Socratic Seminar Analytic Rubric

Conduct

Speaking
&
Reasoning

Excellent

Good

Fair

Unsatisfactory

Demonstratesrespectfor
thelearningprocess;has
patiencewithdifferent
opinionsandcomplexity;
showsinitiativebyasking
othersforclarification:
bringsothersintothe
conversation,movesthe
conversationforward;
speakstoallofthe
participants;avoidstalking
toomuch.

Generallyshows
composurebutmay
displayimpatience
withcontradictoryor
confusingideas;
comments,butdoes
notnecessarily
encourageothersto
participate;maytend
toaddressonlythe
teacherorgetinto
debates.

Participatesandexpressesa
beliefthathis/herideasare
importantinunderstanding
thetext;maymakeinsightful
commentsbutiseithertoo
forcefulortooshyanddoes
notcontributetotheprogress
oftheconversation;tendsto
debate,notdialogue.

Understandsquestion
beforeanswering;cites
evidencefromtext;
expressesthoughtsin
completesentences;move
conversationforward;
makesconnectionsbetween
ideas;resolvesapparent
contradictoryideas;
considersothers
viewpoints,notonlyhis/her
own;avoidsbadlogic.

Respondstoquestions
voluntarily;comments
showanappreciation
forthetextbutnotan
appreciationforthe
subtlerpointswithin
it;commentsare
logicalbutnot
connectedtoother
speakers;ideas
interestingenough
thatothersrespondto
them.
Generallypays
attentionandresponds
thoughtfullytoideas
andquestionsofother
participantsandthe
leader;absorptionin
ownideasmay
distracttheparticipant
fromtheideasof
others.
Hasreadthetextand
comeswithsome
ideasfromitbutthese
maynotbewrittenout
inadvance;good
understandingofthe
vocabularybutmay
mispronouncesome
neworforeignwords.

Respondstoquestionsbut
mayhavetobecalledupon
byothers;hasreadthetext
butnotputmucheffortinto
preparingquestionsandideas
fortheseminar;comments
takedetailsintoaccountbut
maynotflowlogicallyin
conversation.

Displayslittlerespect
forthelearning
process;
argumentative;takes
advantageofminor
distractions;uses
inappropriate
language;speaksto
individualsrather
thanideas;arrives
unpreparedwithout
notes,pencil/penor
perhapsevenwithout
thetext.
Extremelyreluctant
toparticipateeven
whencalledupon;
commentsillogical
andmeaningless;
maymumbleor
expressincomplete
ideas;littleorno
accounttakenof
previouscomments
orimportantideasin
thetext.

Listening

Paysattentiontodetails;
writesdownquestions;
responsestakeintoaccount
allparticipants;
demonstratesthathe/she
haskeptup;pointsout
faultylogicrespectfully;
overcomesdistractions.

Reading

Thoroughlyfamiliarwith
thetext;hasnotationsand
questionsinthemargins;
keywords,phrases,and
ideasarehighlighted;
possiblecontradictions
identified;pronounces
wordscorrectly.

Appearstofindsomeideas
unimportantwhile
respondingtoothers;may
havetohavequestionsor
confusionsrepeateddueto
inattention;takesfewnotes
duringtheseminarin
responsetoideasand
comments.

Appearsuninvolved
intheseminar;
commentsdisplay
complete
misinterpretationof
questionsor
commentsofother
participants.

Appearstohavereador
skimmedthetextbuthasnot
markedthetextormade
meaningfulnotesor
questions;showsdifficulty
withvocabulary;
mispronouncesimportant
words;keyconcepts
misunderstood;little
evidenceofseriousreflection
priortotheseminar.

Studentis
unpreparedforthe
seminar;important
words,phrases,ideas
inthetextare
unfamiliar;nonotes
orquestionsmarked
inthetext;no
attemptmadetoget
helpwithdifficult
material.

(AdaptedfromPaulRaider)