What is the Socratic Method?
A teaching method that uses thoughtful questions to guide students to understanding.
The Socratic method is a way of teaching that helps students learn by asking them questions instead of giving them answers. The goal is to help students think deeply, explain their reasoning, and come to conclusions on their own.
This approach is named after Socrates, a famous philosopher from ancient Greece, who taught his students by asking questions that challenged their thinking. He believed that through conversation and critical questioning, people could arrive at true understanding.
In education, the Socratic method sounds like:
- “How did you figure that out?”
- “Can you explain that another way?”
- “What happens if we change this number?”
- “Why do you think that works?”
These types of questions help students become active participants in their learning. Instead of memorizing steps, they reflect on their choices, check their logic, and learn how to reason through challenges.
The Socratic Method & The Mathnasium Method™
At Mathnasium, the Socratic method is one of the key ways our instructors help students truly understand math.
Some students respond best through conversation—this is called verbal or linguistic learning. To support them, we use multiple forms of verbal interaction:
- Direct teaching, where instructors walk students step-by-step through a concept
- Socratic questioning, where instructors guide students by asking questions
- Student explanation, where students describe how they solved a problem
Through the Socratic method, Mathnasium instructors ask carefully chosen questions to:
- Guide students through logical thinking
- Help students correct errors themselves
- Build deeper understanding—not just rote calculation
By explaining their thinking out loud, students strengthen their reasoning skills and develop a more confident, flexible approach to math. This method turns every problem into a conversation—one that leads to real learning.
