Reflections of Havergal: 1994-2019

SCHOOL LIFE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CURRICULUM OVERVI EW

[t]he higher quality of the conversation at the table comes from the higher quality of thinking and the internal conversations the participants are having with themselves and vice versa. Both environments, both landscapes, the internal and the external, are woven together with a tight weave … We learn to be thoughtful and intelligent, civil and respectful. We become human in both worlds at one and the same time.  Because Harkness learning focuses on the development of higher-order thinking skills, one might assume that learning dialogues are the domain of older students. However, Philosophy 4 Children program, the Learning Through Dialogue framework used in the Junior School, has affirmed what many elementary teachers have known for a long time: children are capable of a greater depth of thought than we might have assumed. Havergal’s 2013 report to CAIS includes the following: The ‘Philosophy 4 Children’ approach to student learning was introduced to the school by one of our primary teachers [Valerie Rixon] who was introduced to it in England. She focused her professional development on gaining expertise in this area and was instrumental in introducing it to her colleagues. Philosophy 4 Children is now one of the approaches used … in the Junior School to enhance student thinking.

As is the case with older students seated around the Harkness table, Junior School students in P4C sessions connect over questions that have no easy answers. As they listen to their peers, they see them as unique individuals offering distinct points of view that enrich the learning conversation. Teachers of these young students now also make use of community circles. The teacher, seated in a circle with students, presents a topic designed to elicit thoughtful discussion. The group may share ideas and experiences, consider a moral dilemma or make an effort to resolve a conflict within the classroom. Because the only person who may speak is the one in possession of the “talking piece,” students develop their listening skills as they practise self-management. Questions with no easy answers are at the heart of the Guided Inquiry framework that is embedded in teaching practices at the Junior School. The framework builds on the discovery method referred to in the 1997 report to CESI, and, like the Philosophy 4 Children approach, it fosters the development of a community of learners, and it does so, explained Nicole Davies in the Fall 2012 Torch , “while building the important research and inquiry skills that are required by 21st century students.”

“Learning Through a Guided Inquiry Framework” Torch , Fall 2012

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., an esteemed American jurist, once made a very striking statement about education that reminds us of the far-reaching effects of a meaningful learning experience: “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” Holmes would not, of course, have been thinking of the experiential learning model created by David Kolb in the early 1980s, but no doubt Holmes would be keenly interested in its implications for young minds. Simply understood, experiential

Upper School students around a Harkness table.

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