Research shows that students need opportunities to engage in strategies that will enhance their critical thinking skills. With pressure on teachers to prepare students for state assessments, teachers teach to the test, not giving students chances to dialogue with their peers. To produce citizens in a genuinely democratic world, the voices of students is crucial. Socratic Seminar is a classroom methodology that can foster critical thinking skills and cultivate a democratic learning environment. The purpose of this participatory action research study is to examine teachers’ dispositions of critical thinking in elementary social studies classrooms as students think beyond the text. This research also examines coaching considerations, teachers’ provisions of coaching, and challenges faced when executing Socratic Seminars.
","abstract_html":"<p>Research shows that students need opportunities to engage in strategies that will enhance their critical thinking skills. With pressure on teachers to prepare students for state assessments, teachers teach to the test, not giving students chances to dialogue with their peers. To produce citizens in a genuinely democratic world, the voices of students is crucial. Socratic Seminar is a classroom methodology that can foster critical thinking skills and cultivate a democratic learning environment. The purpose of this participatory action research study is to examine teachers’ dispositions of critical thinking in elementary social studies classrooms as students think beyond the text. This research also examines coaching considerations, teachers’ provisions of coaching, and challenges faced when executing Socratic Seminars.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hunter, Jacqueline"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership (Ed.D)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Theresa Alviar-Martin","Dr. Daphne Hubbard-Berry"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-12-17T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-12-17T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:33Z","subjects":["higher-order thinking questions","critical thinking","Socratic Seminars","coaching","Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/teachleaddoc_etd/37","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Theresa Alviar-Martin","Dr. Daphne Hubbard-Berry"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hunter, Jacqueline"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-12-08T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership (Ed.D)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["higher-order thinking questions","critical thinking","Socratic Seminars","coaching","Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/teachleaddoc_etd/37"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Research shows that students need opportunities to engage in strategies that will enhance their critical thinking skills. With pressure on teachers to prepare students for state assessments, teachers teach to the test, not giving students chances to dialogue with their peers. To produce citizens in a genuinely democratic world, the voices of students is crucial. Socratic Seminar is a classroom methodology that can foster critical thinking skills and cultivate a democratic learning environment. The purpose of this participatory action research study is to examine teachers’ dispositions of critical thinking in elementary social studies classrooms as students think beyond the text. This research also examines coaching considerations, teachers’ provisions of coaching, and challenges faced when executing Socratic Seminars.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Thinking Beyond the Text: Examining Teachers’ Dispositions of Critical Thinking in Elementary Social Studies Classrooms Through the Use of Socratic Seminars"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Theresa Alviar-Martin","Dr. Daphne Hubbard-Berry"],"dc:creator":["Hunter, Jacqueline"],"dc:date.available":["2019-12-08T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Research shows that students need opportunities to engage in strategies that will enhance their critical thinking skills. With pressure on teachers to prepare students for state assessments, teachers teach to the test, not giving students chances to dialogue with their peers. To produce citizens in a genuinely democratic world, the voices of students is crucial. Socratic Seminar is a classroom methodology that can foster critical thinking skills and cultivate a democratic learning environment. The purpose of this participatory action research study is to examine teachers’ dispositions of critical thinking in elementary social studies classrooms as students think beyond the text. This research also examines coaching considerations, teachers’ provisions of coaching, and challenges faced when executing Socratic Seminars.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/teachleaddoc_etd/37"],"dc:subject":["higher-order thinking questions","critical thinking","Socratic Seminars","coaching","Education"],"dc:title":["Thinking Beyond the Text: Examining Teachers’ Dispositions of Critical Thinking in Elementary Social Studies Classrooms Through the Use of Socratic Seminars"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership (Ed.D)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:33Z"}