Socratic Dialogue and Teacher-Pupil Interaction

This dissertation investigates the pedagogical potential of the Socratic Dialogue. The Socratic Dialogue is a group dialogue where participants try to reach consensus on a fundamental issue. It relies on a set of ground rules and proceeds under strict guidance of a trained facilitator. Rules like 'check for understanding' or 'follow on from what has been said' afford thinking together and promote mutual understanding. This research shows that after a course in the Socratic Dialogue, student teachers improve their interactive skills in individual dialogue with pupils. They ask more open-ended questions, allow pupils more time to express themselves, ask follow up questions and check for understanding. They also pay more attention to language even though they are not language teachers.

This dissertation is relevant for educational researchers who study teacher-pupil interaction and for teachers and teacher educators.