Seminar Format classes

[O'GodHowGreatThouArt]

I just learned that the professor I'm taking "Gender/Ethnicity in International Politics" with next semester using a format of class lecture known as "seminar format". This is a new style of using class time which I never ran into during my four years at Gainesville State College, so for once, I'm lost. Does anyone here happen to know how such classes run and the best way to attack it with note-taking, etc?

 

[TylerRay]

Perhaps what is meant by "seminar format" is a Socratic method of dialogue. I had a teacher in high school who would sometimes have us do "Socratic Seminars," as he called them. Essentially, it was discussion based. He would present a topic, and then set us loose.

Socratic method - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Jack K]

Perhaps what is meant by "seminar format" is a Socratic method of dialogue.

That'd be my guess, in which case the key to doing well is being prepared before class and participating well in the discussion. If he's a good teacher, you won't get dinged for disagreeing with him, only for failing to take part.

 

[Edward]

It's been many years for me, but in my seminar classes, there wasn't any lecture from the prof. We had to read the material and participate in a guided discussion. It was quite different from the Socratic method used in law school (anyone old enough to remember the movie 'Paper Chase"?) where the prof would pick a student and grill them until he could make them look like a fool or until you could (rarely) make a professor flinch.

It takes a good prof to pull either off.

 

[jwithnell]

Most of my upper-level classes followed this format. The professor gave a short lecture or overview, then expected the class to be able to draw fully from whatever reading assignment was given. In addition, reading your own sources could also be helpful, especially if you knew you'd be in disagreement with the professor or other students.

Never go on the attack with your own opinions, no matter how Godly. Instead, work along the lines of, "but can you see how Dr. Expert would suggest that ..." With one professor, we had a paper and only 2 or 3 tests, each of which consisted of 3 essay questions. Read: 3 short papers in the space of one class time.

I feel blessed to have had this approach. My school later pursued a football team, university status, etc., and I'd bet this seminar approach was replaced by bored graduate students giving lectures.

 

[GulfCoast Presbyterian]

When I was an undergrad, "seminar" meant that it would be a very small class with group discussion lead/facilitated by the prof. These were usually 400/500 level classes. In law school, it meant the same thing, with the addition of the Socratic method, I.e. "I am here to ask questions, Mr. Edwards, not answer them."


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[Zach]

My "Freshman Seminar" class a few years ago on Philosophy was smaller and supposed to be based more in readings and class discussions. However, the Professor just kind of talked at us and would occasionally grill someone until they looked like they had not read the material.

 

[Afterthought]

"Seminar" in my school seems to align with what others have said here: group-discussion based class lead by the professor. Usually, the professor will guide the discussion by having some questions prepared beforehand to ask--usually, the kind of questions that after answering, will keep the students talking for a while. In answering the professor's question, the students usually dialogue with the professor and with each other, giving responses to each others' answers. The professor will give his or her input on the kinds of answers given such that any flaws in the answers (from the perspective of whatever discipline is being taught) will become apparent to the students. Opinions the professor disagrees with are usually allowed provided the student can back it up, though since my school is merely an undergraduate school, such does not occur often; and in the seminar style classes I've been in (though not all of them), to disagree with the professor and back it up would usually require a long tangent that was not related to the discussion at hand anyway.

To prepare, it is good to make sure one has read and have a good understanding of whatever material will be covered during the class period. This may require taking notes on what one has read, depending on one's memory, what material is read, and how one reads for understanding. In the seminar classes I've been in, the material has been too dense for me to read and take notes on usually, so I usually just have had time to read, re-read the trickier sections, skim through to refresh my memory where possible, and then go on memory. Depending on your professor, the discussion topic and questions may or may not be available. If they are available, it is useful to keep them in mind as one reads the material; obviously, if time allows, it would be useful to make sure one has an answer for them all. If they are not available, it is a good idea to keep the main ideas in mind as one reads, note the parts that were confusing or raised questions to onself while reading, and so in a way anticipate the kinds of questions one may be asked. Usually though, one need not worry about such things so long as one actually understood the material one was reading.

During discussion, I usually try to take notes on the discussion at hand--what was discussed, anything important or enlightening revealed during the discussion, any good responses given during discussion (and especially any good responses by the professor, since the professor will usually have a compact or nice way of saying something that the student will take longer to say). This is tricky to do while participating in the discussion at the same time, but it is possible and becomes easier with an increase in class size. Oh, as for participating in the discussion, it is a good idea to try to stay on topic as much as possible in order to keep the discussion from derailing. It is also good to participate as much as possible without hogging the discussion. I usually do this--when I have an answer to questions more quickly than the other students, anyway; sometimes I have to work in order to get in on the discussion--by answering the questions quickly at the beginning of the time, then hesitating before answering later during the class time to see if another student will respond.

In case it is useful to know, my seminar classes have mostly been in philosophy.


Hope that is helpful in some way.