As pointed out in the game instructions, the "beauty of Socratic Smackdown is in its flexibility" (p.18). The game mechanics and rules can easily be tweaked depending on the type of students and learning objectives a teacher wants to achieve with a class. For example, the teacher could provide further scaffolding for the speaking duration to help students that might need more guidance or she could conduct the game with just a small group of students to encourage the shy students in her classroom to speak up. Whatever the student profile though, this method will definitely profit our students by sharpening their critical argumentation skill.
I think there is much value in using this approach in the Literature classroom, especially for the Singaporean classroom which faces the challenge of complete silence situations. By 'forcing' students into a context where they are supposed to speak up and giving them the exciting incentive of doing it to win a game, students might be motivated to engage in discussions and make more critical effort in analysing (or maybe even just reading more seriously) their texts.
This approach also offers a means for a "flipped classroom approach"and an interesting alternative to inquiry-based teaching. Instead of posing a board inquiry based question and fishing out the points from the class to get a discussion going, the teacher could use the inquiry based question as the topic for discussion and then watch her students take it away in the ring ("smackdown" is probably a reference to wrestling, so I'm using their language).
All that said, this is still something which I can only envision theoretically. I'm actually very curious to see if it can work in a classroom! Even if the game in its current format is not the most ideal for a Singaporean Literature classroom yet, I think the possibility is there for it to be modified and contextualised.
Hey Greg! I like that the Socratic Smackdown has a clear structure as a game which makes it more fun cos then you know what you're supposed to aim for to get the highest points. The game seems to be quite of a higher-order thinking level so perhaps it's better suited for higher-ability learners but I think that it can be modified for our not-as-high-of-an-ability students too. We can modify to pitch it at their level while still aiming to stretch their thinking abilities. Like maybe the outer circle assessment of inner circle can be done in groups instead of individually. Students might not be able to sustain their attention span long enough to assess the inner circle for so long too so a group assessment may help break the momentum (if students get bored and zoned out when the inner circle presents). Thanks for sharing the interesting activity! (:
ReplyDeleteHi Greg! I really like the Socratic Smackdown idea. It provides an easy and engaging alternative to the normal teacher-talk kind of classroom, which may get too overwhelming for the students, especially if they have had a full day of class. I also like that this activity is very clearly scaffolded. Those in the audience can participate as well because they get to 'judge' those in the inner circle. The guidelines are clear as the judgment criteria is well-distinguished.
ReplyDeleteBut I feel that for a class of students who have shorter attention spans, the activity has to be tweaked to make it more suitable. With only 4 to 6 people doing the actual 'Smackdown', the rest of the class may get bored and restless after a while and their attention might stray. It may be more engaging if more students can actually participate in the activity. That said, I think this game shows a lot of potential and I would love to try it out in class too!
Hi Gregory, the inner circle/outer circle idea is a good idea, which we will try out in the week where we examine discussions and oral presentations so you can evaluate then what works and what doesn't work. The socratic smackdown is a good idea of an assessment that is both fun and challenging. At the same time, it may be necessary to scaffold students in the socratic method over a period of time so that you can really get them to internalize the principles of questioning and argumentation.
ReplyDeleteHi Greg, this is an excellent activity to simply get students off their seats. I do believe the difficulty level can be adjusted based on the student profile. The assessment part has to be done very purposefully such that it is not just entertaining but can enable the teacher to see where the students are at. Furthermore, excellent classroom management is required.
ReplyDeleteHey Greg! This is a fantastic idea and I really appreciate your quick presentation of this in class the other day. (: In particular, I really like how this activity facilitates and neatly scaffolds the thinking processes for students. Given time and practice, I would think that this activity would eventually imbue a certain disposition of critical thinking and healthy skepticism for the students - skills that are important across various disciplines and subjects. Overall, I really enjoyed learning more about this activity and I might incorporate it to my History lessons some time in the future. Haha! Thanks for sharing, Greg! (:
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