Violin Video Lesson: The Power of Socratic Questioning in Teaching

As teachers, one of our goals is to help students reach their goals. But to do that, we need to build a solid way to communicate.

Build a bridge between what we understand and what we wish them to discover.

One way to build that bridge is by demonstrating.

Picking up the violin and showing them what we mean.

Depending on the student's age and experience, this can be really effective.

But there is something to keep in mind.

They might simply copy what they see instead of trying to understand it. With that in mind, another way is through words. Talking to them. Guiding them with questions.

For me, this is where things get interesting. Because as I mentioned in another video, the way we ask questions matters.

Just telling them what to do might not help them develop their own critical thinking.

But asking the right kinds of questions? That seems like a path worth exploring.

Over the years, with a little help from Socrates, I found certain questions to be especially useful.

Here are a few, each with a scenario to give it context.

A student plays a passage and says, I keep missing this because my hand is too small.

Rather than getting caught up in whether they're right or wrong, why not ask, why'd you say that? They might think for a second, then answer, well, maybe I'm squeezing too much.

Even if their observation isn't quite right, that moment of realization is what we're aiming for.

It shifts their mindset from excuse to exploration.

A student struggles with fast string crossings in size. I just don't have the coordination for this.

You could respond with, true, coordination is difficult, but could it be something else? They pause for a moment, then say, well, maybe I just haven't figured out the right angle yet.

And just like that, they're problem solving instead of feeling trapped by what they believe to be true.

A student says, I want to play this phrase more expressively.

You ask, could you tell me what you mean by expressively? They try to explain, but their answer doesn't quite convince you.

After all, that is a difficult question to answer.

So you follow up with, have you thought about how we structure sentences? Suddenly, a smile spreads across their faces. They begin to see a way to shape the expression they were looking for in the phrase.

A student keeps rushing and says, I just can't help it.

You ask, what do you think causes that to happen? They pause, then say, maybe it's because I'm thinking too far ahead.

Just like that, they've gone from staring at the problem to figuring out why it might be happening.

By looking at the possible reasons, they can start finding ways to stop rushing.

A student plays a passage over and over, but nothing improves.

So I ask them what they notice.

They start talking about the shift they missed, the notes that were out of tune, and where the sound could be improved.

Well, I gently interrupt and ask, why do you think I asked you that? They pause, grin, and then say, because you want me to figure it out by myself? Each of these questions serves a purpose.

They lead the student to think for themselves instead of relying on being told what to do.

You see, to me, teaching isn't about giving students all the answers, but about helping them find their own.

Automatic video-to-text transcription by DaDaScribe.com

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