Some subscribers to TIPS and TeachEdPsych might be interested in a recent discussion-list post "Platonic vs Socratic Methods (was '. . . . Physicists Seek To Lose The Lecture As Teaching Tool')" [Hake (2012)]. The abstract reads:
************************************************* ABSTRACT: Joe Redish, in a PhysLrnR post wrote (paraphrasing): ". . . I tell my TA's not to do Socratic dialogs, guiding the students through the answers as in the classic 'Socratic dialog' of Plato's 'Meno'. There Socrates shows a slave that he knows everything he needs to prove the Pythagorean theorem." But Joe's so-called "classic 'Socratic dialog'" of Plato's Meno is actually "Platonic dialogue" not the "Socratic Dialogue" of the "historical Socrates" as (1) researched by the late classics scholar Gregory Vlastos <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Vlastos>; (2) practiced by the late Arnold Arons, myself, and possibly a few others; (3) exhaustively explained in a post "The Socratic Method of the Historical Socrates, Plato's Socrates, and the Law School Socrates" [Hake (2007)]. IMHO, Joe would have done better to have written: ". . . I tell my TA's not to do *Platonic* dialogs, guiding the students through the answers." For almost two decades, ever since Robert Morse (1994) published "The Classic Method of Mrs. Socrates". . . [Morse should haven titled it "The Classic Method of Mrs. Plato")]. . . Joe Redish has persisted in giving Socratic Dialogue a bad name by confusing it with Platonic Dialogue. This pedagogical misconception is probably a factor in the nearly complete neglect of effective Socratic pedagogy by Physics Education Researchers. ************************************************* To access the complete 17 kB post please click on <http://bit.ly/y4l2Eh>. Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University Honorary Member, Curmudgeon Lodge of Deventer, The Netherlands President, PEdants for Definitive Academic References which Recognize the Invention of the Internet (PEDARRII) <rrh...@earthlink.net> <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake> <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi> <http://HakesEdStuff.blogspot.com> <http://iub.academia.edu/RichardHake> "If Confucius can serve as the Patron Saint of Chinese education, let me propose Socrates as his equivalent in a Western educational context - a Socrates who is never content with the initial superficial response, but is always probing for finer distinctions, clearer examples, a more profound form of knowing. Our concept of knowledge has changed since classical times, but Socrates has provided us with a timeless educational goal - ever deeper understanding." Howard Gardner (1989) REFERENCES [All URL's shortened by <http://bit.ly/> and accessed on 10 Jan 2012.] Gardner, H. 1989. "The Academic Community Must Not Shun the Debate Over How to Set National Educational Goals," The Chronicle of Higher Education, 8 November. Hake, R.R. 2011. "Platonic vs Socratic Methods (was ". . . . Physicists Seek To Lose The Lecture As Teaching Tool" ) online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at <http://bit.ly/y4l2Eh>. Post of 10 Jan 2012 10:59:16-0800 to AERA-L and Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post are being transmitted to several discussion lists and are also on my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/wXfWse> with a provision for comments. Morse, R.A. 1994. "The Classic Method of Mrs. Socrates," Phys. Teach. 32(5): 276-277; online as a 287 kB pdf at <http://bit.ly/iT1ksI>, thanks to the University of Colorado PER group. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=15212 or send a blank email to leave-15212-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
