Introduction
In high school I learned quite early on that one of the best ways in which to positively influence the teacher was to engage in conversation during lesson times. I would raise my hand often and try to ask as many appropriate questions as I could. Although my intentions were not entirely altruistic, I recognized that engaging during lessons with my teachers and peers could positively affect the entire class.
Once I became an educator myself I taught at a medium sized public school in San Diego County. I quickly became frustrated with the lack of student participation during my classes. Students seemed less interested in positively influencing me than I had been at their age. I tried a number of strategies from having everyone sit in a circle away from their desks on the floor (a disaster), to cornering higher performing students after class and pleading with them to help me with getting discussion started in the class. I thought that if a few students started discussion, that others would join in. Although the effort of those that endeavored to help me did improve matters for a lesson or two, soon I was back where I had started and found myself lecturing to the class for the entire 55 minute period. What I did not realize was that I had started working at a school whose culture was not one which promoted student classroom involvement in any way. I was basically swimming against the tide and no matter how conducive I made my lessons to student participation, my students had been trained to sit in their desks and absorb information. Although the students seemed motivated, by not verbally engaging in lessons it appeared to me as if they were missing out on a major part of their education.
I intrinsically feel that student participation is a positive classroom attribute. However, I have never really thought about its benefits for the students themselves. It certainly appears to benefit the teacher as it makes it easier to assess if students grasp concepts, and basically makes for a more fluid class that is easier to teach. Studies have shown that not only does student participation improve student understanding of material, but it vitally forces students to challenge their understanding of issues by involving themselves in dialog with their instructor and peers.
Furthermore, as a history teacher, I believe in the importance of having students engaging with each other as historians by connecting their studies of the 20th century to the present. This allows them to better understand, not just the then, but also the now. During our study of this time period it is to the advantage of learners to frequently express their thoughts, or to ask questions about current situations that are developing in the world. By doing so they invite their peers to debate them on complex issues. This ongoing process allows students to learn how to speak publically, listen and respond to someone else’s opinion, synthesize and analyze additional opinions that might arise in the classroom, all while learning about an event, either related or unrelated to the topic of study.
The experiences at my initial teaching post where students were programmed by the school culture not to participate in class ensured that I either find a new school, or a new profession. I was attracted to a new independent high school called Pacific Ridge that had opened in Carlsbad in 2007. When I applied for a position in the history department the school was only in its second year. I was encouraged by this because I thought that it would be unlikely that any dominant negative practices would be ingrained in the school culture. After having interviewed for a position I was thrilled to learn that Pacific Ridge seemed to be a school that had all the attributes that encouraged student participation in the classroom. The policy at the school was that no class should be larger than 16 students. Also, as a foreigner I was encouraged by the global engagement part of the school mission statement.
The school also used a discussion based method of teaching called Harkness teaching. This teaching style places all students within easy eye and easy ear shot of everyone in the class. Lessons are conducted at an oval table where neither the teacher nor the students are in a commanding position in the room. The idea is that everyone is equal in the room and that all are encouraged to contribute during lesson time. Harkness teaching encourages students to develop ideas on their own and then to further develop those ideas through good reasoning, and discussion in the classroom. This method promised to get me out of continuous lecturing and into an environment that promoted student learning through discussion, listening to opinions of others and then formulating new ideas based on the input from other students. After being hired in 2008 it seemed as if my teaching dreams were about to come true!
Having never taught in this way before, I was initially wary of teaching a class at Pacific Ridge School. I was unsure if I would be needed at all in the classroom because my new 10th grade students were already used to Harkness teaching after having completed their 9th grade studies at Pacific Ridge. After my first few classes I was amazed at how willing students were to participate in discussion at the table. They would strike up conversation often with little encouragement from the teacher. The issue that soon became apparent was that although the Harkness style of teaching does get students to speak at the table, it does not necessarily get them speaking about entirely relevant topics. I soon realized that I needed to structure classes as closely as I had during my time at my previous school. With improved structure this first year of 10th grade students taught themselves, and me a lot related and unrelated to World History by participating and giving their opinions on certain topics. It is important to add that this group of students was what the school calls the “founders”. They were the first intake of students at Pacific Ridge, the first students in San Diego County to ever “Harkness”, and as a result they had developed their own culture within their grade level of participating often at the Harkness table.
During my second year at Pacific Ridge School it soon became apparent that my new 10th grade batch of students was going to be entirely different from my first year class. Not only were they unwilling to participate freely at the Harkness table, but they had difficulty rising to the challenge when I posed a Harkness question to the class. I tried endlessly to “breathe life” into each class, but sadly found myself reverting more and more to the old lecture style of teaching. Clearly this new group of students was not any less motivated to achieve than the previous group, they just had a different idea of how to participate. I also noticed some trends in who participated and it was becoming clear that boys and girls behaved very differently at the Harkness table. While boys tended to participate more, I found that girls in general made more meaningful contributions.
Since these encounters with two very different groups of students I have mixed my style of teaching to incorporate both lecture and the Harkness style of teaching at different times for each class period. The students have come to expect this but I can’t help thinking back to the first year where everything was analyzed and discussed and a “full examination” of the world and its issues was the order of the day in most classes. I believe that the Harkness method of teaching can encourage student participation and discussion in a history class, but I have not decided on the best way to use the Harkness style of teaching, or how to ensure that participation is equitable. Although the Harkness style of teaching promotes teacher/student interaction, there are still some students totally unwilling to participate during class time and often it is boy’s voices who dominate our discussions. As a result of these experiences, I have designed an action research project focused on the question: "How can I structure classroom discussions to ensure equitable participation?" By exploring this question, I have strove to find ways to encourage more equitable classroom participation in my classes at Pacific Ridge and in doing, help all of my students engage each other as historians.
