Socratic Seminar is a discussion-based instructional strategy that aims to improve students’ critical thinking and reading comprehension skills. This strategy supports comprehension by encouraging students to answer textual-based questions with textual evidence and engage in providing multiple perspectives with their peers. Using a concurrent multiple baseline design across participants, the current study evaluated the effectiveness of Socratic Seminars as a Tier 1 intervention across three general education ELA blocks for students at-risk for reading comprehension concerns. Target participants scoring below benchmark in reading comprehension were measured using Curriculum-Based Measurements (CBM) MAZE Probes were identified. Upon the implementation of Socratic Seminars, all target students’ reading comprehension scores increased from their baseline score. 5 out 6 of the target students' MAZE average scores increased at or above grade level for the end of the year benchmark. In addition to academic gains, social validity data showed that the target students and their teacher viewed the intervention as acceptable and beneficial. Implications for applied practice and research are discussed. Limitations of this study are also offered.
","abstract_html":"<p>Socratic Seminar is a discussion-based instructional strategy that aims to improve students’ critical thinking and reading comprehension skills. This strategy supports comprehension by encouraging students to answer textual-based questions with textual evidence and engage in providing multiple perspectives with their peers. Using a concurrent multiple baseline design across participants, the current study evaluated the effectiveness of Socratic Seminars as a Tier 1 intervention across three general education ELA blocks for students at-risk for reading comprehension concerns. Target participants scoring below benchmark in reading comprehension were measured using Curriculum-Based Measurements (CBM) MAZE Probes were identified. Upon the implementation of Socratic Seminars, all target students’ reading comprehension scores increased from their baseline score. 5 out 6 of the target students' MAZE average scores increased at or above grade level for the end of the year benchmark. In addition to academic gains, social validity data showed that the target students and their teacher viewed the intervention as acceptable and beneficial. Implications for applied practice and research are discussed. Limitations of this study are also offered.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Anderson, Mikaela"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Emily DeFouw","Joe Olmi","Kourtney Kromminga"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:55Z","subjects":["Reading Comprehension","Socratic Seminar","Discussion","Cultural Relevant","Curriculum","Elementary Education","School Psychology","Secondary Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1168","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Emily DeFouw","Joe Olmi","Kourtney Kromminga"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Anderson, Mikaela"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2030-07-18T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Reading Comprehension","Socratic Seminar","Discussion","Cultural Relevant","Curriculum","Elementary Education","School Psychology","Secondary Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1168"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Socratic Seminar is a discussion-based instructional strategy that aims to improve students’ critical thinking and reading comprehension skills. This strategy supports comprehension by encouraging students to answer textual-based questions with textual evidence and engage in providing multiple perspectives with their peers. Using a concurrent multiple baseline design across participants, the current study evaluated the effectiveness of Socratic Seminars as a Tier 1 intervention across three general education ELA blocks for students at-risk for reading comprehension concerns. Target participants scoring below benchmark in reading comprehension were measured using Curriculum-Based Measurements (CBM) MAZE Probes were identified. Upon the implementation of Socratic Seminars, all target students’ reading comprehension scores increased from their baseline score. 5 out 6 of the target students' MAZE average scores increased at or above grade level for the end of the year benchmark. In addition to academic gains, social validity data showed that the target students and their teacher viewed the intervention as acceptable and beneficial. Implications for applied practice and research are discussed. Limitations of this study are also offered.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Increasing Reading Comprehension Through Socratic Seminars"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Emily DeFouw","Joe Olmi","Kourtney Kromminga"],"dc:creator":["Anderson, Mikaela"],"dc:date.available":["2030-07-18T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Socratic Seminar is a discussion-based instructional strategy that aims to improve students’ critical thinking and reading comprehension skills. This strategy supports comprehension by encouraging students to answer textual-based questions with textual evidence and engage in providing multiple perspectives with their peers. Using a concurrent multiple baseline design across participants, the current study evaluated the effectiveness of Socratic Seminars as a Tier 1 intervention across three general education ELA blocks for students at-risk for reading comprehension concerns. Target participants scoring below benchmark in reading comprehension were measured using Curriculum-Based Measurements (CBM) MAZE Probes were identified. Upon the implementation of Socratic Seminars, all target students’ reading comprehension scores increased from their baseline score. 5 out 6 of the target students' MAZE average scores increased at or above grade level for the end of the year benchmark. In addition to academic gains, social validity data showed that the target students and their teacher viewed the intervention as acceptable and beneficial. Implications for applied practice and research are discussed. Limitations of this study are also offered.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1168"],"dc:subject":["Reading Comprehension","Socratic Seminar","Discussion","Cultural Relevant","Curriculum","Elementary Education","School Psychology","Secondary Education"],"dc:title":["Increasing Reading Comprehension Through Socratic Seminars"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:55Z"}