Harkness Participation

We use a modified version for the Harkness Method to allow diverse learners the opportunity to prepare for and process the discussion questions before class.  Accordingly, students are strongly encouraged to check the blog for the guiding question associated with the day's discussion.  At-home note-taking should be titled with the topic of the guiding question and relevant textual quotes noting the page number and column or paragraph (56, left or 56, 3rd) included.  

Students are encouraged to self-assess their daily verbal class participation during Harkness discussions using the guide below.  The characteristics of high-quality Harkness participation include:

A. Use of textual evidence aimed at the question 

B. Listen to each other

C. Ask each other questions

D. Participatory, non-dominating, and non-interrupting 

E. Link thoughts together to build clear themes, even when different interpretations emerge 

SELF-ASSESSMENT

My level of participation during the 4 classes held this week should be rated as: 

A. Participates daily 

B. Participates regularly 

C. Participates sporadically

D. Participates rarely, if ever, but does not distract from discussions

F. Participates rarely, if ever, and also distracts others from discussions 

Special note: Deductions will be taken for dominating, interrupting, uncivil, or distracting participation or off-task behavior such as Internet surfing, texting, or outside work.

What should I do if my participation grade is low? 

10 Strategies for Increasing Participation 

1. When you read, take out some paper, write the assigned blog question(s) at the very top of the page. As you read, when you come across the topics addressed in the question (such as "new monarchs" or "artists" or "history" or "humanism," write down a textual quote or two noting the page number and column or paragraph (56, left or 56, 3rd). 

2. Chat with another student in the class about what might be discussed (or a friend or a family member) to brainstorm how you could participate. Make a secret plan with another student to bring each other into the conversation. 

3. Send me an email before class with a picture of your bullet point notes responding to the question. (Please only do this IF you are receiving marks of "rarely, if ever, participates").  Partial credit will be considered, depending on quality.  

4. Begin a free trial to Study.com for AP European History. They have short 8 minute video tutorials that may serve as a useful pre-reading device, allowing you to get more out of the actual reading. If it helps, let us know. Perhaps we can request a school subscription. 

5. Respond to the comments made by others. Say a student makes a general comment, such as Henry VIII broke off from the Catholic Church, find the reading section  where that was discussed and raise the specific evidence. 

6. Challenge the reading by examining the text for issues of kaleidoscope or periodization or bias.  Or, ask a very general question about the reading. It seems to focus on the elites, but how would this have affected the poor, the peasants, women, etc? 

7. Pretend to be someone else or someplace else. In other words, engage in some theatricality or sports-like conduct with the Harkness. This tends to reduce nervousness. 

8. Take notes during discussion and summarize a few important points that were made during the discussion. Ask to begin the warm-up summary of the last class. 

9. Ask specifically to begin the next class's discussion.  (Please only do this IF you are receiving marks of "rarely, if ever, participates"). 

10. Look up in an online dictionary words you don't know. It could be no one really knows what they mean (such as anachronistic, catholic, provincial).  You could make mention of this when someone raises the same text. This happens a lot when reading primary sources such as Pico or Machiavelli, for example.