The All Kinds of Minds Institute’s Schools Attuned program is an ongoing professional development curriculum designed to promote educators’ abilities to understand and work with students with a variety of learning needs. Wasatch Academy has committed to providing Schools Attuned training and support for its entire faculty. Teachers also receive full-time expert support in integrating knowledge of learning profiles within their classrooms. Towards that end, the Head of the Department for Teaching and Learning is a Schools Attuned Professional Development Provider (certified teacher trainer) and a member of the elite National Schools Attuned Facilitator Advisory Board.
When teachers collaborate with students using shared knowledge of learning theory they are able to collaborate productively in developing the most appropriate accommodations and interventions possible. Therefore at Wasatch Academy, we support learners from above (through teacher-training) and below (through support and services to struggling students). This creates a trickle-down and seep-up effect in our professional culture.
Our commitment is to developing excellence in our teachers through training in best teaching practices. For example, an English teacher with a PhD. may know his/her subject very well, yet possesses little knowledge of neurodevelopment and differentiated instructional practices. Wasatch Academy’s Schools Attuned training bridges that gap by preparing teachers to support students with learning differences.
Learning Strategies (LS) is a course that is offered to students at Wasatch Academy. It is geared toward students who can benefit from developing knowledge of themselves as learners while receiving increased levels of oversight, support and encouragement. The LS class is an intimate and dynamic atmosphere. Class size is limited to six students. Highly trained learning experts, committed to supporting all kinds of minds, offer generalized curriculum on cognitive science as well as individualized instruction in study skills. This approach fosters personal development while encouraging real-time application of what is being learned. Services offered to students enrolled in Learning Strategies include but are not limited to:
- Learning about learning- How neurodevelopment impacts learning
- Learning how to learn- strategically employing study skills and strategies to meet the unique profile of every individual learner
- Partnership with a learning expert
- Support and oversight in assignment tracking in multiple classes
- Support in assignment analysis, strategy development, and completion
- Targeted interventions to improve student achievement
- Frequent contact with and collaboration between the learning specialist and content-area teachers
- Assistance in developing and implementing accommodations (learning strategies that bypass a student’s neurodevelopmental weakness)
- Assistance in developing and implementing interventions (learning strategies that improve upon a student’s neurodevelopmental weakness)
- Constant support and encouragement for the student
- Grades checked three times weekly
- In-depth reflection on grades performed at least once weekly
- Completion of a learning journal
Students who enroll in the Learning Strategies course have a year-long opportunity to learn about learning- how the mind’s systems interplay with learning tasks. LS Students also receive many other services and support. For those students who require additional support such as subject-specific remediation, Wasatch Academy employs tutors who assist on the assignment-by-assignment level.
The Learning Strategies course offers in-depth support. For example, a student learning about his/her weakness in temporal sequential ordering (one of eight key components of the mind as outlined by the All Kinds of Minds Institute) may collaborate with his Learning Strategies teacher to develop customized study strategies in a given subject area of difficulty. After attempting the strategy, the student and LS teacher will reflect on the results of the intervention attempt and consider if and what further action might be needed.
On occasion, a student at Wasatch Academy can benefit from subject-specific remediation. In such cases, Wasatch Academy maintains a group of tutors who coordinate with subject specialist teachers in provide one-on-one support. Tutors may focus on developing academic skills, assisting with assignment oversight and support, and providing a high level of structure for students. Tutors collaborate with subject specialist teachers as well as Learning Strategies teachers in implementing a completely individualized action plan. Tutoring interventions may occur at the request of a teacher, student, or parent, and continue as long as needed. Wasatch Academy believes that all students can succeed and supports them in realizing their potential.