Abstract
The Socratic method is a key pedagogical tool used by many philosophy lecturers across the
globe. In most cases, this method was used in face-to-face teaching, with occasional instances
of online usage. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic, philosophy lecturers faced a rapid
transition to online learning, which meant that lecturers were now faced with the challenge of
trying to implement the Socratic method online. The research question for this minor
dissertation then arose out of this challenge. The question is:
When using the Socratic method of instruction, what influenced philosophy lecturers’
decision-making process as they rapidly transitioned to online learning?
In order to answer this question, a qualitative research design was followed. Semi-structured
interviews were conducted with five philosophy lecturers who taught during the rapid
transition to online learning. The data was then coded and analysed. Some of the key findings
are:
1) All the participants used the Socratic method in their teaching, and felt that it is an
important aspect of their philosophical teaching approach.
2) The participants felt that their inexperience in teaching online meant that they could
not simulate the Socratic method. For many, they simply did not use the Socratic
method in the beginning of EROTL.
3) In the later phase of EROTL, lecturers nevertheless attempted to introduce the
Socratic method to their virtual classrooms, but with limited success.
4) Many of the participants pointed to the importance of the training and support they
received during EROTL as instrumental in improving their online tuition, and
especially their ability to use the Socratic method online.
5) The participants did not have explicit or clearly-defined processes by which they
made decisions before EROTL. Rather, they considered what they wanted to achieve
in their classrooms, and made decisions accordingly. Alternatively, the simply relied
on intuition or tacit knowledge.
6) During EROTL, most lecturers seemed to simply respond to institutional instructions.
They were in ‘crisis mode’ and simply tried to put content on the LMS for students.
Key words: Socratic method; emergency remote online teaching and learning; philosophy
education; decision-making.