themselves:
• ‘How well did I do?’
• ‘What didn’t go well?’ ‘What could I do differently next time?’
• ‘What went well?’ ‘What other types of problem can I use this strategy for?’
4. The reflection stage:
Reflection is an integral part of the whole process. Encouraging learners to self-question throughout the process is therefore crucial.
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Teaching metacognition
Monitoring:
• ‘Am I doing well?’
• ‘Do I need any different techniques to improve my self-portrait?
• ‘Are all of my facial features in proportion?’
• ‘Am I finding this challenging?’
• ‘Is there anything I need to stop and change to improve my self-portrait?’
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Teaching metacognition
Evaluation:
• ‘How did I do?’
• ‘Did my line guide strategy work?’
• ‘Was it the right viewpoint to choose?’
• ‘How would I do a better self-portrait next time?’
• ‘Are there other perspectives, viewpoints or techniques I would like to try?’
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
A 7-step guide to teaching metacognition (EEF)
1. Activating prior knowledge;
2. Explicit strategy instruction;
3. Modelling of learned strategy;
4. Memorisation of strategy;
5. Guided practice;
6. Independent practice; and
7. Structured reflection.
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The foundations: Cooperative learning
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The foundations: Cooperative learning
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The foundations: Cooperative learning
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Classroom talk: Starting principles
Classroom talk can be made more effective when we:
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Help students become more articulate and sophisticated users of our language by:
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The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Activity: Creating the culture
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Activity: Class rules
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Suggested starting principles
1. Respect each other’s ideas, views and opinions
• One voice at a time
• Say what you think
• Say why you think it
2. Listen and reflect on what others say
3. Build on what others say
4. Support and include each other
5. Confidentially share partial ideas
6. Ask when you don’t understand
7. Try to reach an agreement
8. Seek clarity from each other
9. Speak calmly - be noise aware
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Next steps…�What actions will you take to put your learning into practice..?
What? Objective | How? Actions | Who/when? Resources/timescales | Why? Intended outcomes |
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| | | |
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The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Self-assessment
No confidence Very confident
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Final take-away actions…�What 3 actions will you take to put your learning into practice..?
What? Objective | How? Actions | Who/when? Resources/timescales | Why? Intended outcomes |
1 | | | |
2 | | | |
3 | | | |
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.
Thank you!
@mj_bromley
The FE Catalyst project is funded by the Department for Education.