Teaching Chemistry by the Socratic Method J. K. Heeren Trinity College, Hartford, CT 06106 A few years ago I began using in my organic chemistry course an extensive set of notes that were photocopied from the roughdraft ofatext 1had written. Since these notes were essentially what I would have said in my lectures, it seemed pointless togive formal lectures as I had in the past and that some other way of presenting the material should be tried. The - - - - method I ultimatelv decided on was so successful that I have since used it almost exclusively in all of my classes in orzanic and in eeneral chemistrv. No claim of originalitv is Aide. Indeed, fcall it the " ~ o c r k i cmethod," although cam not sure Socrates would have been flattered. The basis of the method has probably been used as long as there have been students and teachers. What is innovative perhaps is how the method is used. Specific reading assignments are made in the text or other course materials of about 10-12 pages (for a 50-min class period). The students are told to be thoroughly familiar with this material and to be prepared to answer questions in some detail. This means responding orally and being able to answer follow-up questions in addition to a lead-in question. (This is the Socratic part.) Numerical problems are handled in a number of wava. Sometimes the student is asked to come to the blackboardto explain how to solve the problem while the class watches and occasionally asks questions. At other times I simply follow the student's instructions while he or she remains seated. Errors may be corrected by me or one of the other class members whilethe solution to the problem is in progress, or the entire solution including errors may be presented and errors may be pointed out afterwards. The variety of techniques available to the teacher to keep class discussion going is practically endless. A running record of correct and incorrect answers for each student is kept. I use a separate grade book for this. The students are told that, if, a t the end of the semester, the correct response to total response ratio is at least 0.8, I will raise the semester grade the student might otherwise get 112 grade. Weuse a 13-step gradingsystemat Trinity-F, D-,D, Df, C-, etc. through A+-so that, for example, a Bf grade (based on the usual criteria of written tests, quizzes, lab reports, etc.) for a student with an 0.8 oral response would become an A-. There is thus a reward for active class participation, but there is no penalty for failing t o do so since the student receives the grade he or she would get otherwise. Certain h re cautions must be observed. however. First, one should be'careful to keep the total n"mber of questions asked each student about the same. This is easily done by simply totaling the questions for each student every two three davs. I find that over the course of a semester each student (class of 30 students) can be asked about 20 questions of a fairlv probing nature. Second, one should recognize that in the be&ning,at least, having to respond to a series (usually) of related questions can be a very intimidating experience, especially when called up to the blackboard, handed a piece of chalk and told t o explain. A small number of students never eain the self-confidence necessarv to be full class participants and they must be treated w ~ t hempathv and understandine. Students who flounder but who have odvious~ydone their60mework can be fed hints to bring them back on track. Third, the teacher must be willing to accept the fact that intensive preparation on the part of the p
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students will not always he possible for a variety of legitimate reasons. I tell my students that if they simply tell me before class that they are unprepared I will notembarrass them by calling on them. Finally, the students are told that the class is a dialogue (question-response) as opposed to a monologue (lecture) and that regular attendance is imperative. The following instructions for class preparation are part of the course material passed out during the first class of the semester. Preparation for class is hest carried out as follows: 1. Read the assignment. Most of us have been trained to read rapidly, taking in several sentences or paragraphs (or even an entire page) at a glance and (supposedly)comprehending all in a flash. Such a method mav well work if one is readine a novel. hut it is disastrous in a subject like chemistry where p~actically every word is vital. Proceed instead as follows: Place a ruler or hlank card over the line immediately below the one you are reading, lowering the ruler line by line only when you have given the previous line sufficient thought to satisfy yourself that you completely understand what you have just read. 2. Question yourself. Every few lines or so, or at least every paragraph, ask yourself what might be an appropriate question (if you were the teacher) on the materialjust read. 3. Write the ouestion down. In an aoorooriate . , .. . notebook (a. soiralhound 8'. x I1 is ideal) write your question and on the racing page what you consrder t u he the proper answrr. Number the questions and answers. (It is hest to double-space to make room for revisions.) 4. Reuiew. Prior to dass go over your questions and answers until you are thoroughly familiarwith them. Have'a friend or roommate ask you your questions out of sequence hecause you will auicklv before . .remember the answer to a sueceedine- auestion . vou . eoinn .. .. over them in seauence. If , even hear it if vou keeo your friend or roommate rs also studying chemistry. go over each other's questions and answers as well. 'l'his is uery effective. Ifyou hare hem diligent about this, i t will not he neces. s a y to re-read the text in preparation for examinations;simply review once again your questions and answers. ~~
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My own preparation for class varies. Sometimes I bring onlv a list of kev words and formulate auestions on the spot from the key teims. At other times I may bring toclass fairly detailed written questions together with a brief indication of the answer I would like thestudent togive me. In either case, obviously the teacher must read the book critically. Frequently my questionsgenerate questions from the students, and I encourage this to the extent that timeallows. However, it is emv to be sidetracked. and the teacher should k e e ~an eye on h e clock and make $very attempt to cover the asiigument. Occasionallv. when I am usiue an otherwise satisfactory textbook for the course, there wFll be some topic where I feel I can do a better iob of w resent at ion than the author. In those cases I schedul;? a few formal lectures and present the material mv wav. In the beginning I said that the method was so successful that I have used i t subsequently where possible. In what way was i t superior to the lecture format? T h e attrition rate in my courses has dropped, for one thing, and the number of A's has increased as well. Not surprisingly, the students are happy with the results. But there is an additional benefit for them: Students learn how to read involved expository prose
and to comprehend what they have read. The latter may well be the most important benefit the students get from the course. This has not been achieved at the expense of ground covered, however. On thecontrary, I find that more materialcan he introduced to the students by the Socratic method than by lecturing. For example, using the Socratic method, I have been able to introduce a number of topics in descriptive
chemistry and industrial chemistry that I simply never get to using a lecture approach. As a former industrial chemist myself. I must say that it has been very satisfvin~to be able to~dihrusssome of the chemistry so important &om a number of viewpoints: environment, health, utility, and economics to list a-few. Finally, it is worth mentioning that written student courseevaluations (this is rather formalized a t Trinity) have been overwhelmingly favorable.
Volume 67
Number 4
April 1990
331
