FieldAR2023OnlineAll11.13 - Magazine - Page 12
A
Seat
at
The
Table
Teachers continually enhance their teaching methods, styles, and seating arrangements inside and outside
the classroom. History Teacher Bishop Walker planned and prepared for his history classes, electives,
and the Intersession travel program “The Civil Rights Journey” after attending a professional development
seminar on the Harkness teaching method at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. The Harkness
method of instruction emphasizes a student-centered classroom rather than a teacher-centered learning
environment. Students gathering around a table or in a circle provides a congenial space and builds dialogue
in the classroom. In a Socratic seminar, students formulate ideas, build off each other, and create wellthought-out dialogue.
“In our African American Studies elective, we use the Harkness method to
have immersive student-led discussions, where we share new ideas with each
other to fully form and develop our own ideas. We don't all need to agree,
but it's nice to hear each other's opinions to form our own.”
~Ashleigh ‘25
Students in the Civil Rights Journey Intersession travel program, used this method as they prepared for
their trek through the South, visiting local D.C. historical sites. They engaged in dynamic discussions and
continued to reflect and think about this vital
period of American History as they travelled
through Alabama and Georgia. This experience
is the ultimate definition of putting students
front and center and giving them a seat at the
table—a place to discuss ideas.