Learning Builders
reading skills

 

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)



Q. What is your target audience?
A. The Learner's Edge was developed for students entering or leaving the ninth grade but many others, including recent high school graduates on their way to college and strong seventh graders have benefited from it.

Q. How large are the classes?
A. Most class enrollments are in the mid-teens, but never more than twenty or fewer than ten. When there are several classes at a site, students are grouped by age or grade level.

Q. What are the hours?
A. Our typical session runs from 9:00 to 3:00 with about thirty minutes for lunch. Work periods generally last forty minutes with short breaks between them. The day is somewhat flexible and can yield to local scheduling needs.

Q. Isn't two days a short time to make any real change in study habits?
A. The basic plank of our program, "You Decide", is presented within the first thirty minutes of opening day. Students are encouraged to be active learners, to take responsibility for their improvement and to defer any judgments about strategies until the end of Day Two. Teachers use lots of coaching and positive reinforcement with students.

At the end of the class, after they have had experience with each strategy, students choose three favorites to add to their study practices. They commit to each in writing. Many promise to use our ten-minutes-a-week plan to cement their reading improvements or to make them even better.

Q. Why can't The Learner's Edge be used as a remedial program?
A. While all students can benefit from several parts of the program, reading takes up much of the class time. Our reading acceleration techniques can be confusing, frustrating or impossible for those who have difficulty with material written at a high school level.

Q. Why do you offer classes only during the summer?
A. Most of our instructors are regular classroom teachers, and many high school students follow busy schedules once school is in session.

Q. Who wrote The Learner's Edge?
A. Dr. Thomas McCain, educator and president of Learning Builders, developed the program. He included tips to improve reading and other study skills along with aspects of research on learning styles, higher level thinking, memory, and time management.

Q. Why does the cost differ from site to site?
A. Learning Builders makes separate business arrangements with each sponsor.