Harkness Study Analysis to Incorporate Interviews, Surveys, Class Observations
One third of the student body received a survey last week sent out by Boston University as a tool to help Exeter in its recent work on strategic planning and the Harkness Study.
The goal of the Harkness Study is to deepen faculty’s understanding of teaching and examine the educational visions and goals of Exeter. The study is the most recent stage of the Academy’s ongoing conversations on teaching and learning in Harkness, which dates back as far as its introduction in 1930. The study aims to bring together several threads of inquiry and interest, and it will question Harkness in several ways, such as its effect on adolescent cognition skills.
To help collect data, the Academy has reached out to three external research teams at Boston University School of Education, University of New Hampshire Department of Education and the Research School International. According to Madora Soutter, one of the researchers at Boston University, the results of the study will be used to asses the impact of Harkness, as well as its strengths and potential areas of growth. The student body has been divided, based on advisory, into three equal parts, and each will receive a survey from one of the schools.
The survey sent to the first group of students by Boston University focused specifically on the intellectual, moral and civic character development effects the Harkness method has on students. The survey was optional, and student responses will be kept anonymous. According to the survey, however, there could be potential situations when federal or state law requires the disclosure of the records. In addition, the Institutional Review Board may review the study records for safety purposes.
Researchers from Boston University also came to campus during the week of Oct. 5 to meet with a number of faculty and administration at Exeter, and to observe a few classes.
Dean of Students Melissa Mischke was glad to see Exeter participating in this project and delving into deeper research on Harkness.
“Harkness is a central feature in our work and classrooms here, but no one has really studied it in a way of collecting data,” she said. It’s good to try and understand what makes it unique and what makes it work or not work. Its very important stuff and good for us to do this.”
Some of the students who received the survey, however, were reluctant to fill it out. While lower Maria Lee understood the survey was anonymous, she felt deterred by how personal some of the questions were. At the start of the survey, it asked broad information things such as student’s race and gender, but also very specific things such as the first letters of their mother’s name.
Lower Lara Galligani had a similar reaction when she first read the survey. “Just from one glance at it I could tell it was really long, and some of the questions were really elaborate,” she said. “The survey also asked some really personal stuff, which made me feel uncomfortable.”
Some faculty members also questioned the effectiveness of the surveys. History instructor Michael Golay doubts the survey’s ability to objectively judge Harkness.
“I’m just skeptical that Harkness is something that’s quite hard to measure and quantify,” Golay said. “I mean you can score a math or science test and get a sense of how much students have learned, but in the humanities we ask students to discuss literature and write essays that synthesize material, and that’s more subjective.”
Senior Mei-An Nolan seemed to agree with Golay, highlighting the survey’s rather unorthodox questions. According to her, a lot of the questions asked students to make a black and white decision about topics a lot more nuanced. “They would describe someone’s character and then ask if that person could be described as adventurous, and I thought that was really odd,” she said.
Still, while Nolan found this aspect of the survey frustrating, she recognized the importance of the Harkness method and was glad to see Exeter trying to improve it. “I think Harkness is an invaluable part of going to this school,” she said. “If someone suggested a change in the Harkness method and it sounded really beneficial, I would definitely be open to it.” Nolan also noted that there is nothing about Harkness right now that she thinks is problematic enough to change.
In addition to helping Exeter improve the Harkness method, the intention of the survey is to benefit the students and teachers at the other participating schools. According to Soutter, the primary interest of the survey is to study character development in youth. Her team researches empathy, integrity, curiosity, open-mindedness, student voice and social responsibility. Because Exeter embodies many practices that help nurture these traits, studying the Harkness method may help impact the learning methods of future students both at the Academy and other schools.
Soutter went on to expressed her gratitude toward Exeter for being so willing to help. She thought the research projected seemed to be headed in the right direction and wanted to thank the Exeter community for helping her launch it. “We have only just started, but we are feeling really good about the project so far,” she said. “We are excited about this collaboration and want to thank everyone at Exeter for allowing us to observe and be a part of your community this year.”