Think critical and question everything - 3 things I learnt while using Socratic questioning to improve critical thinking

(This blog post is based on a larger assignment and small class experiment carried out in a Dutch international school that teaches the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP)).

This work utilised the relatively well-known ‘egg-drop experiment’ (Meyer and Lederman, 2013). The experiment is a typical classroom activity where students need to design a force-reducing casing to protect an egg thrown from a large height - though not necessarily a glass of water!

So, what can ancient questioning techniques contribute to thinking during a modern science experiment? The answer is a surprising amount! 

Quick context:

Socratic questioning was used as a tool to facilitate critical thinking and is based on the work of Elder and Paul (Elder and Paul, 1998; Paul and Elder, 2001, 2006). It has been around since the time of … well… Socrates and is a method of systemic questioning. As Elder and Paul (1998) describe it, it differs as: “What the word Socratic adds is “systematicity,” depth, and a keen interest in assessing the truth or plausibility of things” (pg. 298).

Questioning can be particularly prevalent in classrooms with a large amount of student - teacher dialogue being composed of questions and answers (Tofade et. al., 2013). Nappi (2017) posits that teachers ask up to 400 questions a day with the majority being recall based. She argues that teachers need to carefully plan for structured, higher-level questioning interactions to enable the growth of CT in students.

Using the Approaches To Learning (ATL) skills framework works with Critical thinking and careful questioning

Given that this is an IB school we used the Approaches To Learning (ATL) skills framework which is geared to provide a strong foundation for learning and aims to help students learn how to learn. It was found that the MYP ATL skills provide an appropriate link for engaging in building critical thinking and the construction of Socratic questions with such prompts as: 

? Recognize unstated assumptions and bias

? Evaluate evidence and arguments

? Consider ideas from multiple perspectives with careful questioning / wording used

I found that by using the ATL skills framework while I was thinking about prepared Socratic questions, I could use them to spark question ideas and look at deeper concepts.

Situational interest can boost engagement

During this work, we noticed students were motivated to engage and the co-teacher noted student’s increased animation during the lesson. We suggest that this short-term motivation is due to “situational interest” for a novel activity. This was highlighted by Palmer (2009), who found that in his grade 9 students, the novelty of the activity was useful for short term engagement, but it lost effectiveness with repeat usage. This suggests that using novelty in middle school science classrooms on an occasional basis can improve engagement. This has been echoed by Swarat et. al. (2012) regarding the use of hands-on activities to increase engagement and Lantz (2010) on the potential use of clickers.

Using a discussion framework can be a school-wide tool for learning

A similar initiative which aims to develop critical thinking in students is the Philosophy for Children framework which as Lipman (1985) describes it as: “The aim of Philosophy for Children is to promote excellent thinking, thinking that is creative as well as critical, imaginative as well as logical, inventive as well as analytical.” Philosophy for Children is based around diplomatic student-led discussion and philosophic principles. It continues to be researched and implemented in classrooms currently (Trickey and Topping, 2004; Gorard et. al., 2015) and has inspired discussion around critical thinking and the nature of philosophy (Daniel and Auriac, 2011). It can be used to ensure that students scaffold their responses based on the previous discussion, building a deeper understanding.

A great example came from a course I recently took on Deep learning through transformative pedagogy. Amazingly the students in this video are 10 - 12 years old. 

During this talk students are encouraged to reflect on the responses of others when answering and the sophistication of student dialogue is impressive. This framework for structured group discussion could be taught across subjects and would therefore take less time from / within each subject, but could be a common tool across the subject domains for content that would suit such a teaching style. 

To summarise:

·      The MYP ATL skills can help with the crafting of questions before a unit goes forward (prepare your questions).

·      The novelty factor can be a useful tool for students to engage with a science project on an occasional basis.

·      Using a discussion framework such as Philosophy for children can help facilitate deeper understanding based on mutual respect and shared practices.

Thanks for reading.

Ollie Shearman – Interdisciplinary Curriculum Developer and Educator

References:

Daniel, M.F. and Auriac, E., 2011. Philosophy, critical thinking and philosophy for children. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 43(5), pp.415-435.

Elder, L. and Paul, R., 1998. The role of Socratic questioning in thinking, teaching, and learning. The Clearing House, 71(5), pp.297-301.

Gorard, S., Siddiqui, N. and See, B.H., 2015. Philosophy for Children: Evaluation Report and Executive Summary. Education Endowment Foundation.

Lantz, M.E., 2010. The use of ‘clickers’ in the classroom: Teaching innovation or merely an amusing novelty? Computers in Human Behavior, 26(4), pp.556-561.

Lipman within Costa, A.L., 1985. Developing minds: A resource book for teaching thinking Alexandria. VA: ASCD.

Meyer, A.A. and Lederman, N.G., 2013. Inventing creativity: An exploration of the pedagogy of ingenuity in science classrooms. School Science and Mathematics, 113(8), pp.400-409.

Nappi, J.S., 2017. The Importance of Questioning in Developing Critical Thinking Skills. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 84(1), p.30.

Palmer, D.H., 2009. Student interest generated during an inquiry skills lesson. Journal of Research in Science Teaching: The Official Journal of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, 46(2), pp.147-165.

Paul and Elder (2001) Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your learning and your life. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Paul, R. and Elder, L., 2006. The thinker’s guide to the art of Socratic questioning. Dillon Beach, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.

Swarat, S., Ortony, A. and Revelle, W., 2012. Activity matters: Understanding student interest in school science. Journal of research in science teaching, 49(4), pp.515-537.

Tofade, T., Elsner, J. and Haines, S.T., 2013. Best practice strategies for effective use of questions as a teaching tool. American journal of pharmaceutical education, 77(7), p.155.

Trickey, S. and Topping, K.J., 2004. ‘Philosophy for children’: a systematic review. Research papers in Education, 19(3), pp.365-380.