Circles of Change: A Quiet Revolution in Haiti

Produced and directed by Jane Regan and Daniel Morel/Wozo Productions in collaboration with Beyond Borders.

Learn how Beyond Borders promotes participatory learning and leadership by viewing Circles of Change, a 20-minute DVD/VHS video documentary about the grassroots movement that is transforming notions and practices in education and leadership in Haiti and beyond. Through Open Space and Touchstones Discussions (Reflection Circles), the seeds of change are being planted among a new generation of Haitian leaders.

Resource Link: http://www.circlesofchange.com

Society for Philosophical Inquiry

SPI is a grassroots nonprofit organization comprised of philosophical inquirers of all ages and walks of life who form 'communities of philosophical inquiry,' through Socrates Cafe. Cafes take place at coffee houses, libraries, hospices, senior centers, prisons, bookstores, homeless shelters, schools and more. SPI's diverse members are devoted to resuscitating the once time-honored art and skill of Socratic philosophical inquiry.

Resource Link: http://www.philosopher.org

Socrates Caf?: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy

Christopher Phillips, Society for Philosophical Inquiry. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

This book explains how and why the questioning style of Socrates, revived in recent years by Christopher Phillips, works well with children and adults. Phillips overviews the fundamentals of philosophical thought, recreates some of his most invigorating and revealing sessions, and offers tips for facilitating Socrates Caf?s.

Resource Link: http://www.philosopher.org

Socrates Café Method

Developed by the Society for Philosophical Inquiry, Socrates Cafés take place at coffee houses, libraries, hospices, senior centers, prisons, bookstores, homeless shelters, schools and more. The Socrates Café® method of dialogue (based on Socrates' ways of facilitating learning through continuous questioning) is spontaneous yet rigorous, and inspires participants to articulate and discover their unique philosophical perspectives and worldview. The Cafés encourage participants to become more autonomous thinkers and more engaged and empathetic citizens.

Socratic Seminars

"Socratic Seminar" is perhaps the most widely varied and commonly known name for a class discussion model in which the teacher poses questions concerning a text or idea, and students respond. No individual or organization claims ownership of the model, and most practitioners trace its history to the Platonic Dialogues, in which Socrates engaged his interlocutors in a methodical line of questioning.

Socratic Seminars

Socratic Seminars are a highly motivating form of intellectual and scholarly discourse conducted in K-12 classrooms. They usually range from 30 to 50 minutes--longer if time allows--once a week. Socratic Seminars grew out of the early work of Mortimer Adler and the Great Books program. The National Paideia Center continues today to promote socratic discussions in the form of Paideia seminars. The Touchstones Discussion Project has similar roots and is a leader in the production of outstanding texts for Socratic Seminars.

Resource Link: http://www.socraticseminars.com

The New Trivium

The New Trivium is a school dedicated to the application of classical philosophical disciplines to the modern practice of management and organisation. The word "school" derives from the ancient Greek scholè meaning "free space" and used to denote a haven from the cares and obligations of everyday life. The scholè could be located anywhere but was usually found in the marketplace or in the gymnasium and was dedicated to enquiry into the foundations of thought and action. Based in The Netherlands, The New Trivium organizes and leads Socratic Dialogues, and offers training in the Socratic Method. They also run programs in Personal Persuasiveness, Making Words Work, and Developing Personal Mastery.

Touchstones Discussions

Touchstones grew out of more than twenty years of experience with the successes and challenges of the seminar program at Saint John's College, in Annapolis, Maryland. The Touchstones approach to leading discussion groups is grounded in a series of reflections on the nature of collaboration; the relationship between texts and personal experience; the ways in which authority, expertise, and power impede mutual cooperation; and the obstacles that hinder the examination of our most fundamental assumptions about the world in which we live.

Resource Link: http://www.touchstones.org

Understanding Dialogue as Practice

Thomas A. Schwandt, University of Illinois. Evaluation, Vol.7, No.2 (2001): 228-237, 2001.

This article discusses implications of Ove Karlsson's article, "Critical Dialogue: Its Value and Meaning," for thinking about the union of dialogue and evaluation. It argues that Karlsson's empirical example can be read in several ways each illustrating a different understanding of what dialogue is and how it relates to evaluation. These different understandings are further elaborated. Karlsson's article is also instructive in alerting us to three tensions or aporiai (disputed issues or questions) in the effort to grasp the nature and meaning of dialogue and the concept of dialogic evaluation. These tensions have to do with the interpretation of the Socratic conception of dialogue, notions of learning and judging, and the idea of critique. These disputed issues are further clarified.

Resource Link: http://evi.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/7/2/228