The Socratic Method is a form of discussion based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking. When teaching a student a new topic, it is important to make them think about what they are learning rather than just firing information at them that they may or may not absorb. If you go about teaching as more of a discussion, then not only does the student retain more knowledge, they also feel more included in their own learning.
When using the Socratic Method with tutoring or teaching, asking questions to fuel the students’ thoughts helps them explore the topic further to reach a better understanding. In addition to this, asking questions that require more than a yes or no answer will help the student create their own thinking process to figure out questions rather than you just telling them the answers. This way, when they end up in a situation where they don’t have your help, say when taking the test, they will have already established their own process for solving the question and won’t feel lost without your guidance.
Another important aspect of the Socratic Method is checking students when they get answers wrong. Rather than just telling them they’ve arrived at an incorrect answer, ask them why they think it’s incorrect and what they think they did wrong. This will help them later to be more aware about when answers are wrong so that when taking a test, they will be able to see their mistake easier and know how to fix it, or they will remember correcting their mistake during tutoring and won’t even make it. Teaching about wrong answers is just as important as right answers. If a student is just constantly told that they are getting incorrect answers, they won’t be able to understand where they make mistakes or how to get them right.
Question asking is an effective way to keep students aware of their learning and to let them be a part of it. They feel more involved, like they are even teaching themselves a topic. It is much easier to remember something if you came up with it on your own instead of someone simply telling you step-by-step how to do it.