The Socratic Method, named after the great Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of teaching that helps build the students’ skills by helping them learn how to analyze an issue and think critically (Fabio). It is a method that still has widespread popularity, particularly in legal classrooms.
According to this method, the students are asked a series of questions to reveal their thoughts and opinions about a particular issue. The purpose of the to and fro dialogue is to uncover any contradictions regarding beliefs and opinions in the minds of the students who are being subjected to the method. The final result is that the students are led to a concrete solution without offering them any help in reaching that conclusion. The key idea is that through the questions the students are led into a discovery process by which they arrive at the conclusion themselves and this helps them to use reasoning and logic and to prod and poke holes in a theory – their own theory or someone else’s – and not accept anything unquestioningly (Parks).
The method used by Socrates is one of the earliest techniques and is still applied today. In the Socratic Method, the illusion of certainty is completely dispelled and done with, and the teacher aims to invoke a richer and more useful grasp of the issue with the student (Fabio). All issues are raised, all questions are covered, and there are no assumptions made. It is not a very lengthy procedure; yet the learning and discovery is extremely deep and long-lasting.
Considering various other methods of learning, such as rote learning, in which there is no need for the incurrence of understanding and meaning. In rote learning, the impetus is on memorization rather than an understanding of the subject in question. In contrast, the Socratic Method emphasizes on learning and is anti-rote in concept and philosophy.
The Socratic Method is widely used in analytical fields such as law, science classrooms, and mathematics. It acts as a stimulant or catalyst to the thinking process of the student under questioning. It is also a great way to help the student think quickly and helps spontaneity of thought. Students become good in thinking on their feet.
The question and answer process is usually a rapid-fire between student and teacher and does not allow a large amount of time and space for the student to answer (Fabio). Besides for the fact that the students get the chance to think on their feet and use critical thinking and reasoning in their own thoughts, the Socratic Method also allows the students a chance to speak in front of an audience. This may initially be a rather embarrassing and gut wrenching experience for the students because their whole premise and foundation is being challenged in front of their peers and colleagues. Also, the professor can sometimes get carried away in the process.
Nevertheless, if a professor gets it right and succeeds in applying the method correctly, the learning process can be immaculate and the end result would benefit not only the student, rather the whole class would be better off and the atmosphere would be highly intellectual and a learning environment would be created.
To sum up, the Socratic Method, despite being extremely ancient, is still used by many professors in classrooms to help the students in using logic and reason. Not only does it teach the students to think rationally and logically, it instills the spirit of learning among students and teaches them to disregard age old beliefs and challenge them and seek the truth.
Works Cited
Fabio, M. The Socratic Method. 2009.
Parks, L.B. What is the Socratic Method? 2009. Web.