I can’t believe I’ve been teaching for all these years and never…until today…tried a Socratic Circle.  Today was transformative!  Students in my dual enrollment class (Big Walnut University), were tasked with discussing the question, “How do you make people behave?”  The students applied ancient Chinese philosophies to the prompt:

• Confucianism
• Daoism
• Legalism

My class moved the desks to form an inner and outer circle.  The inner circle discussed, then the outer circle evaluated.  Then, roles were switched.  These kids:

• Explored
• Questioned
• Pontificated
• Enlightened
• Pondered
• and Speculated

I sat in the back observing, and kept my mouth shut!  What an interesting class period.  This will absolutely be a staple of my instructional arsenal.   And…I have no doubt that my students have a solid understanding of the philosophies.  Bout’ time I got on board!