The Socratic Method involves asking guided/probing questions to help students explore the deeper meaning and context of objects and ideas. This dialogical approach helps develop critical thinking and articulation. It is the opposite of lecture, since it focuses on a main idea that is developed through dialogue and questioning. It is not a debate but a dialogue, so the purpose is to extend an idea and not necessarily to obtain right answers or win an argument. It works collectively to think more deeply and originally about ideas.
How?
- Find an idea that is worth talking about or discuss (issues, values, ambiguous, accessible)
- Pick an artwork that will allow a lengthy discussion.
- Propose a question to open a discussion that relates to the artwork (the question should be ample and not have a direct answer).
- The dialogue moves from leader to participant (leaders can also be participants).
Leader:
-Needs to display patience (keep moments to think and to talk balanced)
-Keep the dialogue focused on the artwork
-Move the dialogue with follow-up questions
-Clarify, paraphrase or expand ideas
-Encourage participation
Example
I used a socratic method to discuss the creative process behind an artwork. In particular graffiti. I picked a photograph of a graffiti expression from a street in Latin America. The question was ‘what is graffiti?’. I encouraged the dialogue to include aspects such as the purpose, the materials, the artist, the forms, the content. I also followed the thread of some comments to keep the conversation going. For example, if a response said ‘graffiti is vandalism’, I opened the answer to ask, why would a person vandalize and how was the planning?. With artwork, it was crucial to return to the object itself to infer or defend an opinion.
I include this extra resources (also available in the library site)
https://eastartroom.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/socratic-seminars-in-the-art-room/
https://bhpenglish.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/103-great-ideas.pdf