Maieutics
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30
CORE DEFINITION
Socrates' teaching method: instead of directly giving answers, guide learners to discover truth themselves through questioning. Scaffolding role: the question is the answer. A good question has more educational value than a good answer; guidance is more conducive to deep understanding than indoctrination.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
The question is the answer. A good question has more educational value than a good answer; guidance is more conducive to deep understanding than indoctrination.
Anchor fast decisions
Maieutics (from the Greek for 'midwifery') is Socrates' method: the teacher acts as a midwife, not directly 'implanting' knowledge, but through a series of probing questions exposing contradictions in the learner's existing beliefs, prompting them to 'give birth' to clearer cognition themselves. Its effectiveness comes from the learner actively reconstructing, rather than passively receiving.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/5Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_methodverified
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