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1. Manus Academy Tutoring Student
2. Manus Academy Tutoring Student
3. Manus Academy Consultation with Student and Family
4. Manus Academy School Student
The following case studies detail the high degree of customized instruction we
put into each student's program. They also illustrate how we coordinate and
design critical support elements for family members and educators.
Case Study #1 -
Manus Academy Tutoring Student
Jason was a fourth grade student at a local, public school. He was referred to
us by a psychologist who tested him and diagnosed a written expression disorder
and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Jason's school problems stemmed from his difficulty in these areas:
- writing neatly and fluently
- expressing his thoughts on paper
- organizing his homework, time and school
materials
- sustaining attention
- completing assignments
School was very stressful for Jason. He wanted to do well, but didn't know how.
He often came home from school each day frustrated and upset. Getting him to do
his homework usually resulted in a battle. By the time Jason and his mother saw
us, they were both upset, frustrated and worn-out. Jason's assessment and
review resulted in the following individualized instructional program:
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intensive remedial work to build his writing ability
- training in how to use effective homework
strategies so he could complete his homework
accurately, in a timely manner and with minimal
assistance from his mother
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using his own school books and assignments to coach him and to reinforce the
above strategies on assignments and upcoming tests
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working closely with the school to set up accommodations so Jason could
function successfully in that environment in spite of his disabilities
Frequent teacher contacts allowed the tutor to determine the degree of
improvement in his writing at school, how well the homework and study
strategies were working in the classroom and in which areas Jason needed to
continue training.
To help Jason and his mother re-establish the warm and nurturing relationship
they had before the homework wars began, the tutor showed his mother how to
effectively supervise Jason's homework and study hour and help Jason when he
needed assistance. The tutor also instructed Jason and his mother to report to
her any problems they had concerning school. The tutor's regular interventions
and guidance helped the family manage school problems effectively and it
allowed them to focus on other activities besides schoolwork.
With ongoing support and coaching from his tutor, Jason began strengthening his
writing skills and refining his homework and study habits. This led to higher
grades, greater self-esteem and an overall improvement in how he felt about
himself and his relationship with his family.
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Case Study #2 -
Manus Academy Tutoring Student
Brian was a ninth grade student at a local, public school. He was a skilled
athlete who played on the high school football team in the fall and the
basketball team in the winter. Up until sixth grade, Brian averaged A's and B's
in school. Beginning in the seventh grade, his grades started to include a few
C's. In the eighth grade, he got his first D. In the ninth grade, Brian felt he
was losing even more control over his schoolwork and didn't know how to stop
his downward spiral.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Brian's father asked if we could help
Brian organize himself and learn some study skills. According to Brian's
teachers, Brian was capable of earning good grades if he just applied himself
more to his schoolwork. He participated in class well, seemed to understand the
material, but did poorly on tests.
During our initial assessment of Brian, he demonstrated well-developed reading,
written expression and math skills, although he had a tendency to make careless
errors in math. He expressed himself well and seemed to have a good ability to
focus and sustain attention. While Brian showed good skill development and
capability in most academic areas, he didn't know how to study or prepare for
tests.
Brian showed the same pattern that many otherwise capable students have shown.
They succeeded in elementary and early middle school because they participated
in class well, learned the information and completed their homework. They
didn't study much for tests, but still scored well on them, because they could
manage the relatively small amount of information these tests covered. Once
they reached high school, they didn't realize that, to successfully handle the
greater volume of material covered in class, they must study in addition to
completing homework.
We developed this homework and study skills coaching program for Brian:
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We scheduled Brian to see one of our tutors twice weekly for an hour each
session followed by another hour of independent and structured study.
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Brian's tutor contacted his teachers to determine what they expected from their
students, the type of class work and homework they assigned, how they tested,
when they tested and how they graded.
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She used this information to develop a customized homework and study plan for
Brian to follow each day, Sunday through Thursday.
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Using his assignments and books, she showed Brian those organizational, time
management and study skills most effective for each of his classes and
assignment types. She also showed him how to balance the demands of his
football practice schedule with his school and home responsibilities.
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Then she showed Brian's parents how to effectively supervise Brian's homework
and study sessions at home on those nights he wasn't seeing his tutor.
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She monitored Brian closely to ensure he was using effective study strategies
with gradually greater degrees of efficiency.
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Every two weeks, she asked Brian's teachers at school to complete a brief
progress report so she could determine which study skills Brian was applying
well in each class and which areas needed more work.
