My Harkness Experiment

I'm late in creating this blog, but here I go...

It was April 3, 2013, when I discovered the Harkness method. I am a member of my school district's Common Core Workgroup, and the group was having its second meeting. I was researching teaching approaches related to the new Mathematical Practices, and I found the math department website for Phillips Exeter Academy. Something just clicked, and I was smitten!

In just over a month, I have spent many an evening scouring the Internet, searching for information, materials and experiences related to the Harkness method. I have gone on an out-of-state classroom visitation to Catlin Gabel and spent the day with Jim Wysocki and his math department, learning about how they implement Harkness. I have had communication with Johnothon Sauer, author of Harkness for Thirty, his blog detailing his experience implementing Harkness in his Precalculus classes. And I have had my two Algebra 1 classes working in the Harkness style for a week.

During this next week, I will discuss my Harkness experiment: how I feel about it, how my students feel, what I've tried and what I need to do. Ultimately I have to decide whether I will commit to Harkness for the next school year. Right now, I believe so.

This whole experiment is exciting, but scary. The new Common Core Standards brings change; the new emphasis on the Mathematical Practices is a big change. My Harkness experiment is my personal attempt to find how and where I am able to change.