Discovery Curriculum Model
The Discovery Program strives to convince students of the importance of education and to boost their aspirations and self-confidence. The primary educational goal of the program is to increase literacy rates in Atlanta elementary schools. Since the Discovery Program engages volunteers without formal tutorial training, a curriculum has been specifically designed for the unique nature of the Discovery Program. There are three main components of the Discovery Program's curriculum.
Cooperative Learning: In today's society, people work together to accomplish goals and to overcome problems. In a classroom situation students must often complete assignments by working on their own. Cooperative learning is an interactive method of teaching, which takes advantage of the one-on-one tutoring ratio the Discovery Program, provides. Students and volunteer’s work together to discuss issues and solve problems, thereby building self-confidence and instilling trust. This method encourages thought, imagination, and discussion--three main objectives of the Discovery Program.
 Manipulatives: The Discovery Program makes learning fun by incorporating manipulatives into its curriculum and makes concepts more "hands on". In addition, using objects to explain concepts such as multiplication or distance is easier for a volunteer tutor who has not taught before. For example, 2 + 3 makes more sense, and is more fun, when you add two green beads to three red beads. The program strives to make abstract ideas actually mean something to the students.
Topics: The Discovery Program curriculum encourages students to practice life skills while studying their areas of interest. Topics such as cultural awareness, personal values, the weather, animals, etc. can involve writing, mathematics, discussion, critical thinking, science, social studies, etc. Tutoring broad topics lessens the problem of conflicting with methods of learning taught in the regular classroom.
In addition to these components, the curriculum allows for low preparation time and lessons, which can be easily explained and understood by both the volunteer and the students. Plenty of appropriate up-to-date materials are supplied to grade captains. |
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For More InformationPlease contact:
Monique Terry-Shields
Director of Community & Civic Engagement
404-979-2851
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Curriculum
Subpages (1):
Field Trips
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