Socratic Seminar Evaluation Paper 11/8 (B) 11/09 (A)

Socratic Seminar Evaluation Paper

This paper is your formal evaluation of the Socratic Seminar. 

Format            1-2 pages, typed, double-spaced.  1” margins, 12 point font, MLA formatting

Submission     Paper copy AND PS (yes we are going to give this another shot) submission

Due                 The day after Socratic Seminar by 9 am (11/08 B)  (11/09 A)

Listening Evaluation Objectives

Evaluate.  Verb.  To determine the significance, worth, or condition of usually by careful appraisal and study.

1. Evaluate multiple speakers’ points of view, reasoning, and use of evidence.
2. Demonstrate your acuity as a listener who can succinctly summarize a discussion and evaluate the various ideas presented.

Listening Evaluation Structure

1. Short, concise summary of the main questions and topics discussed in the seminar you observed (the one for which you took notes).  This demonstrates your ability to discern main ideas and summarize the discussion succinctly.  Length: One paragraph total.

2.       Evaluation of the seminar’s content—specific ideas, questions, and/or textual passages presented in the seminar.  Discuss the relevance, logic, depth, clarity, breadth, scope, interpretation of evidence, and reasoning presented in the seminar you observed.  Give specific examples.  Include who said the idea.  Specifically explain why you are persuaded by an interpretation, why you might challenge it, and/or why you believe the ambiguity of an idea is more important than drawing a conclusion.  Identify misinterpretations or misreading of arguments presented in seminar and correct them by going back to the text and offering a more logical, persuasive interpretation.  This should be the bulk of your writing as it demonstrates your ability to evaluate ideas presented orally.  Length: At least two paragraphs.    

Please use academic transitions to make your composition more fluid. 

The language of evaluation includes (This is only a sample.  There are many more!):

I agree with X’s idea/interpretation/notion that ______ because…

I disagree with X’s idea/interpretation/notion that ______ because…

This was a misreading of [author’s] argument because…

While I concede that….I still disagree that…because…

I think X’s idea is mistaken because it overlooks [author’s] assertion that…

Even though on first read it may seem that…a closer reading of the passage suggests that…

X’s claim that _____ rests upon the questionable assumption that…because…

I disagree with X’s view that ______ because, as [author] argues…

By focusing on __________, X overlooks the deeper problem of …

According to both X and Y, ____________.  Although I agree with these ideas up to a point, I cannot accept their overall conclusion because…

3.      Evaluation of the seminar’s process—how discussants participated and developed ideas.  What are strengths of the seminar you observed?  Growth areas?  To what extent did the discussants share ideas equitably?  Root ideas in the text?  Use sound reasoning?  Synthesize and connect ideas by using transitions?  When did discussants transition too early or not develop ideas to their fullest?  What places lacked coherence?  When and why did the discussion turn prematurely?  What specific suggestions do you have for seminar participants so that next time they are even more effective speakers?  Length: One paragraph total.