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You are here: Home / Archives for Individualized Learning

Teaching to the Brain

July 30, 2014 By:Alison McNee

How the Brain LearnsResearch: In his model of how the brain learns, David Sousa emphasizes the importance of experiencing success in accepting or rejecting new learning. When a student experiences success or failure in a learning situation, corresponding positive or negative emotions are connected to it. Success tells the brain to focus on the subject for further processing, while failure creates a block and develops resistance to new learning in that area.  

Practice: This is why it’s so important that we create the right educational experience for each student in every subject. If a student has experienced failure in a particular subject there will naturally be resistance that inhibits their flexibility in this area. Under these circumstances we can offer individual courses that can tailor the subject to the student’s interests, abilities, and preferred learning style to start building success and change how the brain reacts to new learning.

Filed Under: Blog, Research Tagged With: Brain Research, Individualized Learning

Confident Learners

May 14, 2014 By:Alison McNee

Research: In his argument about the industrialization of schools, Peter Senge argues against the traditional role of the teacher as the locus of control in the classroom, saying that no one teacher should be able to unilaterally judge a child’s performance, ability, style, or behavior. The teacher-as-manager model places undue weight on quantitative measures of performance, fails to acknowledge the subjective nature of assessment, and can negatively influence a child’s confidence as a learner.

Practice: At Chrysalis we recognize the importance of formulating teaching teams to properly assess a child’s progress. Even in our elementary program students are paired with a variety of teachers who coordinate and communicate with one another to gain insight into the needs and nature of the child. Each teacher sees something different in every student, and putting those pieces together to understand how to best serve their needs is one of the things we do best. We share, strategize, and make adjustments until we get it right.

Filed Under: Blog, Research Tagged With: deep learning, Individualized Learning, Progress

No Standardized Testing

April 14, 2014 By:Alison McNee

Research: Standardized testing is used in many schools to measure student achievement and determine resource allocation on a large scale. At the individual level, however, numerous concerns abound regarding its validity, as noted by researcher Thomas Haladyna. By placing such importance upon these exams, the focus of teaching becomes teaching to the test rather than student learning. Furthermore, student progress is often glossed over or minimized by scores that are based on arbitrary and often developmentally inappropriate criteria.

Practice: At Chrysalis we don’t need to use state standardized testing to assess student learning. The value of small group and individualized instruction is that we can constantly gauge what our students know by assessing them in a variety of ways to determine the breadth and depth of their knowledge. While we will prepare students for the SAT and college by introducing test-taking strategies, we refuse to tie their success to a single number.

Filed Under: Blog, Research Tagged With: Individualized Learning, Standardized Testing

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15900 Woodinville-Redmond Rd NE
Woodinville, WA
p: (425) 481-2228

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17005 140th Ave NE
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