Ms. Fields, AP English teacher
How does it work?
“Generally there are two different groups. The Socratic seminar circle that I use is called a fishbowl where the inner circle speaks first while the outside takes notes, and then it switches. The reason for the smaller groups is so that everyone has the opportunity to speak. There are about twelve students speaking, so it creates a more natural conversation. Students create their own questions that are about either the thematic elements of the text they’re working on, whether it’s a book, poem, or short story, or about literary, rhetorical devices that other students can respond to. But it’s really just an organic conversation about the text.”
Why do you think a project like this is important, especially for seniors?
“The reason I love socratic seminars is that it really is to prepare for seminar classes in college. To be able to speak and communicate your own thoughts is important even if you’re not going to college; you have to communicate your ideas as you move forward in the world, you have to stand up for yourself, you have to be able to explain your own complex thoughts. It’s good for seniors for them to learn to communicate and its college preparation.
Deselle Thompson
Do you enjoy the seminar circles?
“I thought they were a very interactive way for us to learn about everything we read about in class. Normally we get a lot of paragraph packets and essays, but when we do the seminar circles, I feel like I’m more engaged because I like it when I can have conversations with people to express ideas.”
What have you learned?
“For “Shooting an Elephant” I learned about how other people view different topics like racism and colonialism in my class. I was introduced to a lot of different perceptions and just about the different ways people interpret the reading.”
Why do you think this sort of thing is essential for seniors?
“I think it’s really important because we’re about to go off to college, and I know a lot of college classes are discussion-based. So the more we can practice putting our ideas into words and being able to think of things on the spot and add to other people’s ideas, the better prepared we’ll be for the college classwork.”
Isaac Vega~
Do you enjoy the seminar circles?
“I did. The seminar circles were definitely different from anything we have done in class. It was slow-paced, but it was still something fun to do. It brought something new from just writing essays after every read to having an actual discussion about what we read. Our understanding of it was a lot better than what we’ve done before.”
What have you learned?
“I learned that there’s a lot more than what you-yourself can see in a story. A lot of the questions that were asked focused on literary elements but as well as the story behind it and of the mental state. For example, why do we believe this is a symbol of something else? It was great to learn that everyone has different take on what we see.”
Why do you think this sort of thing is essential for seniors?
I think its essential because it allows us to not only show our understanding of the book or text we’re reading but it also helps gain better understanding from someone else’s point of view. It’s something we have a question about that we ask someone else because their take on it helps us understand the text in a grander view than how we did before.”
