Assessing Students’ Progress and Growth in Socratic circles
Reflection Questions
Debriefing and reflecting on critical conversations is a crucial part of the learning process. Facilitators should take care to provide time for learners to debrief on the discussion and reflect with takeaways for future writing, seminars, and discussion. Learners should reflect on the discussion process itself as well as any ways their previous knowledge was altered or confirmed. Students can write in discussion journals to share with the teacher or have as a private reference for themselves for future discussions. Consider encouraging students to reflect both through prose and illustrations, whatever helps them articulate their thoughts.
Sample reflection questions can be found below:
The Use of Rubrics
Teachers can also use rubrics to have students self-assess and reflect on their effort during discussion. Students can grade themselves and then reflect on why they earned that score. You can also add some of the questions from above after the self-assessment such as asking their “five seconds of fame.” Remember that rubrics are useful formative assessments to help students reflect on their participation, the discussion overall, and ways to improve. They should not be punitive in nature.
Reflecting on Equitable Participation
As module 4 introduced the idea of discussion roles to you, you can also have students reflect on those roles and how they fostered equitable participation. You can ask students: