Teaching Guidelines
Teaching¶
Socratic Teaching vs Pimping:
A few years ago, I shared a piece by Rick Garlikov where he illustrated the joy of the Socratic Method in a short article called Teaching by Asking Instead of by Telling. In this piece, he illustrated the excitement and contagion of learning through questions. Instead of asking for esoteric bits of forgotten knowledge or “guess what I’m thinking questions,” Mr. Garlikov modeled the power of inquisitive thinking and taught the concept of binary arithmetic to a 3rd grade class using only questions.
By the time these 3rd graders have made it to medical school, the thrill of learning has often been replaced by the fear of humiliation and the communal pack of excitement has been stifled by far too much self-awareness and academic competition. Additionally, as teachers, The Socratic Method is difficult. Preparation, flexibility, energy, and time are essential in using the Socratic Method and the hierarchy of medical education is a real and palpable force. Not to mention the past praise of pimping as framed in two JAMA articles both named,” The Art Of Pimping.” Robert C. Oh explores the differences between pimping and The Socratic Method in a short article in the American Medical Association Journal of Ethics “The Socratic Method and Pimping: Optimizing the Use of Stress and Fear in Instruction.”
Table 1. The Socratic method versus pimping¶
| Technique | Socratic method | Pimping |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | Connect new knowledge to existing knowledge Teach | Evaluate student. Establish hierarchal order Teach |
| Types of questions | Probing and leading: making connections Ex: Why do patients get hypotensive when pyelonephritis is treated with antibiotics? | Factual, pertaining to history, eponyms, lists Ex: What is the Jarisch- Herxheimer reaction? |
| Optimal setting | One-on-one | Small group |
Pointers for Teachers from Robert Oh¶
Diagnose the learners (and teach to that level). Ask questions to assess their baseline knowledge level. But don’t embarrass; ensure that your goal is to help and motivate them to learn. Avoid asking questions for questions’ sake. Do students really need to know what year the stethoscope was invented? Avoid trivia, historical facts, nonmeaningful eponyms, and impossible, guess-what-I’m-thinking questions. Tell students your goal in asking questions. Tell students up front that you will ask questions not to harm, humiliate, or embarrass, but to teach. Emphasize important learning points. Link topics discussed to a clinical context for patient care, perhaps one in which clinical pearls are given to help to solve complex clinical problems. Do not attempt to intentionally embarrass or humiliate the students. We all make mistakes, and reflection on the teaching encounter helps you to determine if you’ve asked irrelevant questions or if your learning outcome was unintended embarrassment or humiliation. Use this to improve your approach and questioning for future teaching opportunities.