All Articles tagged Testing

What Is The Ivy League?

September 4, 2012 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

It’s never too early to think about personal statements, ACT or SAT scores, and which schools are your top choices when it comes to college applications and, perhaps, applications to Ivy League schools.

I’ve helped dozens of students with every part of their application (as have many other My Learning Springboard specialists) and worked on applications to attend one of the eight schools that form the Ivy League (Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Princeton, Yale, and The University of Pennsylvania).

The term Ivy League is associated with academic excellence, prestige, highly selective admissions, and social status. Every year, thousands apply to these schools, but, where exactly does this term come from? What does it mean?

The most general idea surrounding the name is that older buildings can be covered with clinging ivy, which has been a classic icon in literature and art from the beginnings of recorded history.

However, here are some different (and mostly unrelated) “Official” accounts of where the term Ivy League comes from.

1) 1954-Present: Athletics— The Ivy League (emphasis on League) represents the eight colleges whose athletic programs are part of the Ivy division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In other words, athletes that are part of the Ivy League compete with one another, and the top athletes of this league attend the NCAA national championships. Founded in 1954, you can read more about the league here: www.ivyleaguesports.com

2) 1937: New York Herald Tribune— Caswell Adams, Tribune writer, is credited as the first person in print who used the term “Ivy League” to describe the eastern football league. As the story goes, the name stuck and the group of athletic teams were known as “Ivies” ever since.

3) 1850: Ivy Day–Harvard University’s school newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, asserts that the term Ivy League or Ivy School comes from a modification of “Class Day” in 1850 when it became a new tradition to plant an ivy shrub on campus as part of graduation ceremonies.

4) 1607-1733: Pre-American Revolution—Seven of the eight Ivy League schools were founded and run before America separated from England in 1733. Prior to the revolution, they were known as “Colonial Colleges” because they were intended to educate the 13 original colonies and they were funded by England. The eighth and final school of this league, Cornell, was founded in 1865. Although Cornell was founded over a hundred years later than the other colleges, it is considered a part of the Ivy League because it was founded close to the same time as the others. (Interestingly, Cornell was the first Coed school in this league, letting women attend classes with men in 1870. Go Bears!)

By Grant Bergland, Private Tutor

Splitting up Boys and Girls: Can Single Sex Classes Become Another Public School Option?

August 16, 2012 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

While attending a human development class this summer, I came across two articles that left me wondering about the significance of same sex schools. Prior to reading these articles, I would have considered myself strongly in favor of coed schools, but now I am not so sure.

The first article was titled “The Gender Divide,” published in American Baby and written by Peg Rosen in 2003. It discusses how the human brain develops in both males and females and why girls and boys display different aptitudes early in life that play out as strengths and preferences as new skills develop. Even though the research is 10 years old, and by most standards considered out of date material, I found validity in Rosen’s findings based on my own experiences as a first grade teacher. On a daily basis, I observe and acknowledge these gender differences in my classroom. It is easy to see that boys and girls respond differently to educational strategies, learning modalities, and instructional methodologies. Young boys and girls often demonstrate differences with sustaining attention.

The second article was titled “Single Sex Classes Popular as More Public Schools Split Up Boys and Girls,” published in the Huffington Post on July 9, 2012. It highlights the controversial issue of how and why these differences in males and females must be considered in our public schools. Supporters of this movement explain that the separation allows for targeted and tailored instruction while helping to remove gender driven distractions and obstacles among boys and girls. In single sex classrooms, you might see boys taking a run before a test, but girls might be involved in calming activities such as yoga.

As an accomplished teacher, I always consider what is best for my students as it relates to higher academic achievement. Accommodating and differentiating instruction is a daily practice for me as I plan for my students. The idea of single sex classrooms seems to be yet another effective technique that would help some students to improve or enhance their learning process, thus leading to greater student success. I clearly understand and see why single sex classrooms are a controversial issue—equity and equality being at the top of the list of concerns—but, since public schools are in the market for reform that leads to higher achievement for all students, this may be another area where public school choice has long lasting benefits.

Written by: Editorial Team, My Learning Springboard, Inc.

Virtual College Visits Can Offer More than You Think

August 5, 2012 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

The college identification and visiting process can be overwhelming to plan and implement, however, technology, and specifically YouTube, can help narrow down your trips with virtual college visits to the admissions office, chats with current students and even visits to classes.

Click below to read The New York Times coverage of these virtual college visits and planning resources on YouTube or watch some of the sample videos.

https://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/

Discover What Admissions Officers Are Looking For

Get Essay Writing Tips From Admissions Officers

Determine the University’s Learning Expectations

Sit In on a Class

Written by: Editorial Team, My Learning Springboard, Inc.

