1. TED + Socrates =
Collaboration for Diverse
Learners
Michele Mar, Ph.D.
School For Advanced Studies-North
Campus

2. Reflection of your classroom
“Not everything that can be counted
counts, and not everything that counts
can be counted.” - Albert Einstein
Turn and talk to your partner…discuss
the quote.

3. Welcome…the Power of One
 “…It is my personal approach that
creates the climate. It is my daily
mood that makes the weather. I
possess tremendous power to make
life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool
of torture or an instrument of
inspiration, I can humiliate or humor,
hurt or heal…” Haim G. Ginott,
Teacher and Child: A Book for Parents
and Teachers

4. Opening Discussion
 Watch: I, too, am Harvard
By Ahsante Bean, Harvard College,
Class of 2015.
 How do we allow for diversity in our
classrooms?

5. Discuss with a Partner…
Whose point of view are we using in the
classroom?
Do we allow different opinions to
emerge?
How do we use the textbook(s) and/or
reading materials?
How do we use On-line videos, Ted
Talks, Socratic Seminars?

6. Debra
 Debra’s parents immigrated from Haiti;
Debra was born in the United States.
She speaks Creole at home with her
parents.
 “The presentations helped because
the students had to learn the material.
The groups helped you work together.
By doing the presentations you
learned the material. The on-line
videos were a great help. We may
have opposing views, but we came
together.”

7. Valerie
 Valerie’s mother came from the
Dominican Republic and speaks
Spanish at home with her family.
 “I like to hear others speak about
different concepts in Government. It
makes you think about the subject
matter. I didn’t like the presentations,
but it helped me learn the material.”

8. Raquel
 Raquel’s parents came from Ecuador
when she was a child. She speaks
Spanish and English at home:
 “I really learned from the TED
documentaries. I also like the small
groups and working with fewer
students.”

9. Ana
 Anna’s mother came from Cuba in
1980 and her father came to the U. S.
from Cuba in 1990. She speaks to her
parents in Spanish.
 “We motivate each other. Students will
push one another to do better. I was
very shy in middle school. Now I am
much better with group presentations.”

10. Carolina
 Carolina came to U.S. in 2010 from
Lima, Peru when she was 14 years of
age.
 Carolina said she is not comfortable
speaking English, but she feels more
comfortable with class presentations.
The class presentations helped
overcome her shyness.
 “Don’t be afraid to have an accent;
you need to speak up, and be

11. Transformation in the Social
Studies Classroom
Respect for
Students’
Languages,
Voices, and
Cultures
Social
Justice
Respect
for
Diversity

12. Theories behind the Dialogical
Classroom
Fecho
Vygotsky
Cummins

13. Dialogical Classroom
 Fecho (2011) advocates for the
dialogical classroom:
 Rather than using authority to banish
discussion and dialogue, Fecho
advocates his authority to “garner a
range of responses, to posit
questions, to propose alternatives,
and to, in effect, engage in dialogue”
(Fecho, 2011, pp. 24-25).

14. The Dialogical Classroom
 Collaborative
 About understanding
 Listening for a deeper meaning
 Re-evaluating assumptions
 Keeping an open mind
 About respecting all participants
 Exploring different possibilities

15. How are students
transforming?
 Dialogues in small groups of five to six
students
 TED Talks and Simultaneous Socratic
Seminars =Class Discussions
 Students at SAS North created their
own Facebook for their peers
 Group presentations (used Power
Points, Prezi, On-line videos, and TED
Talks)

16. Class Discussions
Students’ Voices are
valued
Range of Discussions
and viewpoints
Multilingual/Multicultural
Experiences
Dialogical Classroom

17. Bell Ringers
Class
discussion/small
groups
TED
Talk/Crash
Course
Political
Cartoon
Current
Events
(Government)

18. Analyze political cartoon with a
partner…

19. Cummins: Transformative
Pedagogy
 “Empowerment results from classroom
interactions that enable students to
relate curriculum content to their
individual and collective experience
and to analyze broader social issues
relevant to their lives” (Cummins,
2000, p. 246).
 How can we empower our students in
our Social Studies classes? Turn and
Talk…

20. Rethinking our Classrooms:
Teaching for Equity and Justice
 Eight components that are reflected in
Transformative pedagogy:
◦ Grounded in the lives of our students
◦ Students ask critical questions (Who
benefits and who suffers? Why is a given
practice fair or unfair? Who makes
decisions and who is left out?)

21. Rethinking our classrooms
(Continued)
◦ Multicultural, antiracist, and pro-justice
◦ Participatory and experimental
◦ Hopeful, joyful, kind and visionary
◦ Activist
◦ Academically rigorous
◦ Culturally sensitive (Bigelow, Christiansen,
Karp, Miner, & Peterson, 1994).

22. Zone of Proximal
Development
 Vygotsky (1978) defines the Zone of
Proximal Development as the site
where future development is
negotiated by the expert and the
novice. Collaborative dialogue
mediates problem solving and
knowledge building (Swain, 2000).

