I partial to the Socratic method as well, but whenever I’m explaining something to someone, I have to constantly remind myself to stay away from it. Unfortunately, in my experience (which may not be representative), the Socratic method elicits very strong negative emotions in the target audience, and it does so very quickly. Making people hate you is not a good educational technique.
I find it works moderately well for me, but then again I am usually operating in a community of peers where it’s not a given who is teaching whom. I ask questions that are designed to elicit clear thought about areas of uncertainty, and either my interlocutor answers them sensibly and I am enlightened, or they fail to and they are.
I can see where it would be different if I went into the exchange convinced I was the instructor.
Yeah, the actual Socratic method is designed more to instill doubt than it is to explain concepts. (The student takes a position, then you shred it with pointed questions.)
The ‘modern’ Socratic method of asking leading questions doesn’t work all that well because of inferential distances and awkwardness. You standing there expectantly waiting while they think something through is oftentimes an unpleasant experience for them.
That’s why I think that the basic concept of “building block” schooling works-you essentially keep the distance constant, but teach them ever more challenging topics. The one time where there is a large gap is in the introduction of completely new ideas or subjects. For example, in physics when people first learn of general relativity there is a large inferential distance, which is very hard to remedy.
Interestingly, the one time that I find that the modern Socratic method works is math. Because it is so much more helpful in math to have an innate understanding of the subjects, you have to be able to explain why an equation or theorem works/is true. So when time permits, guiding them with questions is very helpful, as figuring something out sticks in your mind more than having it on a board.
I partial to the Socratic method as well, but whenever I’m explaining something to someone, I have to constantly remind myself to stay away from it. Unfortunately, in my experience (which may not be representative), the Socratic method elicits very strong negative emotions in the target audience, and it does so very quickly. Making people hate you is not a good educational technique.
I find it works moderately well for me, but then again I am usually operating in a community of peers where it’s not a given who is teaching whom. I ask questions that are designed to elicit clear thought about areas of uncertainty, and either my interlocutor answers them sensibly and I am enlightened, or they fail to and they are.
I can see where it would be different if I went into the exchange convinced I was the instructor.
Yeah, the actual Socratic method is designed more to instill doubt than it is to explain concepts. (The student takes a position, then you shred it with pointed questions.)
The ‘modern’ Socratic method of asking leading questions doesn’t work all that well because of inferential distances and awkwardness. You standing there expectantly waiting while they think something through is oftentimes an unpleasant experience for them.
In any form of teaching, expecting an appropriate inferential distance is important. I wonder to what degree that can be trained explicitly.
That’s why I think that the basic concept of “building block” schooling works-you essentially keep the distance constant, but teach them ever more challenging topics. The one time where there is a large gap is in the introduction of completely new ideas or subjects. For example, in physics when people first learn of general relativity there is a large inferential distance, which is very hard to remedy.
Amount you need to understand to get from what you currently understand to also understanding the new thing.
Eliezer talks about it in a piece well worth reading.
Interestingly, the one time that I find that the modern Socratic method works is math. Because it is so much more helpful in math to have an innate understanding of the subjects, you have to be able to explain why an equation or theorem works/is true. So when time permits, guiding them with questions is very helpful, as figuring something out sticks in your mind more than having it on a board.