Harkness Table..Exeter and who else?

Prep School Admissions
41

<p>Invent,</p>

<p>Thanks for your comment. </p>

<p>My point, of course, is that pedagogical flexibility allows a teacher to adapt to the intellectual predilections of his class. Thus, for example, a teacher, in a seminar, may focus more on lectures if his class is primarily comprised of introverted students who prefer to listen to him than to engage in classroom discussions. Likewise, a teacher, in a lecture class, may place a greater focus on student interaction if his students, on balance, have more extroverted personalities. </p>

<p>Not surprisingly, many teachers and students prefer this flexibility to a more rigid pedagogical approach.</p>

42

<p>Seconding what performers’ mom said - what I remember about “Harkness” was how it put you in charge of your own education. Quite a shock to go from that to freshman year at an Ivy, with a much lower level of classroom interaction with teachers and fellow students. Eventually I did find places in small classes – the Russian department was amazing in that respect – but it took a lot of hunting, and in some ways I feel that I would have used my parents’ money more effectively if I had gone to a smaller school with more widespread use of discussion classrooms. Nothing to do about that now, but certainly something to think about as child #1 gears up for the college hunt.</p>

43

<p>jmilton, I’ve only skimmed this thread, but I think it’s important to realize that there is little “rigidity” about Harkness. In fact, even though the word “method” is used a lot in this thread, we almost never use it at Exeter, b/c we think of Harkness more as a philosophy than as a method. The key idea is to ask more of the students in class, or to give them greater responsibility for their and their classmates’ learning (and note that I say “greatER,” because other approaches do the same thing; Harkness just tries to do it to a greater extent and more systematically). If you sit in Exeter classes, you’ll find that there are as many versions of Harkness as there are teachers, and that’s a good reminder that Harkness is much less prescriptive than some people seem to think.</p>

44

<p>I’d like to say ONE thing about the tables themselves. It’s not the tables, it’s the idea. I will tell you, as an Exeter student, there are various SIZES of tables (at least three…), so it’s not the table that people trademark… :confused: It’s just the idea… </p>

<p>and I agree with PEAteacher completely. I’ve had one teacher for computer science who just said, “Look. I’m going to lecture completely right now because this is the only one to get this done effectively.” (He is not anti-harkness at all. He has been one of my favorite teachers.)
With Harkness, I’ve just had so many interesting discussions in all classes, humanities and science/math. Another one of my favorite teachers is a math teacher who has managed to use the Harkness method to his complete advantage and teach extremely effectively.
In English, I’ve had teachers who completely sat out, writing down a transcript of a class, and given us feedback. There are other teachers who have said, “As a member of this class, I will contribute exactly to 1/13 of the discussion. I will be part of this.” Which also worked effectively.</p>

45

<p>Harkness Table teaching is simply the Socratic Method— i.e. The teacher asks a series of leading questions to facilitate the student’s reasoning thru a concept, so that the student eventually coughs up the right answer.</p>

<p>The teaching method has been around at least as long as Socrates lived in ancient Greece ~400 B.C. A lot of BS and colleges use the Socratic Method. It’s not unique to one school.</p>

<p>Philanthropist Edward Harkness made a mega donation to PEA back the in 30’s, and PEA honored the gift by re-branding the Socratic Method concept with the sexier name: “Harkness Table”.</p>

<p>The re-branding is similar to how Disney recycled early 19th century German Grimms’ fairytale heroines (Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty) as “Princesses”, and now Disney sells the heck out of the pink brand. </p>

<p>The brothers Grimm are probably rolling over in their graves…</p>

46

<p>GMTplus7, I’m not on this forum to debate, but everything you say about Harkness is wrong. Everything. It is not the same as the Socratic method. Teachers do not ask leading questions, and they do not try to get students to “cough up the right answer.” And Harkness was not some sort of token re-branding effort to please a big donor. Criticize Harkness as much as you’d like, but please don’t spread incorrect information about it. These videos are quite good at explaining Harkness and its origins: [Phillips</a> Exeter Academy | A Film About the Harkness Gift](<a href=“http://www.exeter.edu/admissions/109_1290.aspx]Phillips”>http://www.exeter.edu/admissions/109_1290.aspx) And many participants in this forum have explained clearly the difference between Harkness and Socratic in other threads. I used Socratic a lot before coming to Exeter and use Harkness now; I can assure you that they’re two different animals.</p>

47

<p>When read together, some of the interesting comments on this thread describe a Harkness philosophy that is flexible yet paradoxically systematic. </p>