23. How can we use ZPD in our
classes?

24. TED Talks
 TED (Technology, Entertainment and
Design)
 Represents the best discussions from
experts from around the world.
 Students “can be inspired, educated,
encouraged …or entertained” (Jeff
Dunn @ edudemic)

25. TED Favorites in Comparative
Politics
Martin Jacques: Understanding the Rise
of China, TED Talk, 2010

26. Other Favorites…
 Dambisa Moyo: Is China the New Idol
for Emerging Economies? TED Talk,
2013

27. TED Talk: Build a School in the
Cloud
 TED Talk: Build a School in the Cloud
(2013) by Sugata Mitra.
 Mitra poses the question:
 What is going to be the future of
learning?

28. Sugata Mitra…
 Children can explore and learn from
one another.
 Schools today are outdated; we need
critical thinkers.
 How will present day schooling
preparing for students to work?

29. Salman Khan: Kahn Academy
 Salman Khan TED Talk: Let’s Use
Video to Reinvent Education, 2011

30. Khan Academy
 Khan (2011) claims:
◦ Teachers and students can use YouTube
so students can pause, repeat, review the
lessons
◦ Educators and students can stop and
reflect and discuss
◦ Teachers can use Khan Academy to flip
their classroom
◦ One size does not fit all
◦ Allows other points of view from all over
the world

31. Simultaneous Socratic
Seminars
 Groups of six students would work in
small groups to answer 8-10
questions with relevant topics related
to the class discussion.
 Students would be able to work
together to discuss the topics and
questions
 Students would then present their
material to the class the following
class or week

32. C. Phillips Recommendations for
your “Socrates Café”
 Facilitator and Participant Dos and
Don’ts (Phillips, 2004):
◦ “Do be an active and engaged listener
◦ Do encourage participants to offer specific
examples
◦ Do question the perspectives offered by
others
◦ Don’t allow the dialogue to be a one-on-
one and back and forth between facilitator
and participant”

33. Socrates Café (continued)
 “Do make sure that everyone has a
chance to speak and contribute to the
dialogue
 Don’t strive for consensus
 Do remember that Socrates Café is
just one version of philosophical
discourse, and it might not work for
everybody” (Phillips, 2004, pp. 329-
233)

34. Simultaneous Seminars
 Simultaneous Socratic Seminars:
Students are arranged in multiple
small groups of four to six participants.
 Students engage in small group
discussions.

35. Socratic Seminars
(Continued)
Seminars encourage students to work
together and to create meaning from
the discussion questions. The
emphasis is on critical and creative
thinking.

36. Student Presentations
 Small groups of four to six students
 Students used:
◦ PowerPoint presentations
◦ Prezi Presentations
◦ YouTube videos
◦ Ted Talks
◦ Political Cartoons
◦ Review links of materials from Internet
sources

37. 8 Essentials for Project-Based
Learning in your AP Class
 Significant content
 A need to know
 A driving question
 Student voice and choice
 21st Century Skills
 Inquiry and Innovation
 Feedback and Revision
 (Larmer and Mergendoller, 2010)

38. Transforming the Social Studies
Classroom
Peer
Mediation
TED Talks
Simultaneous
Socratic
Seminars
Facebook on-
line dialogue
(student
generated)
Students’
Group
Presentations

39. Final Quote: Haim G. Ginott
 “…In all situations, it is my response
that decides whether a crisis is
escalated or de-escalated, and a
person is humanized or de-
humanized.”

40. Questions and Reflection
 “I am and always have been one of
the natures who must be guided by
reflective questioning.”
 -Socrates

41. References
Bigelow, B., Christensen, L., Karp, S. Milner, B. and Peterson,
B. (1994). Rethinking our classrooms: Teaching for equity and
justice. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools, Ltd.
Cummins, J. (2007). Language, power and pedagogy: Bilingual
children in the crossfire. Clevedon, UK: Cromwell Press.
Fecho, B. (2011). Teaching for the students: Habits of heart,
mind, and practice in the engaged classroom. New York:
Teachers College Press.
Lantolf, J. P. & Thorne, S. L. (2006). Sociocultural theory and
the genesis of second language development. Oxford, UK:
Oxford University Press.
Larmer, J. & Mergendoller, J. R. (2010). 7 Essentials for
Project-Based Learning. Educational Leadership, 68(1).
Retrieved from www.ascd.org.
Mar, M. P. (2011). English Language Learner Border Crossers in
High School: A qualitative case study (Unpublished doctoral
dissertation). Barry University, Miami Shores, Florida.
McLaren, P. (2007). Life in schools: An introduction to critical
pedagogy in the foundations of education. Boston, MA:
Pearson Education.

42. References (Continued)
Norton, B. (2000) Identity and language learning: Gender,
ethnicity, and educational change. New York: Pearson
Education.
Phillips, C. (2004). Six questions of Socrates: A modern-
day journey of discovery through world philosophy. New
York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Phillips, C. (2001). Socrates Café: A fresh taste of
philosophy. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Swain, M. (2000). The output hypothesis and beyond:
Mediating acquisition through collaborative dialogue. In J.
P. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural theory and second language
learning (pp. 97-114). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development
of higher psychological processes M. Cole, V. John-
Steiner, S. Scribner, and E. Souberman (eds.).
Cambridge, MS: Harvard University Press.

43. Contact Information
Michele Mar, Ph.D.
AP Social Studies Instructor
School for Advanced Studies-North
Campus
(305) 237-1089
mmar@dadeschools.net