“What I have in mind is (a classroom) where (students) could sit around a table with a teacher who would talk with them, and instruct them by a sort of tutorial or conference method, where (each student) would feel encouraged to speak up. This would be a real revolution in methods.”

From this vision, the oval shape of the Harkness Table evolved. The oval design of the table allows everyone seated at it to see the eyes of everyone else at the table, meaning no one is hiding. No student is left out of the discussion. Classmates at the Harkness Table learn by discussing their thoughts and ideas with their teacher and each other, rather than by just taking notes. Students are encouraged to challenge ideas, and to collaborate rather than compete with each other.

Harkness teachers are participants in classroom discussions, guiding students without lecturing. Parents sometimes wonder if this means the teacher isn’t teaching, when in fact the teacher is demonstrating to the student how to learn, rather than just what to learn. Harkness teachers excel at asking questions that excite inquiry. The more students want to know, the more they learn.

The collaborative learning from around the Harkness Table continues outside the classroom. Students say they learn as much from each other after class as they do in class. They are both giving and getting help by learning together instead of apart.

"Civilized discourse must be at the core of all good education and all full lives."
--Edward Harkness