Re: Socratic Method

[John Clement <clement@HAL-PC.ORG>]

The best way of learning more is to attend a multiweek workshop on one of
the methods.  Laws, Thornton, & Sokoloff have in the past sponsored such
workshops.  Jane Jackson I am sure can inform you of the latest Modeling
workshops.  Extended workshops have a much greater impact, and may help an
instructor get over the barriers to implementing new ideas.  There are also
a number of 1 day workshops at AAPT meetings, but these are only a small
taste of what you may need to know.  Unfortunately short term workshops are
generally ineffective in changing teacher behavior.

The Socratic method can be implemented by using Hake's Socratic Dialog Labs
http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi/ .  These have proven to be very
effective. However, they may seem intimidating for an initial jump into
novel pedagogy.  Mazur's Peer Instruction is a lecture form of Socratic
Dialog using a voting scheme.  This can be implemented fairly easily if you
get his book "Peer Instruction" , Prentice Hall (1997).  Another interesting
variant is Meltzer's fully interactive lecture.

Socratic dialog can be used with other materials.  For example Real Time
Physics or Workshop Physics can be implemented in a conventional manner, or
they can have the instructor use Socratic dialog.  When using Socratic
dialog, it takes time to learn what sort of questions to ask, and how to ask
them.  Modeling uses a standard question "How do you know that?".  The
Modeling workshops actually train instructors on how to ask questions.
Again, Jane Jackson might be able to shed more light on this.

Anyone who can not attend workshops, and wishes to start out using this sort
of pedagogy might find Mazur's method to be the easiest to implement.  A
good addition would be the Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILD) by
Thornton et al from www.vernier.com .  If labs are part of the course then
Real Time Physics by Sokoloff et al, Wiley or Tools for Scientific Thinking
by Thornton et al from www.vernier.com are easy to implement.

The basic questions you asked below are addressed by Mazur's "Peer
Instruction" book.  He uses reading quizzes to enforce reading.  When using
voting schemes everyone participates and discussion can not be dominated by
the most testosterone driven students.  Electronic voting methods are
probably the best because the votes are not distorted by the Lemming effect
of following other students.  Mazur uses conventional tests with good
conceptual questions.  Indeed most of the reformed methods still use
conventional tests in some fashion.  Many of the reformed methods claim to
motivate students better, but there will always be some who will not do the
necessary work.  As far as I know motivation has not been attacked very well
yet.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX


> Hello,
>
> I keep hearing (and experiencing) that lecture-based courses are
> not the most
> effective at enhancing student learning.  I am intrigued by the Socratic
> Method, but is there a good introduction of the use of this (and perhaps
> other) methods for teaching a physics course?  I'm familiar with the basic
> idea, but I would like to know some of the nuts-and-bolts of the
> methodology.
> How do you deal with students who don't follow the reading?
> What's to keep
> the smartest or loudest students from dominating the class?  What
> do you do
> with unmotivated students?  How is assessment done?
>
> I can think of a number of questions, and was wondering if there
> are any good
> resources out there for instructors on these alternate teaching methods.
>
> Any thoughts or pointers would be greatly appreciated.
>
>
>                 thanks,
>
>                     Brian Blais
>                     Science and Technology
>                     Bryant College
>
>
> --
> -----------------
>
>             bblais@bryant.edu
>             web.bryant.edu/~bblais

This posting is the position of the writer, not that of SUNY-BSC, NAU or the AAPT.