3 Mistakes I Made Running Socratic Seminars (and How I Fixed Them)

Socratic Seminars are one of the most powerful tools in a teacher’s toolkit—but I’ll be honest: my first few attempts were rough.

I expected deep conversations and student-led insights. What I got instead was silence, side conversations, and me doing way too much of the talking.

Over time, I learned that great discussions don’t just happen. They need structure, scaffolding, and support. Here are the three biggest mistakes I made—and how I fixed them.

1. I Skipped the Prep

Early on, I made the mistake of thinking we could just “have a discussion” after reading something in class. But students were confused about what to say, how to say it, and what the purpose even was.

💡 The Fix:

Now I treat prep like the real work. I provide:

• Guiding questions

• Scaffolded readings

• Discussion prep organizers

The discussion itself? That’s the performance. The prep is the rehearsal.

2. I Gave No Structure

I assumed students knew how to talk to each other in an academic way… they didn’t.

We’d start the seminar, and either one student would dominate the conversation, or we’d get stuck in awkward silences.

💡 The Fix:

Now I use sentence stems to model academic conversation moves—things like:

• “Building off what you said…”

• “Can you clarify what you mean by…?”

• “I respectfully disagree because…”

This tiny change leveled the playing field and gave every student a way in.

3. I Ignored the Outer Circle

I used a fishbowl format, but the outer circle quickly became the “check-out zone.” They had no role, no accountability, and no clue what they were supposed to be doing.

💡 The Fix:

I introduced coaching sheets and feedback tools for the outer circle. Now they:

• Track discourse moves

• Use their own sentence stems for giving feedback

• Reflect and set goals for the next seminar

The result? They’re just as engaged as the speakers.

Want to Try My System?

I put together a free download to get you started:
🎁 Socratic Seminar Stems + Rubric

These are the exact tools I use in my middle school classroom to make student-led discussion successful—even with my most reluctant learners.

👉 Click here to download the free Socratic Seminar Stems + Rubric

Final Thoughts…

Socratic Seminars can be transformational… if you set students up for success. With a little frontloading, structure, and accountability, your classroom discussions can become something students look forward to.

Got questions? Tried something similar? Drop a comment—I’d love to hear how Socratic Seminars work in your room!