As a teaching tool, the Socratic method is used to teach students how to derive their own learning by asking them guiding questions. Furthermore, the belief is that students are engaged in learning when the teacher asks appropriate questions that lead students to begin drawing their own conclusions and constructing their own learning.
Inquisitiveness leads us all to want to discover answers and when students are curious, they're more likely to become active learners. The teacher’s job is to lead students by showing them that the strategies they already know can help them discover answers to questions they're not familiar with. Additionally, this method benefits the teacher because it allows her to see learning and discovery from the perspective of the students. The teacher traditionally teaches in a sequence that makes sense given what she already knows about a particular topic, whereas teaching based on the questions the students are asking places emphasis on what they need to figure out to arrive at their own understanding.
While the concept behind the Socratic method is to have students seek out the answers, the true work for the teacher becomes continually asking the “right” questions. Authentic Socratic teachers will only ask questions of their students, despite the responses. However, at some point, the teacher may find that she must “tell” students particular information to get an essential point across. Nevertheless, the idea is that the students have already become so engaged by previously asked questions that they will continue on their journey of discovery despite being given specific details.
It's unlikely that any teacher can utilize this method at all times during the teaching process, as inevitably extraneous information will need to be added into the instruction. However, it does work well when introducing a new or abstract topic, as it will quickly gain the students’ attention and create excitement. To properly employ the Socratic method, begin by brainstorming a list of possible questions to ask students during the learning process. Initially, questions will be vague, allowing students to drive the discussion while letting the teacher assess the students’ knowledge base. As the dialogue develops, the teacher will need to probe with more leading questions to give the conversation direction. This method works well when the discussion focus has a logical framework, but is more challenging to use when presenting unrelated information. When the information is relatable, students can draw their own conclusions because they're able to use what they already know to figure out the answers.
To properly make use of the Socratic method, questions need to be focused in the direction the teacher would ideally like the conversation to proceed towards. More open-ended questions may be asked initially, but without quickly following up with steering questions, the conversation can spin in an irreversible direction that leaves the students frustrated and confused. Questions should ideally follow a sequence that results in the students being able to draw their own deductions. Example questions include, "What is this?" "Who is this?" "When did this occur?" "Other ideas?" "Another one?" "One more?" "Anybody else?" "How many words/numerals do you see?" "What do you hear?" "What does it feel like?" "Is there a problem?" "How could you do this differently?" "Why do you think that?" "Is there a reason for this?" "What do you want to call this?" "What is obvious?" "How do you say/write that?" "Why is that hard to understand?" "What happens next?" "Can you think of an example?" "What conclusion(s) can be made?"