Homework

Why are my child’s math grades low? Guided versus Indpedendent Practice and how to improve in math class

Guided Practice versus Independent Practice We so often hear from students that they “get it” when the teacher shows it to them, but they can’t do it on their own. When a student struggles in math class, it is usually a product of a disconnect between “being shown how” by the teacher and “doing it yourself” by the student. “Guided Practice” is where a teacher demonstrates a lesson and the students follow along. “Independent Practice” is where the student engages the material alone. So when a student “gets it” when shown but can’t “do it” alone, there is a disconnect between the Guided and Independent Practice. The Connector: Feedback What connects — or in its absence, disconnects — Guided and Independent Practice is feedback. When a teacher provides feedback by showing the answers to an entire class, students may not be getting any real feedback because the teacher is not addressing that student’s own process directly, […]

“Have you done your homework?” or what else a parent can do to build student academic independence?

Tired of asking your child about homework?All parents want to support their child’s academics. But they also want to be able to walk away and watch their child manage school on their own.It’s a tricky thing to find that right balance between helicoptering and watching helplessly from the outside. The one risks becoming nagging and backfiring while the other risks missing help that a child really needs.So how to find that balance?Student OwnershipThis term is so often tossed around in education so as to lose meaning. So let’s spell out what we mean by “academic ownership”:awarenessself-advocacyproblem solvingwill powerexecutive functionAwareness means knowing what’s due tomorrow or next, it means knowing the current grades, and, most importantly, it means knowing what is expected of the student by teachers, textbooks and assignments.Self-advocacy means standing up for oneself. It starts with knowing what you need to know or do, and then acting on it by asking for clarification or […]

The A+ Club Advantage: academic coaching, tutoring & mentoring

For a full page version of this chart, see The A+ Club Advantage Copyright School4Schools.com LLC, 2016 We build the skills needed for academic success, including:goal settingexecutive functiontime management study skillsAll this while still offering direct online tutoring in all subjects, including math tutoring, science tutoring, reading & writing tutoring and essay review.That’s Academic Support done right: the A+ Club Advantage! Tutoring is great, but we want our students to learn how to learn on their own.That is why our experienced classroom instructors, whom we call “Student Supporters” engage our students in fundamental skills development such as goal setting, time and calendar management and other executive function skills.All of our student interactions are shared with parents so that our parents can follow student progress and provide positive support for their child’s academic efforts.Additionally, we report assignments, due dates, grades and missing work lists to students and parents, so that student standing is understood the same […]