Socratic Seminar

1. I will use the Socratic Seminar method when talking about embezzlement in accounting. I will send my students home with the assignment to read the following article: "The Rise and Fall of Enron." I will let the students know the goals associated with reading this article. I want them to come prepared to discuss what occurred in this scandal. I will also send them with a list of questions I want them to come prepared to discuss. The next class period, I will facilitate a Socratic Seminar. I will start by explaining the rules of our discussion. Then I will ask the first question. I really like the idea of having "speaking tokens" so that each student is able to make a contribution to the conversation. At the end of the discussion, I will have students write a blog post that summarizes the discussion we had during class. I will also have students fill out a short self-evaluation regarding their participation in the Socratic Seminar.
   
2. I will use the Socratic Seminar method when talking about stock fraud. I will send my students home with the assignment to read the following article: "2 Top Tyco Executives Charged with $600 Million Fraud Scheme." I will create an online Discussion Board in Canvas for students to use to respond to a short list of questions. I will not allow students to view other students responses until they have posted their own response to the question. Students will also be required to respond to 5 posts by other students. There will be rules that are set regarding appropriate behavior in an online discussion board. I will evaluate students based on their contributions to the discussion board. After reading through their peers' posts, students will summarize the discussions through an online blog.
   
3. I will use the Socratic Seminar method when talking to students about cell phone use. I will ask the students to research the pros and cons of cell phone use within the classroom. They need to come prepared to argue both sides. We will then split into groups of 4 students. Students will draw straws to see who is presenting pro and con. Students will participate in a small group debate. They must provide references for all of their arguments, they cannot use their own personal opinions during the debate. At the end of the debate, students will post in a blog the pros and the cons for using cell phones in the classroom. They will then be able to post their own opinion as well. Students will be assessed based on their preparation before the debate as well as their participation in the debate.