So, How Does it Work?

First Meeting

After reviewing the TeachThink overview here on the website, and reviewing the course guide, learners will identify any courses that they are interested in and would like to know more about.

Next, a TeachThink professional will physically meet with the parents and the learner. In this meeting, the parents and learner will discuss their personal and academic interests, as well as their general and specific academic goals. These goals will become part of the student record. A discussion of how TeachThink might be able to help the learner achieve these goals will follow. (If a physical meeting is not possible due to parent or learner scheduling conflicts, communication can occur over the phone or email.)

It is also important to solidify at this time is a time-line and general availability. The pace of the instruction in the TeachThink courses can move quickly or more slowly, depending on the learner’s needs and parent/student scheduling availability, but it is important for the learner to commit to the materials just as he/she would a university-level course–just at a slightly slower pace, obviously. (College courses usually meet for between 3 and 5 hours a week.) Courses can be completed in as few as four weeks, or stretched out much longer if necessary. The goal of TeachThink is to not only provide college preparation, but to engage learners in new, relevant learning experiences, so while intentionally challenging, TeachThink should also be fun for the learners. Therefore, whatever scheduling needs the parent/learners have, TeachThink can modify courses accordingly. Much of the work is project-based, and online at that, so scheduling flexibility is very easy and natural.

Next

Based on the initial meeting, a TeachThink will take the learner-selected unit of instruction, modify it if necessary to suit their individual interests and needs (add a Writing Requirement, make projects more or less online-centered, create a faster or slower pace to the work, etc. A syllabus will then be given to parents and learners detailing the unit of instruction, all assignments, due dates, necessary materials, as well as suggested physical meeting times.

TeachThink strongly values (and suggests) the purposeful use of online technology and web 2.0 resources, but a certain amount of physical 1-on-1 instruction is built into every course, with additional meeting time available as necessary. These meetings can occur at bookstores, libraries, coffee shops, and so on, depending on what is convenient* for the parent/learner.

*TeachThink is based in Middletown, in Louisville, Ky.