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If you ask Socratic questions in a class, expecting someone in the class to answer, then, in your own head, you are “summing up” the total amount of knowledge in the classroom. Very roughly speaking, you are only measuring whether someone in the classroom knows the answer (and is willing to offer it!). But, if the questions are answered, it feels to you as the instructor that everyone knows everything.

When you switch to an active engagement technique (small white boards or small group activities), then you are insisting that everyone attempt to answer your question. As you proceed to deal with the variety of student questions and confusions that ensue, it can feel to you as if noone knows anything.

It is important to recognize this difference in “feel” of the class so that you don't interpret what's happening as failure of the technique. All of these student questions and confusions existed in your classroom before, but you didn't have access to them.