ABSTRACT
Before beginning a Socratic dialogue, it is extraordinarily helpful to teach the students about Socrates and his method. Knowing the life of the great philosopher and how he taught people in ancient Athens frames the experience of the classroom dialogue and reveals to students how questioning can be used in education. They understand how the most basic aim of a Socratic dialogue is either the examination of a claim or the solution of a problem. Students become more conscious of how thought can develop through inductive questioning. At a minimum, this introduction to the Socratic Method entails devoting three class periods to reading closely and discussing short excerpts from the works of Plato and Xenophon. The selections introduce students to the basic elements and dynamics of the Socratic Method in a graduated manner.
