Socratic Seminar Trainings & More!
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Recent and Upcoming Trainings
Workshops can be tailored to meet specific needs and conducted at times convenient for the participants, including weekends and vacations.
Open Registration Trainings and Workshops
- MEET AND EXCEED STATE STANDARDS BY INCREASING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND IMPROVING CRITICAL THINKING : Active Learning, Cooperative Learning, and Socratic Questioning Strategies that increase student engagement and critical thinking
May 14, 2008 8:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m.
Owyhee Plaza Hotelza Hotel
1109 Main Street
Boise, Idaho 83702
Click Here for Complete Brochure including Registration Form to
Socratic Seminar Leadership Skills Training: Teaching Critical Thinking and Critical Reading Through Dynamic Classroom Dialogue
June 30, July 1, July 2, 2008 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
This intensive three-day leadership training is designed to give K-12 teachers the experience of Socratic Seminars first hand. Participants discover the power of Socratic Seminars to actively engage students of all ability levels in close and critical reading of challenging texts. Participants learn how to use Socratic questioning techniques and dialogue to teach students to improve the reading skills of comprehension, analysis, and interpretation. Scroll down to Course Syllabus for complete course description.
Southridge High School
3520 Southridge Boulevard
Kennewick, WA 99338
Registration Fee: $425
Limited Space Available! Register Today!
Click Here for Registration Form to FAX or U.S. Mail
- MEET AND EXCEED STATE STANDARDS BY INCREASING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND IMPROVING CRITICAL THINKING : Active Learning, Cooperative Learning, and Socratic Questioning Strategies that increase student engagement and critical thinking
Click Here for complete brochure description
February 25, 2008 8:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m.
Mt. Hood Community College
26000 S.E. Stark Street
Gresham, Oregon 97030
As soon as more dates and locations are finalized for
OPEN WORKSHOPS, information will be posted at this
location. Please check back soon.
Contracted Workshops (Closed to non-district employees)
Socratic Seminar Leadership Skills
Introductory Workshop
February 8, 2008
Tumwater School District
Tumwater, Washington
Socratic Seminar Leadership Skills
Introductory Workshop
February 19, 2008
Robert Olds Middle School
North Franklin School District
Connell, Washington
- Meet and Exceed WASL Standards by Increasing Student Engagement and Improving Critical Thinking Skills: Active Learning, Cooperative Learning, and Socratic Questioning Strategies
February 23, 2008
Vancouver School District
Vancouver, Washington
Socratic Seminar Professional Coaching and Consulting
February 27, 2008
Thea Bowman Leadership Academy
Gary, Indiana
Socratic Seminar Leadership Skills
Introductory Workshop
March 4, 2008
Renaissance High School-Cleveland Heights High School
Cleveland, Ohio
Socratic Seminar Leadership Skills
Introductory Workshop
March 7 , 2008
Eastlake High School
Lake Washington School District
Redmond, Washington
- Meet and Exceed WASL Standards by Increasing Student Engagement and Improving Critical Thinking Skills: Active Learning, Cooperative Learning, and Socratic Questioning Strategies
March 14, 2008
Ephrata School District
Ephrata, Washington
- Meet and Exceed WASL Standards by Increasing Student Engagement and Improving Critical Thinking Skills: Active Learning, Cooperative Learning, and Socratic Questioning Strategies
March 21, 2008
St. John-Endicott High School
St. John-Endicott School District
St. John, Washington
Socratic Seminar Leadership Skills Training: Teaching Critical Thinking and Critical Reading Through Dynamic Classroom Dialogue
April 10, 11; April 17, 18, 2008
Grandview School District
Grandview, Washington
- Best Practices to Enhance Student Engagement and Critical Thinking Skills
May 17, 2008
Vancouver School District
Vancouver, Washington
Socratic Seminar Professional Coaching and Consulting
May 28, 29, 2008
Grandview School District
Grandview, Washington
Socratic Seminar Leadership Skills Training: Teaching Critical Thinking and Critical Reading Through Dynamic Classroom Dialogue
June 16, 17, 2008
St. John County School District
St. Augustine, Florida
- Meet and Exceed WASL Standards by Increasing Student Engagement and Improving Critical Thinking Skills: Active Learning, Cooperative Learning, and Socratic Questioning Strategies
June 19, 2008
Bethel School District
Spanaway, Washington
Socratic Seminar Leadership Skills
Introductory Workshop
June 20, 2008
Bethel School District
Spanaway, Washington
Socratic Seminar Leadership Skills
Advanced Workshop
June 23 , 2008
Northshore School District
Bothell, Washington
Socratic Seminar Leadership Skills Training
August 24, 25, 26, 2008
Portland Public Schools @ Wilson High School
Portland, Oregon
Socratic Seminar Leadership Skills Training
August 11, 12, 13, 2008
Vancouver School District
Vancouver, Washington
Socratic Seminar Leadership Skills Training
August 19, 20, 21, 2008
Northshore School District
Bothell, Washington
Socratic Seminar Leadership Skills Training
August 26, 27; October 17, 2008
St. John-Endicott High School
St. John-Endicott School District
St. John, Washington
Additional workshops and trainings for are presently being scheduled. Schools or districts wanting to contract for a workshop at their site or in their district, please contact Oscar Graybill immediately for information regarding fees, expenses, and available dates.
1. INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP (Two-Six Hours)
Introductions to Socratic Seminars can be presented in 2, 4, or 6 hour sessions. These sessions devote half the time to a participating in Socratic Seminars and half the time spent on critiques and collective dialogues on the role of Socratic Seminars to teach the skills of critical thinking and critical reading. The seminar participants can be students, teachers, administrators, staff, parents, board members, or some combination of these groups. The workshop may be videotaped or may be observed by as many as 200 people in an audience.
2. SOCRATIC SEMINAR LEADERSHIP TRAINING WORKSHOP (21 hours/3-4 days)
Most participants gain the confidence and skill needed to lead Socratic Seminars after 50 to 60 hours of experience. These workshops comprise about half the needed preparations; the rest must come in follow-up seminars with students and fellow teachers and in peer coaching sessions with consultants and colleagues. The workshop provides intensive practice, with a major seminar daily, plus reflective critiques and questioning exercises that develop the skills of seminar leadership. The workshop is experiential, with emphasis on guided practice in active learning.
A workshop can be specialized (e.g. by grade-level-subject) or can accommodate a diverse mix of people (i.e. teachers form various subject and grade levels; administrators; other educators; and volunteers) School-based teams that return to their schools and work together for mutual support are more effective than individual teachers alone.
Course Syllabus
Socratic Seminar Leadership Training: Teaching Critical Reading and Thinking Through Dynamic Classroom Discussions
Course Description:
This leadership course is designed to give K-12 teachers the experience of Socratic Seminars first hand. Participants will discover the power of Socratic Seminars to actively engage students of all ability levels in close and critical reading of difficult texts. Participants will learn how to use Socratic questioning techniques and dialogue to teach students to improve the reading skills of comprehension, analysis, and interpretation.
Participants will learn how to teach readers to:
- Clearly express opinions with supporting evidence from the text
- Question or defend the accuracy of what they read
- Challenge the ideas of the author by noting bias, distortion, or lack of information
- Contrast the accuracy of one text with other sources to form defensible critiques
- Make solid judgments about a text derived from interpretation and inferential information
Course Objectives:
- Engage in seminars and seminar-related activities.
- Analyze the parts and patterns they observe in Socratic Seminars and describing what happened and their responses to it.
- Discuss the significance of the experience.
- Consider connections & applications of Socratic Seminars to the Washington State Essential Learnings of Reading, Writing, and Communication
- Learn how to plan, lead, assess and evaluate Socratic Seminars that require students to read closely and think critically.
Student Expectations:
At the end of the training, participants will be able to:
- Understand the philosophy, history, and use of Socratic Seminars to teach critical reading and thinking.
- Participate in Socratic Seminars with colleagues.
- Lead Socratic Seminars involving students and colleagues.
- Use Socratic questioning strategies to foster critical reading and thinking.
- Choose appropriate texts and prepare for seminars.
- Observe and critique seminars.
- Create Socratic Seminars that model and teach critical reading and thinking skills.
Method of Instruction:
This course is a model of active learning. Each day begins with a main seminar where participants experience first-hand a Socratic Seminar. This course provides intensive practice, with a major seminar daily, plus small group and large group critiques and exercises that develop the skills of Socratic questioning and seminar leadership. The course is experiential, with emphasis on guided practice in active learning. By daily participation in and personal and group reflection upon Socratic Seminars, participants discover for themselves how Socratic Seminars teach students to:
- Accurately identify problematic material in literary text
- Explain how contextual information creates a voice for the author
- Pose explanations that interpret literary texts
- Place a particular text in a framework such as historical significance, cultural importance, or a universal theme
- Identify problems, gaps, ambiguities, symbols, and metaphors in text
- Integrate personal experiences with ideas and issues to pose hypothetical decisions or support a point of view or express opinions
3. Teaching Critical Thinking Skills though Active Learning, Cooperative Learning, and Socratic Questioning Strategies Workshop One day (6 contact hours)
Participants can expect the following outcomes from this highly interactive professional development workshop:
- Recognize and create powerful questions using Bloom’s Higher Order Thinking Skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation
- Gain understanding and learn to apply Habits of Mind that teach for understanding
- Learn today to set up cooperative learning teams in your classroom that work for students of all levels
- Practice and come away with active learning strategies that motivate students to learn in pairs and in small groups
- Use powerful discussion protocols that increase involvement and learning for all students
- Learn how Essential Questions increase student engagement and critical thinking skills
- Access Divergent Thinking Models that activate student creativity
- Practice Socratic Questioning Strategies that foster critical thinking skills