HARKNESS METHOD
Round-table discussions develop your child's confidence, critical thinking, and poise
TMS uses the highly effective Phillips Exeter Harkness Method of teaching, featuring active, student-led discussions and debates held around a circular table.
The result? Our students become masters of the subject matter by teaching each other. They also acquire the important soft skills of confidence, assertiveness, communication and poise.
I love the Harkness Method because our students are really learning how to enter a conversation just as you would in a board meeting, or at a cocktail party. They don’t have to raise their hands to be acknowledged; instead they learn to listen attentively, to use their body language, and to make sure their comments are related to the previous speaker's comments.
They are intrinsically motivated to come prepared, because in Harkness there is nowhere to hide.
As they get older, they focus more on substantiating their opinions with facts. They are learning the art of discussion and it is just a huge life skill."
- Leslie Roberts, Humanities Teacher
