Philosophy

One-on-One Instruction

A healthy, one-on-one relationship with a more skilled adult or peer is the most optimal learning arrangement for most students. Learning in the context of a one-on-one relationship tends to be the fastest and most efficient way to help students learn skills and grasp concepts. This learning dynamic is often referred to as the zone of proximal development. Introduced by psychologist Lev Vygotsky, the zone of proximal development (ZPD) refers to the gap between what a student is actually capable of doing independently and what he or she could potentially do with the help of an adult or more advanced peer. A central feature of ZPD is the recognition that students model the problem-solving skills of the people from whom they learn. The concept of ZPD stresses that a healthy one-on-one learning relationship with a more advanced person is crucial in order for students to reach their maximum potential. Collaborative learning and ZPD are guiding principles of the Academic Management work we do at FRANKLIN.

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Executive Functioning Challenges

Selections from Kristin Stanberry’s “Executive Function: A New Lens Through Which to View Your Child” on www.greatschools.net

As each of us goes about daily life, numerous mental processes and skills help us plan for—and respond to—the tasks, challenges, and opportunities we face. Researchers and psychologists have coined the term executive function to describe this constellation of cognitive controls.

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Sheldon H. Horowitz, Ed.D, Director of Professional Services at the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), offers a description that reflects the views of many experts. He says, "Executive functioning involves activating, orchestrating, monitoring, evaluating, and adapting different strategies to accomplish different tasks… It requires the ability to analyze situations, plan and take action, focus and maintain attention, and adjust actions as needed to get the job done." Executive function is often compared to the conductor of a symphony orchestra, coordinating and managing many cognitive functions.

Many children and adolescents at all skill levels struggle with executive functioning. FRANKLIN’s Academic Managers address executive function challenges with an exceptionally proactive and hands-on approach, identifying difficulties and creating individualized and targeted strategies for each student. Additionally, Academic Managers teach their students organizational and study skills during homework completion and test preparation so students learn these skills in an authentic context.

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“Learning to Read” versus “Reading to Learn”

Various educational researchers, including the late Jeanne S. Chall, PhD, in her book Stages of Reading Development, discuss the mechanics of "learning to read" and "reading to learn." When a student is learning to read, reading may not be the most efficient way for him or her to acquire content information. While a student is learning to read, his or her active working memory is occupied with the mechanics of reading (for example, recognizing new or unfamiliar words or phonetic patterns and other reading complexities). The content presented in the text, therefore, may not be efficiently processed and stored.

While it is essential for students to build their reading ability so that they may begin to read to learn, it is important that appropriate instructional modifications (such as being read to) are made to aid developing readers. As reading ability increases, so too does the capacity to comprehend, process, and absorb ideas through reading. At FRANKLIN, our Academic Managers carefully monitor their students' progress along this continuum of learning to read and reading to learn, building their students' reading skills and making modifications in order to facilitate content acquisition.

Click on the image below to enlarge the diagram.