We came into Eleanor ’ s class from widely varied backgrounds . We were teachers and we were administrators . Many of us were seasoned veterans , and some were in their very first year of teaching . We took the course for a variety of reasons , but we had this in common : we were interested in the link between teaching and learning . We were interested in how people learn , and we wanted to refine our own teaching skills , or , as administrators , we wanted to help others become more effective teachers .
We were a large class , maybe 40 people , and we all came
with our own private goals and brought with us our own histories and experience . All this variety became fundamental to the collaborative work we did . Eleanor did no lecturing , but she did do a lot of role modeling . The course was structured around a series of experiences that encouraged meta-cognition . We learned to observe carefully ; we learned to ask ( no matter how “ trivial ”) the questions that emerged from our observations ; and we experienced the thrill — I can think of no better word — of constructing our own understanding .
JAMES NUBILE
WATCHING THE MOON Our most dramatic assignment required that we watch the moon for an entire semester . ( I assure you that at first there were complaints about the assignment . Who ever came to Harvard to look at the moon ?) Every day we recorded our sightings and shaped questions . It was astonishing to discover how pitifully little most of us knew about the moon .
At first our questions were simple : When does the moon rise ? Where does it rise ? Wait , does it rise in a different place sometimes ? Why was it still in the sky this morning at 8:45 ? How does that happen ? We drew pictures in our journals ; we reflected in writing on what we saw . And then we brought our jottings to class , sharing observations , sharing information , and sharing our confusions . We worked together . Eleanor listened .
Her utterances were invariably inquisitive and open-ended and completely nonjudgmental ; she was singularly focused on understanding the meaning we were making . Her focus seemed to be on how we were building our understanding rather than on what we understood . I wonder if you could say more about that , she might say . Or , I ’ m curious about what you see happening here .
Over the course of our first semester , my classmates and I experienced a change : our observations of the moon became more subtle and our questions became very much more complicated , more sophisticated . And while our understanding of the moon deepened , so did our appreciation of how we , ourselves learned .
One night , late into our second term , I came into class with a question about the rotations of the moon as it revolves around the Earth . Eleanor brought me — and my question — to the front of the room . She let
“ The Harkness table is the first thing a visitor notices , and I can ’ t overstate its importance to the tone and conduct of the class . The students and their teacher sit down as equals . The table itself reminds us that this is collegial work , and its great smooth plane physically connects us ; we look directly into each other ’ s faces , engaged in mutual investigation .”
2
William James , The Principles of Psychology , Chapter 9 :“ The Stream of Thought ”.
WWW . KEYSTONEACADEMY . CN 23