thinking skills , expand their understanding of a historical moment , and humanize historical actors .
Asking boys to robustly engage with primary sources is a skill that we actively and strategically teach . We require boys to annotate and paraphrase each primary source by underlining key words , writing margin notes , and summarizing main ideas . Boys must identify key contextual information , such as author / creator , place , or date created , in order to determine a source ’ s purpose , message , and audience . Taken together , these data points can then help a boy accurately assess perspective or bias . Once boys have the strategies to analyze individual primary sources , they are ready to work on synthesizing multiple primary sources . This layered approach builds critical thinking . We may ask a boy , for example , “ What do these four sources on the phalanx , synthesized together , reveal about the hoplite experience in ancient Greece ?”
With a strong foundation of primary source analysis and synthesis , seventh-grade boys are ready to build off of their sixthgrade Socratic seminar experience , an experience that will continue in eighth grade . Equipped with an annotated primary source packet and a discussion prep sheet , boys arrive at each seminar ready for reasoned discussion and inquiry .
Could Socrates , who lived from 469-339 B . C . E ., ever have predicted that this methodology bearing his name would still resonate in modern education classrooms today ? At its core , the Socratic seminar , underpinned in the classical tradition , departs from a lecture-based approach and employs a question and answer technique , leading boys to see things for themselves , using their own reason . The purpose is to use questioning to bring forward already held ideas in the boys ’ minds . As such , the goal of any seminar is not to “ win ” an argument ; rather , we ask boys to collaboratively and respectfully undertake a critical examination of the question at hand in order to improve their own understanding , without any teacher intervention . In weighing the viewpoints of others against their own , boys learn to not only articulate their own point of view but also consider differing perspectives . At the end of each seminar , we solicit boys to reflect upon the process and their own experience . Reflecting on the seminar process helps the boys improve their ability to engage in future discussions .
Indeed , the success of any seminar rests on the respectful exchange of ideas , and this guidance of conversation comes from the boys themselves . Invariably , they draw upon strategies learned from past discussions , such as hand raising , calling on the next contributor , or recognizing the “ one voice ” rule , as they advance their collective dialogue . Other norms , though , established at the beginning of each seminar , also help to promote a civil discourse . Boys are reminded to talk to the group , not the teacher , use evidence from the sources to support their ideas , ask questions for clarification , be mindful of their “ airtime ,” and offer up alternative positions constructively . Quickly , the boys understand that our agreed-upon norms of Socratic seminars provide the framework for the conversations they will engage in and that they themselves take ownership of the progress made .
In sum , the structure of these seminars cultivates our boys ’ ability to articulate a reasoned point of view , engage with differing ideas , and practice genuine civil discourse . We know that these foundational skills – active and respectful listening , making meaning of complex information , and finding common ground while participating in conversation – will stay with our boys as they step out of the classroom and into our ever-changing world . •
Drew Burton is History Curriculum Chair and a Seventh Grade Homeroom , History and English Teacher at Saint David ’ s School .
Grade Eight - Delving into Complex Questions
By Evan Morse
The eighth-grade history program emphasizes the development of analytical thinking and engagement with primary sources . Socratic seminars combine these two skills ; as a result , these seminars are a key component of the eighth-grade experience . For each seminar , the students are assigned a complex question to investigate … What were the causes of Savonarola ’ s dramatic rise in Florence and was his downfall inevitable ? To what extent did Luther ’ s religious reforms cause the German Peasants ’ Revolt ? What were the most important factors in the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan ? In the week leading up to a seminar , boys are responsible for annotating a substantial collection of primary sources devoted to the topic and then preparing a preliminary answer , with their own questions to move the discussion forward . During the seminar itself , students are entirely responsible for working together to resolve the question before them without teacher intervention . Seated together around the seminar table in the Hume Library , they are required to not only work to settle the question at hand through
“ Rather than dogmatically asserting what they already believe , the true learner begins in curiosity , listens carefully to the perspectives of others , and responds with evidence .”
debate and analysis of the sources , but to set the structure of the seminar itself .
In requiring boys to partake in productive debate and to reflect explicitly on the conditions of such debate , these Socratic seminars cultivate boys ’ ability to articulate a reasoned point of view by re-
6 • Saint David ’ s Magazine