The Benefits of Summer Tutoring at Home or at Camp

July 22, 2012 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Summer tutoring can be a controversial topic. There are many people who believe students deserve a complete 7-10 week break over the summer because they work so hard during the year. There are just as many people who feel students don’t work hard enough, or at least should be working continuously for 12 months in order to remain competitive. A reasonable place to land is somewhere in the middle. For many of our students, summer is the one sustained time period for exercising their independence, their imagination, and their bodies. The boys we’re tutoring at camp, for example, play sports 7 days a week, all day long, and they couldn’t be happier! But even in this scenario, there are creative solutions to integrating tutoring in order to avoid the summer slide.

Students performing at or above grade level with access to a rigorous curriculum and quality instruction during the school year can excel in September with a manageable practice plan over the summer months. On the other hand, students performing below grade level have a critical need for summer academic practice that’s more intensive. As long as the action plan is thoughtful and individualized, summer vacation is a great opportunity to close academic gaps and even get ahead.

Whether we’re working with students at day camps, sleepaway camps, or in summer academic programs, there are lots of different ways to incorporate academic practice in meaningful ways. The American Camping Association launched a program in 2011 called Explore 30 Camp Reading Program. The goal of the program is to promote reading at camp on a daily basis for 30 minutes, either formally or informally. When camps adopt this practice, they put a value on reading that benefits EVERY camper and staff member. When a camper sees his or her counselor engaged in reading as a leisure activity, it sends a powerful message that reading is important and pleasurable. Beyond providing camp-wide independent reading time, camps also have the ability to offer book clubs as a free choice activity. There are many campers who would love this option, and book clubs support community building and social skills development. Another opportunity for camps is optimizing the evening read aloud experience in cabins. If counselor training included best practices for sharing read alouds and facilitating literary discourse, we would see bedtime used much more effectively as a meaningful and authentic learning opportunity.

For students at home in the summer or attending day camps, academic practice can be integrated into the schedule in lots of different ways. Private tutoring is certainly an option and may provide the necessary structure, but families can also support learning on their own through games, family reading time, cooking activities, and some straightforward skill practice online or in workbooks. Setting aside 15-20 minutes at least 3-4 times per week would have a positive impact and help students to return to school in the fall ready to tackle new instruction that builds from the previous grade levels. Students who are struggling likely need more specialized support that complements the school’s curriculum, and it may be advisable for families to work with a reading specialist or math specialist.

If your child has been taking it pretty easy in June and July, we recommend stepping it up for the remainder of the month and August. Much like playing an instrument, using a second language, or excelling in athletics, it takes practice and repetition to master academic skills. Those students who consistently practice perform better and more confidently in the classroom.

By Brad Hoffman, M.S.Ed.
Board Certified Educational Planner and Learning Specialist
My Learning Springboard, Inc.

Differentiated Tutoring at Camp

July 10, 2012 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

In order to get camp tutoring “right,” we needed to be really thoughtful about the needs of each student and family. Because students are enrolled in many different types of schools across the country, expectations vary. For example, some schools have required summer reading or math work while others do not. It’s also important to find the right balance regarding expectations for work between sessions. The keys to a successful summer camp tutoring partnership are differentiation and adaptability. One size does not fit all so it’s critical to design unique solutions for unique learners.

Tutoring at camp provides important structure for students with summer academic goals. Even if campers don’t read independently or do math practice throughout the week, the structured one-on-one time with a teacher each week will definitely help to maintain and further develop skills. Students who practice between sessions will make faster progress during the summer, but an intensive private tutoring session on its own is much better than the alternative—doing nothing.

While we want all of our students to read independently at camp as a minimum expectation each day, we also understand that campers have a full day of activities with little quiet time. Planning sessions that are dependent on a student doing homework assignments in between is a serious challenge at a residential camp and requires a student to be intrinsically motivated, organized, and self-disciplined. These are certainly behaviors we want to encourage, but it’s important to remember that this may not happen successfully each week. It’s also true that not every family wants their child to work throughout the week, while others wish homework time was strictly enforced at camp. Finding this balance for each student and family is really important, and it also needs to be achieved within the structure and resources of each particular camp, which may require some compromises.

Despite these challenges, our team is AMAZED at how amenable our students are to tutoring at camp. They arrive smiling and work really hard during the session to practice whatever skills we’re targeting. Most are reading in between sessions and the homework has generally been completed when requested. We think camp provides a terrific opportunity for campers to manage this work independently and to be accountable to their tutor without a parent’s involvement. It is all about balancing relaxation and fun with enough academics to avoid the summer slide.