While visiting my parents last weekend, I learned something new about the little town where they live. It was a stop on the Pony Express route! I found that fascinating.
The Pony Express system spanned 1900 miles from St. Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA. Using 184 relay stations, the Pony Express was able to deliver mail in the record time of 10 days. The Pony Express proved essential for connecting the new state of California with the rest of the country during a particularly important time in our young nation’s history. With the advent of the telegraph, the Pony Express ended its 18 month operation in October 1861.
It was such a simple process – not easy! – but simple. The mail was carried by mounted rider from one station to the next where it was passed off to a fresh horse and rider. It would have never worked if the same rider kept turning around before getting to the next station! Nor would it have worked if a rider had taken off before his mail bag arrived. There was a logical progression and as a result information was taken from one place to another.
That really sums up an important part of education – getting information from one place (text book, curriculum, or body of knowledge) to another (a student’s brain). However sometimes it is attempted in a less than logical progression. Sometimes students are asked to progress without the prior knowledge or skills to do so successfully. Or sometimes students are asked to go over and over and over material even after they have mastered it. That’s not an efficient way to learn.
Herein lies one of the greatest strengths found in Global Student Network’s online curriculum. It is “prescriptive.” This means when a student shows mastery of a concept, they move on (no beating a dead horse, shall we say??). When they have not mastered a concept or skill, they are alloted the time and practice or support until they do. The result is a customized, individualized, efficient path to learning. It is a logical progression that builds confidence in students because their motivation is not waylaid by neither unnecessary repetition nor work that is frustratingly beyond their understanding.
Logical progression – it delivered the mail in 1860 and it delivers successful students today!
Copyright © 2013 J. Hoffman / GSN
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Email: JHoffman@GlobalStudentNetwork.com