<p>For example, PEAteacher and o0skimilk0o stress what they regard as the admirable flexibility of the Harkness courses at their school. Thus, PEAteacher affirms that there is “little rigidity about Harkness.” And o0skimilk0o describes how his computer science teacher deviated from the student-centered pedagogy of the Harkness philosophy to lecture his class in a traditional teacher-oriented approach. </p>

<p>Yet, PEAteacher also pointedly observes that her school employs the Harkness philosophy to a “greater extent and more systematically” than other schools do. She also importantly clarifies that, “The key idea [of Harkness courses] is to ask more of the students in class, or to give them greater responsibility for their and their classmates’ learning.” </p>

<p>It strikes me that there is a tension between the flexibility and the systematic curricular approach these comments describe. For example, can a school systematically apply the Harkness philosophy in all its courses if its teachers have the flexibility to reject that pedagogy by lecturing their classes and thereby depriving students of “the greater responsibility for their and their classmates’ learning”? </p>

<p>One response, I imagine, is that this flexibility exists only within the confines of Harkness courses. However, if that is case, how do we explain the limited exception to this general rule o0skimilk0o describes? And as o0skimilk0o’s school touts that “Every class … is a Harkness class” in its view book, do limited exceptions of this sort question the accuracy of that statement? </p>

<p>Moreover, is a school that systematically offers Harkness classes less flexible than one which offers a diversity of curricular choices such as the Socratic Method, lecture-based courses, and Harkness-style classes? If so, should a prospective student examine these curricular options to determine whether or not a particular school is a good fit for him or her? Or does the Harkness philosophy assume that all students learn the same way?</p>

<p>In short, a Harkness pedagogy, which is flexible yet systematic, raises questions for parents and students alike.</p>

48

<p>Exeter Owns Harkness!</p>

49

<p>*exeter originated harkness</p>

<p>these schools own harkness. [Harkness</a> table - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harkness_table]Harkness”>Harkness table - Wikipedia)</p>

50

<p>Socratic method and Harkness are very similar. I have been in classes that use both.</p>

51

<p>I think Harkness is more an idea than a table. We are on the BS visit circuit now for the second time, and almost all the ones we are visiting in NE area subscribe to Harkness as a method of teaching, citing small classes that sit in a circle where everyone can see each other and that foster dialogue and debate.</p>

52

<p>SPS just hired Lawrence Smith to be Academic Dean. Mr. Smith had most recently taught at PEA. Here is a snippet vis-a-vis Harkness from his PEA bio:</p>

<p>"Mr. Smith joined the Exeter History Department in 1989. In 1999 he and three other teachers founded the Exeter Humanities Institute, a week-long workshop about Harkness teaching for teachers from around the country. He continues to lead this program every summer. </p>

<p>Mr. Smith recently served as department chair and is currently serving as the Associate Dean of Faculty. He is a recipient of the Brown Family Faculty Award and of the Dormitory Adviser Award. He lives in Academy housing with his wife, Relinde de Greef, another member of the History Department faculty."</p>

53

<p>jmilton, I see your point, but I would not say that there is a “tension” between the flexibility of Harkness and its being applied systematically. To the contrary, it is because Harkness is flexible that it can be applied across disciplines and work well for a variety of learners. In this respect I don’t think that Harkness assumes that “all students learn the same way”; but it is based on the idea that you learn more when you’re more actively engaged/take greater responsibility/play a greater leadership role in your learning process. This is also why the fact that one teacher may give a ten-minute mini-lecture, in my view, is perfectly fine; again, it’s not as if there’s a list of ten do’s and dont’s that a teacher must follow at all times or risk being arrested by the Harkness Police. We all understand that learning is a complex process and that narrow, prescriptive approaches are not a good idea. That having been said, there’s no doubt that by making all its classes Harkness classes Exeter is making a statement about the learning process (as said above: you learn more if you’re more engaged, etc.). If you disagree with this general idea, Exeter may not be the best school for you.</p>

54

<p>I think jmilton goes to Andover.</p>

55

<p>“You learn more if you’re more engaged.” I think PEAteacher nailed it really well right there.</p>

<p>I recall asking our son, during his first term at Exeter, how he liked Harkness. “Love it,” he said. He went to say that, in his excellent Middle School, he would often need to wait 20-30 minutes to be able to ask a question or comment on a topic. </p>

<p>His 9th grade teachers at Exeter did an excellent job of getting all the kids engaged and working collaboratively. To give one example, on several occasions his first term history teacher organized the kids into debate teams, requiring them to prepare collaboratively for these pretty serious debates. Our son struggled to get a B in that class but learned a tremendous amount, not just about history but also about the learning process itself and its many faces.</p>