Our Lessons
When a student is enrolled in Babbage Net School SES Program they are assigned to a tutor. The tutor will oversee the instruction, evaluate and monitor student progress. Communication with parents, schools and districts is an important aspect of the program in which our tutor play a vital role. The tutor will communicate with the student if they are not participating as expected and help the student to work conscientiously. The parent and the school will be contacted if the student continues to be lax in their work. All the tutors will be supervised by an experienced Field Manager or Regional Manager supported by our headquarters office staff. Every tutor is trained in the use of the computer based program before they are assigned a class. The program functions through several distinct program areas.
The instructional program consists of an instructional management system supported by standards-based assessment tools for grades 1-12. The Learning System program contains 4,675 lessons and 106,541 exercises, which add up to more than 9,000 hours of instruction.
The student begins the program with an assessment, assigned by the tutor, in each subject area. The assessment begins at the student’s grade level and ‘drills down’ to the level at which the student is successful. This identifies the areas that the student needs instruction. It also eliminates spending time on areas the student does not need instruction. The assessment is against state standards and can be adjusted on an individual basis to reflect LEA or SEA preferences. The results of the assessment are used by the program to prescribe a set of lessons that will meet the specific educational needs of the individual student. Students then work through their course of study, doing the lessons and taking the assessments at the end of each instructional unit, until they attain grade level proficiency. There is no set time a student must remain at the computer.
Although we encourage and set a schedule with the students, individual time management is a flexibility provided by the instructional program. When the student returns to the program they will be able to continue from the same place they left. In this way the student can work through the lessons as fast as their ability will allow or a slow as they need to be successful. This successful completion of the mastery test in each learning unit enables the student to move on to the next lesson. If more work is needed for mastery then the student can go back through the lesson. The student can also contact their tutor for additional help at anytime. This program allows the high performing student to accelerate their learning. The program is also a special opportunity for the low performing student. Because students engage the instructional program via computer there are no visual or verbal preconceived notions as is possible in a physical environment. The student proceeds at their own pace, not that of their classmates or the clock. A student can go through a lesson as slow as they want or review a lesson until they have achieved mastery. The additional tutor support assures that students receive the exact instruction necessary for them to master the material when the automated program is not sufficient for their needs. The additional instruction provided by the tutor allows for remediation and removes the possibility of the student repeating a lesson endlessly or tire of it and quit trying. All together, the Instructional Program provides students a complete, personalized tutoring program that will meet their exact needs on their schedule.
Aligned with National Standards
In the communication arts program component, Babbage Net School has developed a curriculum that corresponds to major reading and writing theory. After in-depth research, we clearly are aligned with the National Reading Panel findings especially related to areas of reading fluency, reading comprehension, phonics and syntax. For example, reading fluency as stated by the National Reading Panel indicates that students must read out loud with fluidity and expression and read independently for retention. Both these practices are strong anchors in the BA Reading Comprehension Projects.
Comprehension Projects
The same methodology was employed when creating the mathematical component of our programming. Proven practices of repetition, word problem variances and skill building were designed into the curriculum in order to maximize proven research.
