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Chapter 3: You, Your Teacher, and the LSS Learning Process |
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To me education is a leading out of what is already there in the pupil's soul.- Muriel Spark At the core of the Laurel Springs educational model is the learning team. You, your child, and your teacher comprise a constantly evolving, supportive team. Together, you’ll be working toward achieving your child’s goals. The following sections deal with how the learning  process at Laurel Springs works, and how to make it work best for you. The Learning TeamYou are your child's first teacher. As you nurture your child, a strong emotional bond develops between you which helps to stimulate his or her intellectual development. Your child is learning from you all the time. For example, if you demonstrate an interest in reading, your child internalizes the idea of reading as something important. The motivation for learning grows out of your child's relationships with you and other adult members of your family. With distance learning, having a home mentor is essential. Usually, and especially with very young students, that home mentor is a parent. The home mentor may also be a tutor or a studio teacher. Regardless of who assumes this role, it is an important one. The role of the parent, or the home mentor, is to help provide organization and structure, to help create a proper working environment, and to help promote continuity in the learning process. The home mentor also acts as a learning companion, advocate, and facilitator for the child; helping to build and sustain a positive relationship with the school, and working closely with the Laurel Springs teacher to ensure a successful learning experience. Communication is a vital part of all this. Excellent communication between you, your child, and your teacher will help ensure a richer and more successful learning experience. It will also greatly help with recognizing and solving any problems. Success is largely based upon strong communication between your home and the school. Parents as Partners in LearningHow can you be a partner in your child’s education? Just by being there as much as possible, showing an interest, asking questions, and communicating frequently with your child’s teachers, you are forging an invaluable partnership. This partnership will give your child confidence and will further spark his or her desire to learn. Being your child’s learning partner may include things like providing additional learning materials, going over concepts, reviewing and proofreading assignments, reading out loud, or simply expressing encouragement. To explore this issue further, and for some excellent parent resources, visit the National Educational Association’s webpage for parents at http://www.nea.org/parents/index.html. Teacher ServicesNow, let’s talk about your child’s teacher. Your Laurel Springs teacher acts as an academic companion and guide to your child. Your teacher is responsible for:
- Sending a welcome letter at the start of enrollment and arranging an initial phone interview to build relationships with you and your child;
- Reading and evaluating assessment results (Learning Styles Profile and Skills Survey) and your child’s orientation assignments;
- Confirming guidelines for communication and progress;
- Advising you on academic and time management strategies;
- Responding to all questions and posting online grades and comments;
- Maintaining contact with the school in all matters pertinent to your child’s learning and progress;
- Closely monitoring your child’s progress, working with you, the school, and any tutors to ensure progress and success;
- Providing academic guidance – personalizing course work where appropriate;
- Referring you to the appropriate departments for school matters;
- Responding to assignments with regular and meaningful feedback. Giving narrative feedback as appropriate, especially in regard to assignment “re-dos” and areas of challenge;
- Submitting full evaluations at each semester’s end (or after Lessons 18 and 36).
Submitting Work and Maintaining a Schedule
Besides maintaining consistent communication with your teacher, another cornerstone of our program is that work be submitted on a regular basis. Completing and turning in lessons consistently allows your teacher to provide the regular feedback that’s necessary for true mastering of the material, and helps progress on future lessons. We ask that online students send lessons upon completion (one lesson each week for each course), and that work for text-based courses should be mailed every two weeks (be sure to make copies and include a self-addressed, stamped envelope so the teacher can return work). Staying on this consistent schedule gives your family the chance to receive timely, relevant feedback, allows the teacher to better gauge progress and ways to assist your child, and creates an environment for true mastery of the material. Submitting large numbers of lessons at once, especially at the end of enrollment, prevents your family from benefiting from any feedback on work, and may result in lower grades, since there could be no chance for redoing assignments.
We pride ourselves on working with students who need the flexibility our program allows. We understand students have various commitments and engagements that may prevent them from completing work for a period of time. We simply ask that you communicate your schedule to your teacher, who can assist you in devising a plan for getting on track. It’s extremely important that the school is kept aware of how you’re managing your time, and that you make arrangements with us when there may be a period where work cannot be submitted. Consistent work submission and communication ensures mastery of the material and a fulfilling, stress-free educational experience.
Mastery-based Learning
Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand.
- Chinese proverb
Laurel Springs is a mastery-based program. This means that our students are encouraged to revisit lessons and redo their assignments in order to master the material. Assignments that receive a grade below C level will be recorded as incomplete and the student will be asked to try again. Teachers provide feedback enabling students to fully comprehend the material and complete their course work successfully.
We want students to truly understand, not just memorize, the concepts of a lesson before moving on. Our courses contain critical thinking questions that help to establish whether this understanding is happening. Although the grade on any lesson can be improved upon with the submission of a redone lesson, the real purpose of redoing it is to assure that learning is taking place.
Aside from the letter grades and percentages assigned to each lesson, teachers will provide extensive written comments on the work. This detailed feedback provides you and your child with the opportunity to recognize areas of strength as well as areas that may need improvement. Your teacher comments will also include suggestions, explanations, and words of motivation.
Schoolwide Learning Goals
Laurel Springs advocates a set of general goals relating to all our students’ learning. These goals are an expression of the vision we hold for every student, no matter what grade level. The entire school community participates in the ongoing achievement of School-wide Learning Goals. Curriculum writers integrate them into course material; teachers create assignments addressing specific Goals; you, as a parent, encourage your child’s ongoing development; and our students reflect on their own achievement. Schoolwide Learning Goals are vital to the school’s continued growth, its mission, and its students’ success.
Laurel Springs School-wide Learning Goals
Educated Individuals
As educated individuals, Laurel Springs students will address subject-area learning standards including, but not limited to, English/Language Arts, History/Social Science, Science, Math, Health, Physical Education, Fine Arts, and Foreign Language. They will work toward grade-appropriate learning objectives through the use of resources and support from teachers, parents, and their local community. They will recognize and articulate their learning style.
Active Learners
As active learners, our students will perform independent research, do self-directed projects using a variety of resources, use their learning style to complete coursework, and use multimedia resources to demonstrate learning.
 Independent Thinkers
As independent thinkers, Laurel Springs students will evaluate the validity of evidence from multiple sources, consider multiple perspectives when drawing conclusions, analyze information, and form and provide evidence for opinions.
Effective Communicators
As effective communicators, our students will read and comprehend diverse written materials and clearly and persuasively utilize multiple modes of communication. They will use language effectively to defend opinions and establish and expound upon topics appropriate to a given situation. They will establish voice and tone in context. They will enhance communication through the use of technology.
Multifaceted Citizens
As multifaceted citizens, our students will pursue a wide range of academic and personal interests. They will recognize the diversity in individuals, nature, and society. They will identify and apply ethical principles as members of the global community.
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