What does the Acton “curriculum” include?

ELEMENTARY STUDIO

A learner-driven environment means that your child will be free to pursue mastery at their own pace, and the Guides (what would be called teachers in a more traditional setting) will not serve as a bottleneck to keep everyone contained on the same state-prescribed learning track and timeline.

Not only will your child have the opportunity to expand and deepen their learning experience through mentoring (and being mentored by) a mixed age group of learners, they are free to pursue mastery at whatever pace makes most sense with your support and encouragement as parents.

Core skills (math, reading, language of choice, writing) are monitored through Badge Plans. Badges Plans are groups of Badges that a learner must earn in order to “level up” to the next studio. Learners are free to accelerate through the badge plan in whatever manner they choose – horizontally, vertically or both, with the end goal always the same – to eventually earn all the badges required to advance to the next studio. Parents are able to monitor their children’s progress live through our online portal, Journey Tracker.

Civilization encompasses history, geography and economics, and moves over a four year period from pre-civilization to the modern day. The overarching question for Civilization is: “Why do some civilizations rise and others fall?;” using Mann’s four “sources of power” (military; economic; political and ideological) to explore the reasons behind turning points in history and the heroes that made difficult decisions. As often as possible, our learners will stand in the shoes of historical figures, as they debate and make difficult decisions. Individual reports and questions about heroes and events will be posted on a timeline, complete with important trends. Depending on the week, learners will work on Civilization twice each week, for 30-45 minutes a session. Often, key issues from the time period being studied will become part of a Quest, as with our American Declaration of Independence and US Constitution challenges, where young heroes are placed in the shoes of a Founding Father, facing difficult decisions with real world consequences. We also use The Story of the World, a book series by Susan Wise Bauer, to enrich our Socratic discussions around historical subjects.

100% of our science content at Acton is delivered using Quests, which tap all sorts of information sources, driven by hands-on challenges and inspired by Socratic launches. We also don’t “tailor for different grade/ability”, but instead offer real world challenges hoping to develop critical thinking skills. This article provides a more detailed explanation of our approach: Preparing Scientific Heroes in the 21st Century | Our Hero’s Journey.

The Hero’s Journey prepares our young learners for their own individual journey in life, asking four questions:

• Who am I?

• What commitments must be made and kept?

• Who will walk beside me? 

• Why am I here?

The primary purpose of the Hero’s Journey is to inspire students through project-based learning quests and later apprenticeships that eventually will lead to a calling in life. A calling is defined where gifts, joy and a deep burning need intersect.

We believe it’s more important to consider the motivation and inspiration of young heroes and the questions to be posed, than the material that must be covered and learned. An inspired learner, asking the right questions, taking on difficult challenges that matter personally, will learn an astounding amount in a short period of time (much more importantly, they will learn to do something while forging a stronger character).

SPARK PLAY STUDIO

The purpose of the Learning Design in Spark is to empower and equip young learners in a happy and safe environment. Each choice made in preparing this studio is a result of asking, “How can we better equip and empower the learners while honoring their natural curiosity and joy?” 

From choosing the Montessori philosophy as the base, leading to independence and responsibility, to creating Spark Play, leading to collaboration and self-regulation, to preparing a physical environment designed for the learners, the Learning Design that makes our Spark studio is simple yet powerful. There is no need for complex systems or many extrinsic rewards in a Spark studio because of the intuitive nature of each piece and the developmental stage of the young learners. The learning design is intrinsically motivating. For this reason, a Spark studio is kept simple without the more involved systems found in other studios in the Acton model. 

Examples include: 

1. Within the context of play, the learners navigate challenges and decisions in their studio through honest conversation and conflict resolution.
2. The Montessori Works are self-correcting and do not require a guide once they have been introduced. Learners’ questions are answered by the materials and peers. 
3. Laying the foundation for life, the Spark studio is focused far more on Practical Life (fostering independence), Grace & Courtesy (relational awareness), and emotional development, rather than academic benchmarks. 
4. The Montessori Works are intuitively interesting and scaffolded, challenging the learners according to ability and choice. They are motivated by their curiosity. 
5. Within the framework of Grace and Courtesy, clear and simple boundaries with natural consequences are established

How does the Montessori philosophy fit within the greater Acton model?

The Montessori method aligns with many of Acton’s core principles. We see this most outwardly evident in: 

1. Self-Directed Learning: Each learner directs his own learning and moves at his own pace.
2. Mixed-Age Classroom: Learners are learning at their own pace amongst peers of different ages. This fosters a reliance on oneself and Fellow Travelers (peers). 
3. Role of the Guide: Throughout our model, the least obvious presence in the space is that of the adult in the room, who works to equip the learner with a prepared space and resources, present challenges and step back, almost disappearing from the learner’s awareness. 

The Role of the Guide is growth mindset, give lessons (see more below), step back, lead circle time, document work, and create plans and offer choices

More on giving lessons:

• While the word ‘lesson’ connotes a teacher-driven education, in the Montessori philosophy it is actually a physical demonstration that equips the learner with choice and freedom and empowers them towards further independence, in alignment with a learner-driven environment. The materials, though simplistic in design, are self-correcting works.
• Lessons are introduced, practiced and learned through the certification process, by observing veteran guides, and through a plethora of online resources.

More on stepping back:

• After modeling how something is done, the guide steps back and allows for the children to be free.
• Guides do not provide unnecessary aid to a child struggling with a Work or facing a challenge. They allow time and space for the struggle to happen and for the child to work through it. “Rescuing is robbery.” 
• A successful Montessori Guide can go unnoticed. As Maria Montessori said, “The greatest sign of success for a teacher… is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.’” This applies to both physical appearance (not wearing clothes that attract attention) and actions (not talking on the phone or working on a computer). 

High level Spark Play schedule

8:30 to 9:00am – Drop off

9:00 to noon – Montessori Work Cycle and Play Based Breaks (outside whenever possible)

Noon to 1:00pm – Lunch and Play

1:00pm to 3:00pm – Large Loose Parts Play, Nature Play, Field Trips, etc.

3:00 to 3:15pm – Socratic reflection and closing