• Whole School Photo.

     

    These three major areas that make Odyssey different come from our Ten Essentials, which you will see across clusters. 

    • 1. Team Teaching

      • When teachers collaborate, students receive many benefits.Group Photo

      • Two or more teachers working together create the opportunity to pool 

      • personal and instructional resources.

      • Increases creativity and ability to meet the needs of individual students.

      • Allows students to be in flexible groups and teams for art, math, literature 

      • and many components of their day.

      • Teachers flow between groups, too, allowing them to teach to their

      • strengths.

    • 2. Multi-age Classrooms

      • Blended grade levels allow students to progress at their uniqueStudents In Class

      • developmental rate.

      • Student developmental rates are often very different than their 

      • chronological rate.

      • For math, reading and literature, students are placed in groups according to 

      • their assessed needs.

      • For all other subjects, students work in mixed-age teams, which include both 

      • older and younger students at a variety of academic levels.

    • 3. Cooperative Learning

      • Research shows that cooperation is more effective than competition in 

      • improving academic achievement.

      • Provides the opportunity for older students to learn and practice leadership Students

      • helping younger children who look up to them.

      • Students benefit from:

      • Constructing knowledge together as a team.

      • Contributing at their unique level. 

      • Leading in their areas of strength.

      • Receiving assistance in areas where they are less confident.

      • Non-threatening environment supports problem solving, and effective 

      • communication and collaboration.

    • 4. Community Support

      • Odyssey welcomes and encourages parent and community involvement in many Group Photo

      • ways both during and outside of the school day.

      • Teachers, students, and families join together to foster learning, creating 

      • a community school.

      • Parents participate in the way each chooses—everyone is needed and valued.

      • This approach creates a strong and engaged learning community.

      • Parents connect to what their children are experiencing.

      • Dedicated community support helps teachers achieve their educational goals.

      • All students feel supported by a group of adults who care about 

      • them.

    • 5. Differentiated InstructionStudent Art

      • To meet all the needs of a diverse student population, The Odyssey Program 

      • differentiates instruction.

      • Individual students learn in a wide variety of ways and have different 

      • interests.

      • Instructions reaches out to students unique learning styles, interests, 

      • readiness, and needs in order to create the best learning environment possible.

      • All learning is designed to use scaffolding activities, engaging students’ 

      • areas of strength (i.e., visual, auditory, kinesthetic) and moving them to 

      • mastery of areas of need.

    • 6. Open-Ended Curriculum

      • Our learning format has no bottom or top.Students In Class

      • Curriculum fosters the development of creative and critical thinking skills 

      • in all subject areas.

      • Students at all academic levels experience much growth during the school 

      • year.

      • Gifted students are challenged, while those needing to master the basics are 

      • supported toward success.

      • Curriculum helps students view learning as an ongoing, life-long process. 

      • All students are encouraged to deepen their learning through 

      • extensions.

    • 7. Theme-Based Learning

      • The Odyssey Program is based on integrated curriculum and enrichmentStudent Art

      • Centered around historical themes based on Oregon learning benchmarks.

      • Prominent American educator Dr. Mary Beth Klee argues that, "For too many 

      • years we have undershot with America’s elementary school children.

      • "They come to us with their fresh minds, their keen curiosity, their 

      • enthusiasm for learning, and for far too long we have served up pabulum.

      • "They come to us longing to connect with the broader world, the world they 

      • do not know, but hunger to know."

      • In our program, we strive to satisfy this "hunger."

    • 8. EnrichmentStudents In Class

      • Hands-on learning activities meet the needs of a wide range of students and

      • appeal to their specific interests.

      • Art, writing, science, language arts, and social studies are integrated into 

      • the curriculum for each unit.

      • Singing, dancing, and drama are emphasized in a culmination performance for 

      • each unit.

      • Extended field studies culminate learning each year in grades 3-8.

    • 9. Integrated Curriculum

      • Education is more effective when students know why they are learning

      • something, and are offered a context for new information.

      • Studying rivers, mountains, and rock formations becomes much more meaningful Students In Class

      • when a child also learns how this topography affected Lewis and Clark’s 

      • expedition, or the lifestyles of the Northwest Indian tribes.

      • Integrated study at The Odyssey Program mean that subjects will naturally 

      • flow together.

      • Students won’t have to stop thinking about science and start thinking about 

      • spelling just because a bell has rung.

      • Students might not realize what "subject" they learned on a particular day, 

      • but will be able to describe a wealth of knowledge gained and tell a 

      • fascinating story of why it is important.

    • 10. Interactive Learning

      • In this educational model, no child is a passive learner.Art Project

      • During each unit of study, students take on the identities and lifestyles of persons from the theme period.

      • Students learn the music, collect the artifacts, and engage in interactive simulation activities where learning comes alive.

      • This approach appeals to the imagination of every child.

      • Learning is never isolated and abstract, but always meaningful and exciting.

    •  
      Downloads:
      multi_aged_classrooms.doc
      team_teaching.doc
      ten_essentials.pdf

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