Using Socratic Instruction to increase Thinking

The author presents an argument for interactive questioning techniques to replace lectures in an advanced science course to improve student's critical thinking, logic and problem solving abi... See More

The author presents an argument for interactive questioning techniques to replace lectures in an advanced science course to improve student's critical thinking, logic and problem solving abilities. They state that students seem more involved with the learning than by simply reading and taking notes, as is usually done in a lecture. My question for the author is are the questions presented in the class in which they are discussed, previously assigned, or a combination of both? Without that information it would be difficult to replicate this type of success. Were there any class management techniques used to organize discussions for groups as large as what were described or were there multiple smaller sections? I have found that involving students in their own learning is a valuable teaching tool at any grade level and the means used is determined by the type of learning activity. Even in smaller classes, it can sometimes be difficult to get student participation, in which case, I encourage small group discussions of pre-assigned questions where the group comes up with answers/questions to present to the class. I have seen this method adapted to sophomore undergraduate classes with success as well and I believe it could also be used in some secondary science classes as well for certain units. For instructors who are thinking about implementing this technique, I would recommend using a "backwards design" approach [Wiggens and McTighe] to determine the questions that will lead students to the knowledge base you are working towards.