By NEIL ZOLOT
NORTH READING — Some Advanced Placement Government classes at the High School are using a student-led education format known as the Harkness Discussion model developed at Phillips Exeter in the 1930s.
“The goal for students is to collaboratively create knowledge and understanding by engaging with multiple points of view on a set of texts provided by the teacher,” according to a presentation by teacher Matt Oosting and principal Anthony Loprete given at the Jan. 8 School meeting. “This model helps a fundamental goal in the AP Government course to facilitate dialogue across ideological divides. It is also a meaningful way to assess speaking and listening standards.”
Oosting teaches at Phillips Exeter during summer breaks and took their practice back to NRHS. “We start with the premise that people who disagree with you are intelligent,” he told the board members during the annual student and teacher presentation to the committee. “It allows perspectives to shift.”
Some of the subjects studied to date have been various Federalist Papers, Paradoxes of the Presidency, and Bureaucracy vs. the Free Market. Student Isabel Brozena reported that the study of the Federalist Papers centered around the sometimes competing powers of the federal government and state governments, while student Aiden Patel stated Paradoxes of the Presidency dealt with the country’s desire to have a president who unifies it while recognizing that presidents will make decisions that may divide it, and wanting a strong leader but (being) suspicious of power.
Student Kristen Galvin reported Bureaucracy vs. the Free Market dealt with which entity might best handle certain issues.
The model is similar to one being planned for Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM). In November, STEM coordinator Michelle Caulfield told the School Committee that eventually STEM instruction is expected to shift from traditional lecture-based instruction to student-driven learning.
“The ultimate goal is for students to be presented with phenomena and be given the tools to explain it,” Caulfield said. “The shift supports students in taking an active role in knowledge construction in science classrooms. It gives power to students. There’ll be no difference in standards, just the way we’re teaching.”
Caulfield conceded that it will be challenging for teachers “because we’re re-aligning how they’ll teach. It’ll be less scripted; kids will determine what they need and the teacher will be a facilitator. I’ll have to see how it affects everyone.”
“It’s refreshing to hear student perspectives rather than just having the teacher talking to everyone,” Patel feels.
“There’s synergy in a group I feed off of,” Oosting added.
Oosting’s presentation, titled “Supporting Student Inquiry,” was one part of a longer presentation entitled “Commitment to the Whole Student,” which included sections on “Supporting Student Wellness,” “Supporting Student Fitness Through Rhythm and Dance,” and “Supporting Student Artistic Growth in Advanced Placement 2D Art and Design.”
School Adjustment Counselor Lindsay Gervino reported efforts to determine freshmen depression and sophomore anxiety using questionnaires. There are options to opt-out and provide parents and caregivers with results. “We do not diagnose students,” Gervino said, adding, “Screening results are not part of student records. It’s to identify students who may need support.”
Of 92 students participating in the Fall 2023 screening 24 percent of freshmen reported depression while 26 percent of sophomores reported anxiety. “Ideally we’d screen for both in both classes, but decided if we had to rank it, we’d do depression first,” Gervino said.
She also said there’s been a wide range of responses from parents, ranging from lack of awareness to full awareness and pro-active responses. In light of not having pre-pandemic data for comparison, Gervino used Methuen Public Schools as a benchmark. In November, Methuen reported 20.3 percent student anxiety in High School and 20.9 percent depression. Gervino believes that’s significant because “they’re in the same time frame as us.”
Students Sofia Saldahna and Shenay Verma told the School Committee members that the exercise tells students that other students feel the same way they do. When students shift classes and others take Wellness, the process will be repeated. There are also hopes the screening will be available for upperclassmen.
The “Supporting Student Fitness Through Rhythm and Dance” by physical education teacher Eric Archambault included a dance performance, while “Supporting Student Artistic Growth by art teacher Andrew Dexter included a display of student art.
“We have really good players because we have really good coaches, from counseling to the creative side,” Loprete concluded.