Week 6 - Book Clubs and Socratic Seminars

Working through the readings and looking at the syllabus leads me to believe we're in store for not only learning to facilitate Book Clubs and Socratic seminars, but also participating in a seminar during next week's class. Oh what fun!

Reading for the week:

"Socratic Seminars: Engaging Students in Intellectual Discourse" - L. Tredway (Educational Leadership, September 1995)

I am very thankful the reading started with an overview of the Socratic Seminar. Mostly because my prior knowledge of the method was a little off and needed correcting; reading a more complete description of the method gave me a better idea of what to expect for the coming weeks. What struck me most about the rest of the reading is how very related it is to our discussion of transfer last week (by design, perhaps?), as well as information literacy and assessment material from previous weeks. The premise of using the seminar method is for students to develop deeper levels of analytical and critical thinking skills.  Additionally, students develop literacy skills that can easily be incorporated into facets of information literacy, as well as interpersonal skills (such as respect when giving and receiving feedback).  These are important skills not only in academia, but also in everyday life, and I think they can easily be transferred out of the classroom and into "real-world" settings, though perhaps not in the same overt ways we discussed last week.

One of my favorite points the author makes is use of Socratic seminars in building self-esteem. More precisely I think it is more important to consider building students' feeling of self-efficacy, in that when people feel they are "good" at something they are more likely to enjoy it and feel good about themselves. So much of what makes learning successful requires internal motivation from students.  Therefore, if students like learning and we can help them be "good" learners, they are more likely to internalize their own educational goals.

"The Book Club Exploded" - B. Hoffert (Library Journal, 07/15/2006)

Having never participated in a formal book club myself, this article was insightful into the even the simplest wants and needs of book club members and the libraries which serve them. For instance, I never considered that if a library hosts a book club they will need multiple copies of the book to lend out (an admittedly obvious "duh" moment, but a necessary realization for someone who tends to write in books while doing close reading and therefore does typically use library books for this purpose).

Mostly while reading, I was considering the idea of mixed-media "book" clubs and the concept of information literacy (transliteracy or whatever other type of literacy I cannot remember right now). Though the article mentions that teens are an increasing demographic for book clubs, I thought the idea of using book clubs and different types of media is a good way to address continuing literacy development in "older" demographics.  By "older" I really just mean those people who are no longer in school and are therefore out of the scope of school or academic librarians. Information literacy does not seem like a skill anyone can completely master, yet once we leave school there is not the same level of concern for its development. Public libraries seem like a good place to facilitate continuing IL development, and including mixed media in book clubs will also promote learning about new types of information technology.

"Teaching reading: beyond the plot" - M. Metzger (Phi Delta Kappan, Nov 1998)

I want to start by saying that I think we really need more insightful teachers like Ms. Metzger in our schools. Period.

This article is a really great example of so many things we've covered in class during the past few weeks, and there's really no way I can do it complete justice.  I think it's a fabulous demonstration of how the Socratic seminar method can be adapted and introduced to encourage literacy, analytical, and critical thinking development in students. I also appreciated how honest the author was with regards to her own shortcomings and what she learned during the development of her class curriculum.  One thing that struck me about both her narration to us (the reader) as well as to the students in her class is a teacher's ability to model and demonstrate behaviors which would otherwise remain internal. In our reading and discussion several weeks ago about teaching for understanding and developing metacognition, one of the important skills teachers must learn is how to externalize thinking processes.  By demonstrating to students how she would complete their tasks (such as note taking or giving feedback) the author gives students a more concrete understanding of the task. Additionally, by explaining to the reader her own thought process during the class development, she is demonstrating the way an "expert" teacher thinks.

Veering away from the Socratic seminar a bit, another concept which really stuck out to me was the idea that "because reading is invisible" student's reading processes cannot be measured and assessed the same way other skills are.  Also, "most students do not understand how their more articulate, insightful classmates reach conclusions about literature." I think both of these statements apply equally well to the academic research process because out of class research is largely invisible to instructors. Sure, they see the paper and bibliography which are the result of the research, but they likely do not see the research process itself.  Students also may not understand how more experienced peers can complete the task because they probably do not do research together (either out of fear of cheating or simply because they are not researching the same topics). In library instruction, it is important to make the research process visible to students. Also, librarians are more likely than professors to see the research process as it is taking place. This means we have a more strategic  position in which to assist students as they navigate the research processes. Yet another reason for us to become well versed in theories and methods of instruction.

Those are my two-cents for the week!  Off to more "closely" read Darton's "The Library: Three Jeremaids" for our in-class Socratic session!