Curriculum

The All Minds Academy curriculum is written by highly credentialed, subject-expert educators that have been partnered with trained and experienced practitioners to make it accessible to our student population.  It is a rigorous, standards-based curriculum that has been adapted - NOT modified - to accommodate the preferred communication method of our students - spelling or typing. 

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Design

Many considerations have been factored into the design of our curriculum. We know the extensive obstacles our students and families experience in gaining access to general education, one of which being the excessive amount of time and energy required when communicating by spelling or typing.  Yet we believe that students should not have to choose between having time to achieve their educational goals and having time to live life.

 

We know that many of our students tend to have information processing advantages, so we have factored all this into our curriculum by making each lesson concise and dense and avoiding excessive repetition. We have adapted our exercises in a motor-friendly manner while maintaining the integrity of the academic rigor, and the fun of it too!

 

Structure

Each course comes with 40 - 44 lessons, each with an accompanying instructional video created by AMA teachers. On average, videos are 30 - 45 minutes long.  Each lesson also includes a student edition of guided notes with blanks. Also provided per lesson is a set of adapted, spelling- & motor-friendly exercises, and an answer key. There are roughly 10 - 15 exercises per lesson.  

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Most students find that the amount of practice provided is fully adequate for comprehension. However, additional practice and supplemental resources can be provided upon request. 

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Implementation

This communication partner video tutorial was made for  Dr. Jen's math courses, but the basic premise is the same across all AMA courses. It's best to watch before starting any AMA course. It explains the implementation process described below.

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Courses are accessed through google classroom and are self-paced. Most students watch lesson videos in small chunks throughout the week with their communication partner. Some may prefer to do it all at once. The guided notes align with the video and should be filled as the teacher in the video is going over the material. Some students may enjoy writing in some of the notes themselves. Otherwise, the communication partner should do it, but should pause periodically to engage with the student either having them spell back key terms or parts of the examples being shown, or to predict what will be shown next.

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The notes are broken down into sections where students are cued to work on certain exercises at certain times making it easy to break up the lesson in smaller chunks, if needed.

Ultimately, each student and communication partner will need to find the rhythm that works best for them.  Once the student completes the exercises, they are uploaded back to google classroom. The teacher of the course receives the exercises, checks for completion, and provides comments and feedback, as needed.

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SUPPORT

At any point, if the student or communication partner has questions for the teacher, they can ask them via google classroom. If it is not a question that can be answered via this platform, the teacher will help determine a solution. 

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Additionally, each course includes regular meetings with an advisor who is able to troubleshoot communication/motor challenges and offer coaching on a limited basis. The frequency of advisor meetings depends on the program.