"James J. Dillon argues that we need to focus more on helping students learn how to think and less on content that they are likely to forget anyway. ... Dillon's purpose is to present a unique plan for integrating the Socratic method into a psychology course. ... I recommend that psychology faculty read Teaching Psychology and the Socratic Method. It is likely to stimulate some thought about how best to stimulate thought in our students." (David S. Kreiner, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 62 (14), April, 2017)
Chapter 1: Why We Teach
Chapter 2: Who Is Socrates and Why Should We Read Him?
Chapter 3: The Socratic Method
Chapter 4: Socrates Structures the Course
Chapter 5: Teaching Neuroscience with Phaedo
Chapter 6: Teaching the Psychology of Memory with Phaedo
Chapter 7: Teaching the Psychology of Learning with Meno
Chapter 8: Teaching Sensation-Perception Psychology with De Anima
Chapter 9: Teaching Cognitive Psychology with De Anima
Chapter 10: Academic Conference #1: Psychology and the Body
Chapter 11: Teaching Developmental Psychology with Republic
Chapter 12: Teaching Moral Development with Theaetetus
Chapter 13: Teaching Abnormal Psychology with Nichomachean Ethics
Chapter 14: Teaching Psychotherapy with Phaedrus
Chapter 15: Academic Conference #2: Good, Better, Best in Psychology
Chapter 16: Teaching Personality with Apology
Chapter 17: Teaching Social Psychology with Crito
Chapter 18: Teaching Motivation & Emotion Psychology with Euthyphro
Chapter 19: Academic Conference #3: What Is the Self?
Chapter 20: Omnibus Academic Conference: The Socratic Method
Appendix A
Appendix B
References
James J. Dillon is a psychologist and Professor at the University of West Georgia, USA. He specializes in the study of learning and development. He has coordinated many special learning communities for college students. In addition to his research and university teaching, Dr. Dillon is a certified public elementary school teacher.
This book presents a lively and accessible way to use the ancient figure of Socrates to teach modern psychology that avoids the didactic lecture and sterile textbook. In the online age, is a living teacher even needed? What can college students learn face-to-face from a teacher they cannot learn anywhere else? The answer is what most teachers already seek to do: help students think critically, clearly define concepts, logically reason from premises to conclusions, engage in thoughtful and persuasive communication, and actively engage the franchise of democratic citizenship. But achieving these outcomes requires an intimate, interpersonal learning community. This book presents a plan for using the ancient figure of Socrates and his Method to realize humane learning outcomes in the context of psychology.