ChatGPT as a tool for honing teachers' Socratic dialogue skills

Abstract: In this proof-of-concept paper, we propose a specific kind of pedagogical use of ChatGPT - to help teachers practice their Socratic dialogue skills. We follow up on the previously published paper "ChatGPT and the frustrated Socrates" by re-examining ChatGPT's ability to engage in Socratic dialogue in the role of a physics student. While in late 2022 its ability to engage in such dialogue was poor, we see significant advancements in the chatbot's ability to respond to leading questions asked by a human teacher. We suggest that ChatGPT now has the potential to be used in teacher training to help pre- or in-service physics teachers hone their Socratic dialogue skills. In the paper and its supplemental material, we provide illustrative examples of Socratic dialogues with ChatGPT and present a report on a pilot activity involving pre-service physics and mathematics teachers conversing with it in a Socratic fashion.