by Matthew Huddleston

Created on: July 02, 2009

Perhaps the most effective way to teach graduate students is a through pedagogy that is attributed to the earliest graduate teacher, Socrates. Though our primary source of Socrates' teaching is through the written word of his most famous pupil, Plato, the Platonic Socrates is the source of the instructional method known commonly as the Socratic Seminar. In short, the Socratic Seminar is a student-driven discussion which incorporates the depth of knowledge and personal interaction with a specific topic.

While the Socratic Seminar is growing in popularity in secondary education, the method is particularly suited to graduate curriculum. At this point academically, students are generally approaching the subject of their study with the intent to pursue a profession or specific academic degrees. Students are matured and are more capable of open discussion with peers. Graduate students also understand the expectation of extensive reading and research required to properly prepare for a Socratic Seminar session. Graduate instructors, in the role of facilitator, also benefit from being able to assess their students as a direct participant in the discussion, rather than the center of a simple query and response class structure.

The Socratic Seminar is also designed to fit easily within the graduate course schedule. Socratic Seminars require time between discussions for reading, research, and reflection. The discussions themselves should run from one hour to ninety minutes, which fits in nicely with most graduate course sessions. In addition the class schedule, Socratic Seminars require six elements to incorporate into the curriculum.

1. Pre-Seminar Activity. This is the one step that is initiated by the instructor in the traditional didactic role. Students are presented with a task to complete that will engage their thoughts toward the upcoming discussion session. This can be a physical project (lab), writing assignment, or other closed end assignment that challenges the students with exploring new information. The assignment can be incorporated as part of a course portfolio, which will help focus students on the importance of the activity.

2. Reading and Research. Independently, students are assigned a reading assignment or topic to research in preparation for the discussion session. This step is the most important step in a successful Socratic Seminar. Students must be well versed in the existing content in order to expand on the

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