HLTP: Eliciting Individual Student Thinking (Proficiency)

This high-leverage teaching practice is one that as an English

student teacher, I implement everyday in the classroom. English
revolves around individual thinking, because everything is subjective,
and open to interpretation. As much as I appreciate the definitive
answers that math offers, I love hearing my students interpretations
and opinions about the English subject matter. I have worked hard this
year to improve my skills when it came to eliciting student thinking,
and I think my attached video shows my proficiency regarding this
teaching practice. The video below is of a Socratic circle that we did
this spring, when we discussed the theme of tabula rasa or blank
slate, in the novel Frankenstein.
I would argue that the Socratic circle allowed for plenty of
individual student thinking. I chose to utilize a Socratic circle to
highlight this HLTP because as I explained to my students, a Socratic
circle is not a debate. It is not about one side being right and the other
side being wrong. It is about a group of people, talking through a topic
as individuals, building on each others knowledge, and asking for
clarification if needed. As you can see in this video, students are
talking to each othernot to me. Their desks are placed in a circle, so
they are facing their peers, which essentially takes me out of the
equation.
The majority of the Socratic circle was student-led while I simply
facilitated, but this video captures the one time that I did interject. The
group was discussing whether or not people (or monsters) are products
of their environments. Jacob said that one could always overcome his
or her environment, and I wanted to question him further on that point.
I gave the cauliflower/chocolate example to make my thinking clear:
can we blame people for not doing something if it literally has never
been an option in their life? I was hoping that Jacob would make a
connection to Frankenstein, about how/why the monster turned out as
bad. I dont think that Jacob understood my point, as he responded
with his ice rink example, which was all about trying new things (which
was not the point that I was making). Fortunately, the members of the
Socratic circle helped him out. Andrew and Ben worked together to
point out that the monster did see an example of a nurturing
environment with the cottagers, but there was no hope of entering that
environment, which made his situation worse. Andrew came to the
conclusion that if someone is to choose the high road in life, he or she
needs to at least be able to see that option in order to make that
choice.
I believe that Jacob understood the connection when, after Nicks
Tarzan example, he said that Tarzan could have chosen to act human

again. In the end, Jacob stuck with his initial opinion that one can
overcome his or her environment, and I was proud of him. However, I
was also very proud of the members of the Socratic circle for
explaining their individual thinking. They made it evident that people
can indeed overcome their situation (like Jacob said), but they not only
have to see a different option, but that option must also be attainable.