IIIIIIIIII Accelerated Schools Center Teachers College

ASP Philosophy ||| Training Schedules/Topics ||| Research & Evaluation Findings ||| Discussion Board ||| School Happenings
Partner Schools ||| Satellite Centers ||| Educational Links ||| Becomming an Accelerated School ||| Powerful Learning Rubric
Powerful Learning Triangle ||| Lessons Plans ||| Project Liaisons ||| Project Director/Office Manager

Category

How /
Strategies

What /
Content

Resources

Purpose

Level

Assessment

Principles &
Values

Traditional

1 - 2

Content is transmitted in one direction; learning is teacher-centered; teacher’s questioning techniques do not encourage discussion; student learning is passive with little opportunity for collaboration or cooperation; learning occurs in isolation; class is led by vocal students; emphasis on individual learning.

Static & finite; goals are unclear to students; learning is text-based & discourages exploration; lacks common purpose; no real life connections.

Limited; text(s) as sole resource; class in isolation from real world opportunities; class environment is closed & rigid.

Memorize & recite; focus on preparation for standardized tests; no importance on experiences or prior knowledge; little need for application of learning.
Shallow & wide; led by curriculum/ pacing guides; covering all topics is more important than focusing on student interests.

Objective; answers are right or wrong; teacher has single solution; knowledge is demonstrated in one way without thought in strengths or experiences of students.
Teacher is responsible for student learning; purpose of student work is unclear or often isolated from others; little or no importance given to student or teacher strengths.

Moderate

3

Learning is teacher-centered with some thought to student interests & experiences; limited opportunities for involvement in guided activities; some collaboration among students.

More responsive to students but still dominated by text; exploration within a limited framework & under teacher direction; common purpose is sporadic.
Immediate community resources only ; superficial real life connections; classroom environment fluctuates between Traditional and Accelerated.
Understand; focus on test preparation but builds on prior experiences; recognizes existing knowledge; a few guided opportunities for application
Modified pacing & curriculum to reflect student interests and needs; understanding is, at times, more important than calendar.

Predominantly objective; subjectivity limited to non-content related areas/ enrichment activities; limited opportunities to share & explain to others.

Teacher is mainly responsible for student learning with some student input; students sporadically work with a common purpose; builds on teacher strengths.

Accelerated

4 - 5

Most of the time students learn by constructing their own meaning; teacher is a facilitator; students can relate lessons to real world; most of the time children have opportunities to collaborate; all have equal access to learning & resources; most of the time children have opportunities to explore, reflect, & develop projects based on their own research; responses to content drawn from different learning contexts
Dynamic & infinite; recognizable goals; learning opportunities build on strengths; encourage exploration & discovery; work w/common purpose.

Community outreach; concrete connections to outside world; class environment is supportive & challenging.

Understand & utilize; builds on own experiences; opportunities to apply existing knowledge to new learning situations.

Deep & focused; exploration of specific areas of interest in a thoughtful, methodical manner that encourages questioning.
Subjective; multiple solutions; knowledge demonstrated in a variety of ways building on student strengths and interests; expertise is furthered by sharing & explaining to others.

Students take responsibility of their own and others’ learning; work is centered around a common purpose; builds on strengths, experiences, & interests of all members of class.