Generally, I have my students write beforehand about the topic so they have some ideas to get started, take notes while they discuss, and then have them write afterwards to synthesize what they discussed. 

If you are doing an inner and outer circle, the students in the outer circle should be taking notes. They could also be assigned a specific person from the inner circle to track their discussion habits. 

Scaffolds: 

There are a variety of scaffolds you can add to make socratic seminar accessible (or seem less intimidating) to students who are reluctant to speak 

• give them the questions ahead of time 

• have them practice in small groups or turn and talks first 

• give them resources like accountable talk stems to help them find the language to connect their ideas 

• graphic organizers for taking notes 

• keep the discussions short to start: 10 min here or there, and then move back 

You can generate discussion questions yourself, or have students contribute quotes, questions, or ideas to discuss. 

I recommend having students pull the questions. The more student voice, the better! 

Small Group Discussions

Have students lead their own discussions in small groups. 

This works best if groups are assigned (otherwise sometimes students are more likely to get off topic and chat with their friends) and if you assign a 'leader' to get the discussion rolling and hold their group accountable. 

This works best if the group has some accountability to the whole class, to share a question or conclusion. It can be good setup for larger seminar discussions. 

More resources:

• Cult of Pedagogy - The Big List of Class Discussion Strategies 

• Washington University in St. Louis - Discussion Strategies