All posts by annspihlgren

Thoughtful Dialogue in Relation to Other Instructional Methods

Didactics, Socratic Seminars

Paper presented at the 15th International Conference on Thinking, ICOT 2011, Belfast, Ireland.

Abstract

Thoughtful discussion in school is encouraged by methods like the Socratic seminar, philosophy for/with children, and deliberative dialogues. The paper explores how didactics (as the art and science of teaching) can be analyzed from considering how the teacher plans the product and/or process of teaching. The switching between the different didactic positions will teach students habits of mind to promote a lifelong learning process. To motivate the students to learn, the sequence in which the different didactic positions are addressed is important. The paper endeavors to explain what function the methods for thoughtful discussion have in the school curricula when integrated with other instructional methods. Thoughtful discussion might serve as a start of the learning process but might also help to challenge and integrate along the way. However, whether or not thoughtful discussion is seen as a meaningful way of teaching is dependent on the inner pedagogical theory of the teacher.

See complete paper: Thoughtful dialogue in relation to other instructional methods

Socio-cognitive Analysis of Socratic Dialogue: A Blend of Theories

Socratic Seminars

Ph D Laura Billings, University of North Carolina, USA

Ph D Ann S Pihlgren, Stockholm University, Sweden

 

 

Abstract

Our work involves close analysis of Socratic dialogue and Paideia Seminar (Billings and Fitzgerald, 2002; Pihlgren, 2008), grounded in socio-cognitive theory.  Similar to Socratic dialogue, The Paideia Seminar is defined as “a collaborative, intellectual dialogue about ideas and values, based on a text, facilitated by open-ended questions, resulting in enhanced conceptual understanding (Roberts and Billings, 2008).”  By examining both quantitative and qualitative aspects of thinking in dialogue, we have found important socio-cognitive patterns. In developing systems for analysis we have identified the following important features:

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    • Ratio of teacher to student talk
    • Content of talk
    • Use of gestures and various means of non-verbal communication
    • Levels of cognition

In addition, we have found a curious interpersonal cognitive processing which frequently occurs in Seminar dialogue, prompting new individual and collective thinking. This, we believe, poses an important challenge to existing theory on thinking.

See complete paper: Socicognitive Analysis of Socratic Dialogue