The use of Socratic Method as a teaching/learning tool to develop students’ critical thinking: a review of literature

• Main Authors: Zare, Pezhman, Mukundan, Jayakaran
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: M S Thirumalai 2015
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/46710/1/The%20use%20of%20Socratic%20Method%20as%20a%20teaching%2Clearning%20tool%20to%20develop%20students%E2%80%99%20critical%20thinking%3B%20a%20review%20of%20literature.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/46710/

This paper reviews the literature on Socratic Method as a teaching/learning tool to enhance critical thinking skills. It starts with a short history of Socratic Method by introducing its founder and briefly provides an overall picture of the method. Then, a number of definitions of critical thinking is presented and discussed. Next, taxonomy of Socratic questioning is presented. The taxonomy provides a detailed description of questions that can be used when employing Socratic Method. Afterwards, a number of previous studies are reviewed to show the influence of Socratic approach on critical thinking skills. Finally, a brief conclusion will close the paper.