Socratic Seminar Participation

A Socratic seminar is a type of discussion during which the goal is to ponder questions and dilemmas, come to new understandings based on shared knowledge, and generate even more questions to continue considering. The goal is not to debate “I’m right and you’re wrong” or even to think there isa right or wrong answer.

For a Socratic seminar, participants are expected to come to the table with questions for discussion (not simply to rely on one person to provide these). For our class seminar, you will need to generate three such questions based on The Great Gatsby.

Guidelines

  • Questions should be open-ended (no right or wrong answer, not a yes / no answer)
  • Questions must be focused on a particular aspect of the novel– you must give a specific reference point (quote or paraphrase) with a page number
  • Questions need to be thoughtful(they should not be able to be answered with a simple, one-sentence response) and insightful(they need to deal with the primary issues at play)
  • Questions need to be three-part – first, you will reference the portion of the text you’re discussing; then, explain your thoughts on the topic (what led you to that question in the first place); and finally, ask the question of the other seminar participants

Non-examples

- What did you think of The Great Gatsby?

This question is open-ended, but it is not focused, insightful, or three-part.

- I agree with Nick Carraway when he says,“You can’t repeat the past” (110). Did you agree?

This question is three-part, but it is not open-ended.

- I thought it was cool that Gatsby’s Rolls-Royce“became an omnibus” (39). What did you think?

This question is open-ended, focused, and three-part, but it is not really insightful because it does not deal with the primary issues in the text.

Good example

I thought it was interesting when Gatsby replies to Nick that, “of course you can” repeat the past (110). I think this shows a lot about Gatsby as a character. How else does Gatsby show he is past-oriented?

  • This question is open-ended, focused, thoughtful, insightful, and three-part. The participant cites a specific part of the article, offers his/her opinions on it, and then asks a thought-provoking question that will require the other participants to really consider their answers.

Requirements

- Create three Socratic questions.

- Type these and print them before class. This is to prohibit you from simply scribbling something down right before class starts. You need to put some thought into this!

- Bring your questions and novel to class on seminar day. If everyone has written his or her questions correctly, we will constantly need to refer to the text during the discussion.