Advanced Academics Updates 18 Courses for Common Core
Online education provider Advanced Academics has updated its online math and English/language arts courses to align with Common Core State Standards and require additional rigor on the part of students.
Advanced Academics, part of DeVry, offers online courses targeted toward middle school and high school students (grades 6 through 12). There are 38 total math and language arts courses in Advanced Academics' catalog. Eighteen of them now offer "enhanced alignment with the Common Core State Standards," including eight new language arts courses and 10 math courses.
Enhancements to the language arts courses include:
- New multimedia projects that integrate technology and research;
- Discussions that require students to research and cite sources;
- Peer collaboration on research-oriented discussion threads;
- A requirement for chats with teachers that involve research and citation;
- New speech/presentation requirements; and
- Additional texts, including both fiction and non-fiction, that offer "range, quality and complexity."
The math courses have been updated to place emphasis on "modeling, or linking math to real-world situations and decision-making," according to the company. The courses have also added:
- New technology components, including the use of graphing calculators and spreadsheets; and
- New application lessons designed to "allow students to see the connections between math and the real world."
"Schools and districts across the country increasingly are migrating to the Common Core State Standards to ensure that students have the relevant knowledge and skills to succeed in college and the workforce," said Robert York, Advanced Academics president, in a prepared statement. "Our new math and English curriculum incorporates multimedia and cutting-edge technology, real-world applications and a wide variety of instructional techniques to engage students and reinforce the concepts necessary to promote critical thinking and reasoning abilities."
Additional details can be found in Advanced Academics' course listings.