The oldest, and still the most powerful, teaching tactic for fostering critical thinking is Socratic teaching. In Socratic teaching we focus on giving students questions, not answers. We model an inquiring, probing mind by continually probing into the subject with questions. Fortunately, the abilities we gain by focusing on the elements of reasoning in a disciplined and self-assessing way, and the logical relationships that result from such disciplined thought, prepare us for Socratic questioning.
The modern Socratic method of teaching does not rely solely on students’ answers to a question. Instead, it relies on a very particular set of questions that have been designed in a way that lead the students to an idea. By using questions, the teacher has the opportunity to get their students involved and excited. By starting with questions to which the students know and understand the answer, the teacher helps the students to learn new concepts. This creates an atmosphere where students are truly learning as opposed to an atmosphere where the students are parroting information and forgetting it. For more practical tips about applying the modern Socratic method of teaching.
The Socratic method of teaching is not perfect for every discipline, and it is not perfect for every classroom. However, it is a hugely advantageous style of teaching that will help students to truly learn and it is worth implementing at every school.
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