Harkness table
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The Harkness table refers to a style of teaching used most notably by Phillips Exeter Academy, as well as other American independent schools, including The Pingry School, Memphis Jewish High School , Hathaway Brown School, Horace Mann School, The Hotchkiss School, Palmer Trinity School, Phillips Academy, American Hebrew Academy, St. Paul's School, Middlesex School, St. George's School, The Masters School, Germantown Academy, Kingswood-Oxford School, Milton Academy, Regents School of Austin and The Lawrenceville School. The name comes from the oil magnate and philanthropist Edward Harkness, who presented the schools with a monetary gift in 1930. He described its use as follows:
- What I have in mind is [a classroom] where [students] could sit around a table with a teacher who would talk with them and instruct them by a sort of tutorial or conference method, where [each student] would feel encouraged to speak up. This would be a real revolution in methods.
The gift was used by Phillips Exeter Academy to put a Harkness table in almost every classroom. Classes are taught around the table, with class sizes of around 12 students and a single teacher in a discussion format.
Harkness learning can vary - most notably between liberal arts subjects such as English, and scientific subjects, like math. There are general principles and goals, however, that go along with this method. The main goal is to encourage students to come up with ideas of their own and learn good reasoning and discussion skills. Depending on his or her style, the teacher may interact very little, interjecting only to guide the discussion.
