Friday, July 31, 2009
Can a Socratic Seminar be used in a mathematics classroom? PartII
The idea that Socratic seminar is more applicable to english, social studies, and history classrooms derives from our understanding of what learning looks like in these particular classrooms. We would agree that an engaging discussion that represents two different viewpoints could occur in this context. One might say that you cannot have a Socratic seminar in a math class because there is always one correct answer and an incorrect answer can not be argued effectively. I believe that it would be counter productive to have a discussion in a math classroom that leads the students to accept wrong answers. What I am proposing is that there are MANY different ways to arrive at the same answer in mathematics. These different ways of reasoning would be the content of a mathematical Socratic seminar. A Socratic seminar would be a great way to get the students to analyze math logic. Students would not only learn from correct answers but also be able to discern between correct and incorrect steps that lead to wrong answers. I assert that a Socratic seminar would facilitate high order thinking in a math classroom.
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Kya, you've made an interesting and reasonable conjecture, and you've contextualized your conjecture in a strong assertion about your vision of what it means to learn math. As I mentioned in response to your previous post, I think it would be very interesting to experiment with the idea of different approaches to solving a problem being analagous to statements of point-of-view on an article or a work of literature. I also think that it *could* provide an authentic setting in which students could experience the idea you articulate that doing math is about much more than just identifying the right answer. The potential here of makine the process meaningful is rich, and I hope that you get the opportunity to experiment with your ideas (and blog about that experience!!)
ReplyDeleteI've also been struggling with how to use Socratic Seminar in math. I never would of thought of basing one around logical thinking, but I really like the idea. How exactly do you envision it working? Would the "text" be two different arguments that the class would have to discuss in terms of what makes the logic of one argument stronger or more valid than the other? Or am I totally misinterpreting your suggestion?
ReplyDelete(I'd like to know, since I think learning how to analyze, think critically, and form arguments ARE key components of what it means to think mathematically and to do mathematics. And a Socratic Seminar on these issues could actually be useful for students)
Awesome post! I think it is a great idea to introduce Socratic Seminars in the math classroom. However, I struggle with the idea of logic in the secondary math curriculum. I know that in the higher levels logic is introduced, but I think it really does need to be isolated to those classes. However, I can be easily swayed and would like to do so...
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