The 6 Socratic Questions

The 6 Socratic Questions is a thing.

From Socratic Method -

The 6 Categories of the Socratic Method Simply asking questions for the sake of challenging ideas isn’t enough to make your lesson worthy of Ancient Greece. It takes a specific type of question to uncover the root of a concept. Below are the six categories of questions Socrates posed to his pupils.

1. Clarification These questions require students to ponder and explain what their argument is. Clarifying questions ask students to identify what exactly they are thinking about. Examples of clarification include “Can you explain further?” and “What exactly does this mean?”

2. Challenge Assumptions Challenging assumptions is a great way to encourage critical thinking. By posing questions such as “Is that always the case?” and “Could you solve the problem in a different way?”, you can push students to explore outside the boundaries of their beliefs and preconceived notions. In doing this, students can understand the topic from a different perspective and come to a solution they may have missed before.

3. Evidence and Reasoning After students provide the rationale for their argument, it’s time to explore their reasoning. Question how they know this information and why they believe it’s correct. Examples of evidence and reasoning questions include “How do you know that?” and “What evidence do you have that supports your argument?”

4. Alternate Viewpoints Students typically make arguments from a specific perspective. It’s important to question this perspective to demonstrate that different viewpoints are equally valid. Examples of questions you could ask include “What is the other side of this argument?” and “Who benefits most from this perspective?”

5. Implications and Consequences Due to implicit bias, students may present a solution without considering the possible consequences. By using the Socratic method to force students to think beyond the present problem, you can help the student develop better long-term solutions. Asking “How does that impact ___?” or “What if you’re wrong?” is a great way to guide your students towards higher thought processes.

6. Challenge the Question At times, it can be helpful to consider the question itself. Questioning the question’s motives (very meta, we know) and taking a moment to consider if you’re asking the right questions can help shed light on the topic as a whole. Consider asking, “Why do you think I asked this question?” or “What does this question mean?”

Socratic Method to Collaborators

• What do you think is OSE's biggest challenge?
• What do you think that OSE has the potential to accomplish with the Seed Eco-Home?
• Do you understand why we are excited as we are about the Seed Eco-Home?
• Is there a way that your build costs can run way higher than we think? Not for the costs we control fully: materials and labor - and these are 100% of our build cost since we build with in-house labor.
• What if you are wrong about people wanting your house - if it is freaky and won't sell? Well, we have a different product, but our appearance and materials are standards, so we should not have a problem selling. Especially if our cost is lower. If we really find that we are not selling - we'll redesign, as we have full control over our design options.

Links

• U. Michigan - Clarification, question assumptions, evidence, question the question, consequences, different perspectives, and [1]