Harkness table
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Harkness table refers to a style of teaching wherein students sit at a large, circular table with their teachers, in use at many American boarding schools and colleges. It encourages classes to be held in a discursive manner. The name for the method comes from the oil magnate and philanthropist Edward Harkness, a graduate of St. Paul's School (Concord, NH) 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.
Harkness tables are used by Phillips Exeter Academy, Phillips Academy, Shady Side Academy, Loomis Chaffee, Mercersburg Academy, The Lawrenceville School, The Fieldston School St. Paul's School (Concord, NH), The Moses Brown School, The Pingry School, Memphis Jewish High School , Hathaway Brown School, Horace Mann School, Cushing Academy, The Hotchkiss School, Deerfield Academy, Palmer Trinity School, Asheville School, St. Paul Academy and Summit School, American Hebrew Academy, St. Mark's School of Texas, Middlesex School, St. George's School, The Masters School, Germantown Academy, Kingswood-Oxford School, Milton Academy, Tampa Preparatory School, The American School in London, The John Cooper School, Regents School of Austin, Rocky Hill School of East Greenwich, RI, Annie Wright School, Guilford High School, The Ensworth School, The Hill School, The Taft School, Choate Rosemary Hall and Maimonides School.
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.
