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Accelerated Learning for All StudentsBy Bobby IvieWhat is the purpose of applying accelerated learning for students of all abilities? With accelerated programs available for remedial and advanced students, it might seem redundant to offer a program for the “average” students at all; certainly many schools do not find it worth their while to follow the far-reaching pattern set by some educational institutions. This ambitious plan involves implementing a program of accelerated learning across the entire school. This permits students of all manner of abilities to study together in a variety of ways that target their various learning styles, enabling all of them to learn differently and at levels that are reasonable and accessible to all of them, while still emerging with the same basic skills at the end of the school year. Certainly, this wide-ranging application of an accelerated learning program can seem not only redundant, but also incredibly daunting. It requires a vast amount of coordination and preparation amongst teachers, and as a result, many educators may be slow to see, if not the desirability of such a plan, at least the feasibility of it. However, if implemented properly, such a scheme would make it possible for all students to draw on their individual abilities while working in a group setting that will make them feel part of a collective, rather than singled out by peers or educators due to perceived exceptionality. How can accelerated learning be applied to help such a wide variety of students? The strength of acceleration is that it is not remediation, a technique used to help students acquire skills needed to perform basic or more advanced tasks. Therefore, accelerated learning programs do not try to compensate for what educators perceive as student deficits, but rather focus on the wide variety of learning abilities within the student body to promote group-based learning that will benefit all students regardless of more traditional perceived abilities. If done properly, this program of accelerated learning will have the effect of allowing all students to progress at a comparable rate simply because it targets their individual learning strengths and styles with an eye to engaging them in the course material in a way that makes it relevant, engaging and applicable. What are the benefits of offering an accelerated learning program to students with such varying abilities? There is a growing concern that students from North America are unable to compete on an international level with their respective peer groups around the world. It is felt by many parents and education experts that focusing only on the gifted and remedial students, the “average” majority are being left behind to a degree that cripples the national educational standards to an alarming degree. By focusing on all students and using a variety of teaching methods to target learning styles and engage students in a manner that makes course material more readily accessible to them, learning speed should be accelerated to a degree that enables North American schoolchildren to better compete on an international level. What are the potential disadvantages to offering an accelerated learning program to students whose abilities vary so greatly? Probably the principal disadvantage to such a widespread implementation of an accelerated learning curriculum is the degree of focus and coordination it requires of both students and teachers. The reality is that students do have such widely different talents and learning styles. To realistically, incorporate all of these learning styles in one group setting requires a greater degree of supervision and individualized attention that can pass as an ordinary division of labor among a group of educators, rather than looking as if students are being singled out for special favors or extra help. -- |
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