How Harkness Works

Jim Heal, Head of Sixth Form and an English teacher at Wellington College, goes into depth about how Harkness works, and why it is a preferred learning method here at Wellington. Gone, from many classrooms at Wellington, are rows of desks; gone is the teacher's desk at the front of the class. In their place are large, oval tables. These "Harkness" tables are modelled on those used at US schools such as Phillips Exeter and are beautiful pieces of furniture. They are also symbols of a pedagogical revolution. Around a Harkness table there is no room to hide; with their teachers, students interrogate the ideas generated by their preparatory reading. "Prep" really is preparation: students prepare for class knowing that they will be challenged intellectually and anticipating an expectation of deep understanding. The Harkness classroom experience is an exploration of what has been prepared and what has been read: these tables are catalysing an extraordinary shift in the way students read, prepare, think and debate.