Perhaps you’ve heard of Socratic seminar discussions, fishbowls, or “discussion-based” teaching, but what about Harkness discussions? Harkness discussions originated from Phillips Exeter Academy – one of the top private schools in America. The Harkness method sits students around a table to discuss discipline-specific topics on a daily basis – and it is extremely effective.

It sounds a little too idealistic, right? I promise, it’s not. Teachers and schools that have implemented Harkness have made make enormous strides in students’ academic and social-emotional skills. For instance, The Noble Academy, an urban charter school in Chicago that enrolls primarily low-income students with class sizes of over 40, has produced enormous gains on college-ready tests and school culture. While this instructional method is new, and research still needs to be done, it is a promising method – and it’s really not difficult to implement.

In fact, I boiled it all down for you into a concise Guide to Harkness. See what Harkness is, how it’s used, and how you can implement it into your classroom. You can view my guide below or here.

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