Skip to content

Coherent whole-course lever configurations: think-first, direct-instruction, and Harkness classrooms

Design · All designs
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 theoretical), q1 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description

The paper presents three full configurations of all seven levers drawn from classrooms the author has taught: a think-first classroom aiming at curiosity, perseverance, collaboration, and ownership; a direct-instruction classroom aiming at confidence, fluency, and content mastery; and a Harkness classroom aiming at communication, ownership, and meaning-making. As the paper puts it, "Two teachers may have clearly identifiable settings on all seven levers and still create substantially different learning experiences because they are pursuing different outcomes."

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

  • All seven levers must be set coherently in pursuit of a stated aim

Constraints

  • The configurations are not ranked, are not representative accounts of classroom types, and are not offered as evidence that each achieves its stated aims

Target Learners

  • secondary mathematics students

Learning Goals

  • curiosity, perseverance, collaboration, ownership
  • confidence, fluency, content mastery
  • communication, ownership, meaning-making

Claims

Examples

-

Key Sources

  • Halani, A. (2026). Designing for Reach: Seven Levers and the Student Alone with AI. Tang Institute at Phillips Academy. https://www.tanginstitute.andover.edu. doi:10.35542/osf.io/t4cd2_v1
Page metadata
Field Value
type design
id three-classroom-lever-configurations
title Coherent whole-course lever configurations: think-first, direct-instruction, and Harkness classrooms
description The paper presents three full configurations of all seven levers drawn from classrooms the author has taught: a think-first classroom aiming at curiosity, perseverance, collaboration, and ownership; a direct-instructi...
status review
generated by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-12
trust unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources 1 — halani-2026

Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.