Tch Tips: Engaging Students in Socratic Seminars

Gretchen Vierstra

Ready to teach like Socrates? We’ve got the videos to show you just how to do it!

In its simplest form, a Socratic Seminar is a structured conversation that students facilitate through open-ended questioning, listening carefully to one another, sharing their thoughts, and making meaning together. Traditionally, the seminar focuses on a text or set of texts, but there are many variations. The main idea is that the teacher is off-stage, and it’s the student inquiry that leads the show.

Whether you’re just starting out with these seminars or a full-fledged expert, there’s always something to be learned by watching how others do it. Some of our most popular Teaching Channel videos are of Socratic Seminars for that very reason!

Here are four tips you can learn from watching these videos.