Once I became an educator myself I taught at a medium sized public school in San Diego County. I quickly became frustrated with the lack of student participation during my classes. Students seemed less interested in positively influencing me than I had been at their age. I tried a number of strategies from having everyone sit in a circle away from their desks on the floor (a disaster), to cornering higher performing students after class and pleading with them to help me with getting discussion started in the class. I thought that if a few students started discussion, that others would join in. Although the effort of those that endeavored to help me did improve matters for a lesson or two, soon I was back where I had started and found myself lecturing to the class for the entire 55 minute period. What I did not realize was that I had started working at a school whose culture was not one which promoted student classroom involvement in any way. I was basically swimming against the tide and no matter how conducive I made my lessons to student participation, my students had been trained to sit in their desks and absorb information. Although the students seemed motivated, by not verbally engaging in lessons it appeared to me as if they were missing out on a major part of their education.
I intrinsically feel that student participation is a positive classroom attribute. However, I have never really thought about its benefits for the students themselves. It certainly appears to benefit the teacher as it makes it easier to assess if students grasp concepts, and basically makes for a more fluid class that is easier to teach. Studies have shown that not only does student participation improve student understanding of material, but it vitally forces students to challenge their understanding of issues by involving themselves in dialog with their instructor and peers.
Furthermore, as a history teacher, I believe in the importance of having students engaging with each other as historians by connecting their studies of the 20th century to the present. This allows them to better understand, not just the then, but also the now. During our study of this time period it is to the advantage of learners to frequently express their thoughts, or to ask questions about current situations that are developing in the world. By doing so they invite their peers to debate them on complex issues. This ongoing process allows students to learn how to speak publically, listen and respond to someone else’s opinion, synthesize and analyze additional opinions that might arise in the classroom, all while learning about an event, either related or unrelated to the topic of study.
The experiences at my initial teaching post where students were programmed by the school culture not to participate in class ensured that I either find a new school, or a new profession. I was attracted to a new independent high school called Pacific Ridge that had opened in Carlsbad in 2007. When I applied for a position in the history department the school was only in its second year. I was encouraged by this because I thought that it would be unlikely that any dominant negative practices would be ingrained in the school culture. After having interviewed for a position I was thrilled to learn that Pacific Ridge seemed to be a school that had all the attributes that encouraged student participation in the classroom. The policy at the school was that no class should be larger than 16 students. Also, as a foreigner I was encouraged by the global engagement part of the school mission statement.
The school also used a discussion based method of teaching called Harkness teaching. This teaching style places all students within easy eye and easy ear shot of everyone in the class. Lessons are conducted at an oval table where neither the teacher nor the students are in a commanding position in the room. The idea is that everyone is equal in the room and that all are encouraged to contribute during lesson time. Harkness teaching encourages students to develop ideas on their own and then to further develop those ideas through good reasoning, and discussion in the classroom. This method promised to get me out of continuous lecturing and into an environment that promoted student learning through discussion, listening to opinions of others and then formulating new ideas based on the input from other students. After being hired in 2008 it seemed as if my teaching dreams were about to come true!
Having never taught in this way before, I was initially wary of teaching a class at Pacific Ridge School. I was unsure if I would be needed at all in the classroom because my new 10th grade students were already used to Harkness teaching after having completed their 9th grade studies at Pacific Ridge. After my first few classes I was amazed at how willing students were to participate in discussion at the table. They would strike up conversation often with little encouragement from the teacher. The issue that soon became apparent was that although the Harkness style of teaching does get students to speak at the table, it does not necessarily get them speaking about entirely relevant topics. I soon realized that I needed to structure classes as closely as I had during my time at my previous school. With improved structure this first year of 10th grade students taught themselves, and me a lot related and unrelated to World History by participating and giving their opinions on certain topics. It is important to add that this group of students was what the school calls the “founders”. They were the first intake of students at Pacific Ridge, the first students in San Diego County to ever “Harkness”, and as a result they had developed their own culture within their grade level of participating often at the Harkness table.
During my second year at Pacific Ridge School it soon became apparent that my new 10th grade batch of students was going to be entirely different from my first year class. Not only were they unwilling to participate freely at the Harkness table, but they had difficulty rising to the challenge when I posed a Harkness question to the class. I tried endlessly to “breathe life” into each class, but sadly found myself reverting more and more to the old lecture style of teaching. Clearly this new group of students was not any less motivated to achieve than the previous group, they just had a different idea of how to participate. I also noticed some trends in who participated and it was becoming clear that boys and girls behaved very differently at the Harkness table. While boys tended to participate more, I found that girls in general made more meaningful contributions.
Since these encounters with two very different groups of students I have mixed my style of teaching to incorporate both lecture and the Harkness style of teaching at different times for each class period. The students have come to expect this but I can’t help thinking back to the first year where everything was analyzed and discussed and a “full examination” of the world and its issues was the order of the day in most classes. I believe that the Harkness method of teaching can encourage student participation and discussion in a history class, but I have not decided on the best way to use the Harkness style of teaching, or how to ensure that participation is equitable. Although the Harkness style of teaching promotes teacher/student interaction, there are still some students totally unwilling to participate during class time and often it is boy’s voices who dominate our discussions. As a result of these experiences, I have designed an action research project focused on the question: "How can I structure classroom discussions to ensure equitable participation?" By exploring this question, I have strove to find ways to encourage more equitable classroom participation in my classes at Pacific Ridge and in doing, help all of my students engage each other as historians.