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Hua Tin
Prof. Elphen
TUTR 10D
10 February 2013
The Socratic Method:
Its Benefit and Limitations
In traditional teaching method, a teacher teaches the topics from the book. He/ she
explains to the students what written in the books. He/ she tries to give basic concepts to the
students and the students have to memorize those stuffs. This type of teaching is what we
students are accustomed to as we had been exposed to such teachings from our early schools.
However, there is another method of teaching called Socratic Method.
The name of the Socratic Method is derived from an ancient Greek philosopher,
Socrates, who greatly used to involve in discussions and present series of logical questions to
deliver his ideas (Maxwell, par 1). Socrates engaged in questioning of his students in an
unending search for truth. He sought to get to the foundations of his students' and colleagues'
views by asking continual questions until a contradiction was exposed, thus proving the fallacy
of the initial assumption. This became known as the Socratic Method and may be Socrates' most
enduring contribution to philosophy (The Socratic Method par 2).
The Socratic Method in its purest form involves questions only. It is a method of
teachings in which questions and only questions are used to guide the students to solve and
understand the complex problems or issues (Garlikov, par 2). Actually, the Socratic Method is a
part of teaching. It is a relearning process. It involves applying logics and concepts to already
known or learned topics. The Socratic Method of teaching generally starts from an opening

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question. According to Greece Central District of New York, a good opening question must: arise
from the curiosity of the leader, have no single right answer, be structured to generate dialogue
that leads to a clearer understanding of textual concepts and require participants to make textual
references (Heather, par 9). Then, the trend of questions goes from broader to narrow and
specific, just like funneling. But, the traditional method does not have specific strategy or
question type. Socratic questioning is at the heart of critical thinking and a number of homework
problems draw from R.W. Paul's six types of Socratic questions ("The Six Types of Socratic
Questions" par 2):
Type of questions
Questions for clarification:

Questions that probe assumptions:

Questions that probe reasons and evidence:

Questions about Viewpoints and Perspectives:

Examples
Why do you say that?
How does this relate to our discussion?
"Are you going to include diffusion in your
mole balance equations?"
What could we assume instead?
How can you verify or disapprove that
assumption?
"Why are neglecting radial diffusion and
including only axial diffusion?"
What would be an example?
What is....analogous to?
What do you think causes to happen...?
Why?
"Do you think that diffusion is responsible
for the lower conversion?"
What would be an alternative?
What is another way to look at it?
Would you explain why it is necessary or
beneficial, and who benefits?
Why is the best?
What are the strengths and weaknesses
of...?
How are...and ...similar?

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What is a counterargument for...?

With all the bends in the pipe, from an
industrial/practical standpoint, do you think
Questions that probe implications and
consequences:

diffusion will affect the conversion?"

What generalizations can you make?
What are the consequences of that
assumption?
What are you implying?
How does...affect...?
How does...tie in with what we learned
before?
How would our results be affected if
neglected diffusion?"

Questions about the question:

What was the point of this question?

Why do you think I asked this question?
What does...mean?
How does...apply to everyday life?
"Why do you think diffusion is important?"

In comparison to the traditional teaching method, the Socratic Method is a very effective
method of learning. Traditional method of teaching could be boredom to many students. Only
few students might actually pay attention and participate in the class. This method rarely
increases curiosity among students. The teacher has to give quizzes and exams to acknowledge
students performance and understandings. So, it takes time for teachers to evaluate students
potentialities. Also, the teacher might only be focusing on specific students who perform well in
the class, and have lower expectation from rest of the students. This discourages the teacher from

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making an effort to improve students academic performance. However, in contrast to the

traditional method, the Socratic Method increases curiosity and arouses thinking in students. The
students do not get bored when this method is used. It greatly increases student participation and
thus, helps to grab their attention. When the class participation increases, the teacher also feels
comfortable and interested in teaching. Also, while using this method, it reflects students level
of understandings. Thus, it helps to track students progress, which definitely helps teacher to
take necessary steps to improve their performance. The teacher should not have to wait for
quizzes and exams to acknowledge students performance in the class. However, this method has
some limitations.
The Socratic Method requires lots of energy and concentration. The teacher has to plan
the series of questions to lead the class. Unlike the traditional methods, it takes a lot time for the
teacher to prepare for the class. At first, the teacher needs to know about his/ her students. The
teacher has to scan the class before approaching this method. The students should have prior
basic knowledge on the topics that the teacher is going to use the Socratic Method. Sometimes,
the teacher might get stuck on a question as students may not be able to answer his/her question.
In that situation, the teacher has to immediately find out different directions to lead that question.
Also, sometimes the teacher should be able to modify the question right at the moment. Not only
that, it is difficult stay at the same pace when the class get excited and change the gears or topics.
Indeed, the Socratic Method has some limitations; but, it is a very effective method to
teach the student or a group. Actually, it is a method to discover the truth. One should not
confuse this method as a kind of persuasion or proving ones hypothesis. But, it is about
discussing in a group and approaching at a solution to every bodys understandings. Also, one

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might misunderstand this method as a complete method of teaching. But, the Socratic Method is
just a part of teaching; it is not a replacement to the whole teaching system.
Work cited
Coffey, Heather. Socratic method. learnnc.org. n.d. Web. 9 Feb 2015.
Garlikov, Rick. The Socratic Method: Teaching by Asking Instead of by Telling.
garlokov.com. n.d
Maxwell, Max. Introduction to the Socratic Method and its Effect on Critical Thinking. The
Socratic Method Research Portal. n.d . Web. 9 Feb 2015.
<http://www.socraticmethod.net/>
"The Six Types of Socratic Questions." Michigan Engineering. n.d. Web. 9 Feb
2015. <http://www.umich.edu/~elements/probsolv/strategy/cthinking.htm>
The Socratic Method. Studying Law at Chicago. n.d. Web. 9 Feb 2015.
<http://www.law.uchicago.edu/prospectives/lifeofthemind/socraticmethod>