Delphi Academy Santa Monica Emphasizes the Need for Proficiency- Based Education

Delphi Academy Santa Monica, an Early Kindergarten through 6th Grade private school, speaks of the significance of proficiency/competency-based learning models with a focus on personalized education. Some techniques include strong teacher-student relationships, practical application, real world experience, mastering basic skills, fostering intelligence, talents, interests and a child’s natural thirst to learn. All of these elements create a flexible support system geared towards the development of 21st century skills. This personalized learning approach in schools has proven to be very effective in enhancing children’s love for learning and allows the student’s individuality to flourish.

Delphi Academy Santa Monica discusses why a Competency-based System is different

Education in America is changing, with patterns shifting from the traditional time-based system toward a more effective system involving a competency-based structure. Competency-based education has become a hot topic especially in higher education circles. The system incorporates trends used in organizational dynamics of top performing companies. In using these methods, core values are identified and strengthened through certain competencies. Adapting these principles to education can be difficult and proficiency-based learning is more prevalent in high schools and colleges, but Delphi Academy Santa Monica strives to be cutting edge. Leaders of the school find that although this structure might be more popular in secondary education, results are extremely effective at the elementary school level.

Proficiency-based learning results in better student engagement because the content is relevant to every child and is customized for his/her unique needs. It leads to better student outcomes because the speed of learning is personalized for each child. By allowing students to master skills at their own speed, a competency-based learning system saves both time and money which in turn makes it possible for students to achieve greater efficiency and productivity.

Some Proficiency-Based Learning Approaches Utilized by Delphi Academy

1. The Necessity of Competence

The most significant feature of competency-based education is that it is measured by learning rather than by time. Once students have established that they have mastered the necessary skills and can apply them, they are free to move on to the next topic. Although there are established timelines, the focus is directly related to comprehension so these timelines are far less rigid than traditional educational programs. This advanced practice keeps students more occupied with and excited about their learning. The children exhibit a level of personal engagement in their education and are able to reap the rewards of their own intrinsic motivation.

2. Practical Application

Students are encouraged to repeatedly link new information to the real world, allowing education to become something they build and own, not something that is forced upon them. This approach allows students to maintain their uniqueness while becoming self-motivated, self-assured, dynamic and purposeful individuals who are able to develop an understanding of any given topic through natural and organic means.

3. Natural Aptitude for Learning

Delphi Academy recognizes a child’s natural aptitude for learning and strives to nurture that genuine enthusiasm while instilling in each child an increasing confidence in the ability to tackle the world around them. They have successfully taught 4 and 5 year olds to read competently, opening up the world of knowledge and enjoyment found in books. Besides core subjects such as reading, writing and mathematics, the teachers at Delphi Academy advise on the need for schools to offer a rich integrated curriculum that spans all subjects including science, physical education, music, performing arts and fine arts, geography, history, creative writing and more. By doing so, a child is offered a well-rounded educational program where their thirst for learning is always being fulfilled.

4. Catch Them Young

According to teachers at Delphi Academy Santa Monica, teaching children the basics of many different subjects at an earlier age, including the sciences and the arts, gives them the opportunity to move on to more complex studies at a younger age. However, it is not just academic pursuits that are enhanced by early childhood education. Numerous other aspects of a child’s development can be enhanced by early education such as their motor skills, coordination, ability to interact in groups of their peers, language skills and more.

5. Incorporate Arts into the Curriculum

Delphi Academy Santa Monica, in collaboration with arts educators and child development specialists, knows that by incorporating the arts into their curriculum, they are promoting the critical thinking skills, cognitive abilities, and motivations to be accomplished at higher levels. It was not surprising that The US Secretary of Education recently published a report entitled “The Value-Added Benefit of the Arts” in which he states, “Studies have shown that arts teaching and learning can increase student’s cognitive and social development.”

Delphi Academy Santa Monica understands the importance of helping students to fully achieve basic literacy, writing, arithmetic, and reasoning skills. Their curriculum emphasizes basic educational skills, with a focus on practical everyday application. Delphi Academy stresses literacy as significant to every facet of life and advises that, from the age of four, reading should be emphasized in schools. The faculty and staff are also aware that proficiency in literacy augments a student’s ability to write and communicate more successfully and is a foundation for all subjects of study.

The application of proficiency-based education in schools starting from the elementary level is at the core of the school’s singularity and success.