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She shared these results with Brian then with his parents during a regularly
scheduled fifteen-minute conference call every two weeks. During these calls,
she asked Brian's parents for their observations of how he was following
through on his regularly scheduled study sessions at home.
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She and Brian updated his homework coaching program as needed, based on the
teachers', parents' and his own observation of how well he was applying
effective strategies.
During the first eight weeks of tutoring, Brian's grades stabilized. They rose
from mostly C's and D's to C's and a few B's. During the second school quarter,
as Brian used effective strategies with greater efficiency, his grades
continued to rise. He earned mostly B's, but made a C in algebra, because of
his tendency to make careless errors.
Brian's tutor trained him heavily in using strategies that increase math
accuracy and decrease careless errors. Toward the middle of the third quarter,
instead of losing an average of twelve points per test because of careless
errors, Brian lost an average of only four points per test. As Brian's study
habits strengthened with practice, his other grades continued to rise and he
gained confidence in his ability to successfully manage his school
responsibilities.
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Case Study #3 -
Manus Academy Consultation with Student and Family
Jennifer was a second grade student at a local, private school. Her teacher
referred her parents to us for testing to determine why she had problems with
reading. We tested Jennifer and discovered that she had underlying language
problems that interfered with her reading acquisition. She had difficulties in
these areas:
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sound awareness or ability to perceive speech sounds (a common cause of reading
problems)
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phonics
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sight word recognition
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reading fluency
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spelling
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word retrieval, or ability to say what one wants to say at any given moment
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phrasing her thoughts clearly and logically
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vocabulary
We arranged a conference with Jennifer's teacher, parents and the tutor, who
would see Jennifer twice a week after school. We explained the results of the
testing to everyone and outlined the remedial program for the teacher, tutor
and parents to follow. We gave them the teaching materials necessary to conduct
the lessons and created a schedule for everyone.
Our staff member who oversaw the case joined Jennifer and her tutor in a lesson
every two months to check progress and update the program. At the end of the
school year, she re-tested Jennifer to examine her long-term gains and which
skills needed further strengthening.
With intensive language, reading and spelling remediation, Jennifer progressed
well and made substantial improvements in her school performance. She was
encouraged to write paragraphs, one of her strengths, and read them in front of
her classmates. This public speaking practice helped Jennifer feel more relaxed
and confident when speaking to her peers.
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Case
Study #4 - Manus Academy
School Student
When we first met Tammy, she was a seventh grade student attending a local
private school. She had a history of learning and attention difficulties that
made completing school assignments difficult for her. By seventh grade, she had
already attended five different schools, trying to find one that was the right
fit. Tammy was bright, but could not read fluently, write well or sustain focus
long enough to complete assignments. As a result of her constant failure, she
started getting depressed.
Tammy's parents enrolled her in our school. After
reviewing her previous school records and psycho-educational
evaluations and completing a brief assessment
of her own, our admissions staff member developed
a customized instructional program for Tammy that
included building her reading fluency, written
expression skills and her ability to complete
assignments accurately and in a timely manner.
Tammy worked in a class with five other students.
For two hours a day, she worked one-on-one and
in groups of two other students to build reading
fluency, written expression and math skills. During
the remaining three hours, she worked with her
whole class to learn the content courses of English,
social studies, science and communication skills.
Over the course of the first semester, Tammy's
teacher and tutor charted and graphed Tammy's
practice in reading, written expression and math
to determine if she was making satisfactory progress,
which she was. They also coached her heavily in
using those strategies most effective for the
different activities and assignments they gave
her. They showed her strategies that helped her
perceive her assignments as quite manageable,
with a definite beginning, middle and end, rather
than as tedious, never-ending tasks. As Tammy's
perception of the tasks changed, her ability to
complete them efficiently increased.
Tammy's teacher and other staff at Manus Academy also trained her to solve
problems effectively. Rather than give up in frustration as soon as she
perceived a problem she couldn't handle, they trained her to first study the
problem objectively with her teacher or classmates, define it, think of
different solutions then try one or more of them.
Tammy's habit of avoiding problems was strong
and she needed much coaching to manage them effectively;
however, over the school year, she began to complete
work and manage problems more effectively. She
also made steady gains in reading fluency and
written expression. As a result of her increased
skill, Tammy started feeling happier and in greater
control of her life.
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6203 Carmel Road
Charlotte, NC 28226
Phone: 704-542-6471
Fax: 704-541-2858 |
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School:
9:00a.m. to 2:00p.m.,
Mon.-Fri.
Tutoring:
2:00p.m. to 7:00p.m.,
Mon.-Thurs.
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