In the "Republic," Plato developed an educational program through which he trained young Athenians in desiring truth, without offering them any knowledge-education. This is not because he refused to pass on knowledge but because he considered knowledge of the Good as an ongoing research program. I show this by tracing the steps of the…

"Questioning" is a process that sparks discussion and encourages deeper thinking. Effective questioning builds on students' natural curiosity, moving them out of their comfort zone and into the learning zone in a purposeful, accessible way. It also models the process of good thinking and fosters a culture of high expectations. Like any…

This paper discusses creative and critical thinking across wide cultural and historical frameworks. It begins with an exploration of Socratic Dialectics in multiple contexts, highlighting the need for innovative views and investigative practices using Art and Culture. A major objective of this project is to use the Arts for finding the universal…

In this essay, the author explores what educationalists can learn from studying "The Paper Chase." The rise and decline of the Socratic method and the importance of the hidden curriculum are highlighted.

One way to fascinate, engage, arouse curiosity, motivate, and stimulate intellectual development in learning scientific concepts is to use counterintuitive questions. These questions make students aware of the inadequacies of their own thinking by exposing them to situations whose outcomes are inconsistent with what they would expect. In this…

Although students make some epistemological progress during college, most graduate without developing meaning-making strategies that reflect an understanding that knowledge is socially constructed. Using a pre-test-post-test design and a within-subjects 2 × 2 mixed-design ANOVA, this study reports on empirical findings which support the Socratic…

The purpose of this publication is to point out that reading comprehension questions frequently assess only literal comprehension, and to suggest kinds of questions that involve broader levels of comprehension. The publication first presents two reading passages; for each one it lists sample questions that involve only literal comprehension and…

Because the pressure of technological advancement has made teaching factual knowledge increasingly difficult, educators have been developing curriculums to transmit intellectual processes applicable to many tasks instead of subject matter content. One of the 20 educational Follow Through programs, the Tucson Early Education Model, surveyed 42…

The measurement of a pupil's comprehension development from literal comprehension to evaluation focused on two questions: (1) How do we measure the various types of comprehension? and (2) How should we measure the various types of comprehension? Literal comprehension is presently measured by the recall or memory-type question. However, one should…

Teaching active comprehension helps students learn to ask their own questions and guide their own thinking. (MKM)

Describes research that tested the validity of a set of guidelines for a program for the systematic development of listening comprehension skills. (DD)

Suggestions for improving listening and questioning skills in elementary school children are offered, since children do not always think to ask questions when something is not clear to them. (MJB)

Author suggests that teachers must use appropriate questions to lead children toward exploring their inner world. (Author/RK)