Grant: Making the Learning Connection with Your Student

A Grant Initiative of The East Fund
Dr. Ron Mersch, Associate Principal

Thanks to a grant from The East Fund (Fall 2004), a set of presentations was developed especially for parents of freshmen students to help build awareness of their student’s unique approaches to new learning tasks. Held during February, March and early April of 2005, the first of the presentations provided parents background information on an interactive learning model of the Let Me Learn Process and how the model relates learning to their child’s profile approaches. Activities during a follow-up session allowed parents and their freshmen student(s) an opportunity to work together in identifying learner pattern strengths through a series of interactive activities. These activities will lead to the development of a personalized learning plan for success for use throughout the student’s years at Shawnee Mission East.

Overview & Goals of this Grant

Learning is a very personalized cognitive process for each student. Each learner’s approaches to new learning tasks follow a distinct pattern that is influenced by many internal cues and external motivational variables. The primary goal of this session is to create a process for success and support of students using their first and primary supportive resource—parents! Using a research-based learning model, these evening sessions will help build a common vocabulary for learning approaches that promote student self-advocacy skills that can assist each student in maximizing their learning potential. Parents will reflect and relate their own approaches to learning tasks to further understand this learning dynamic and will learn to use the information in assisting their student in the learning processes needed for school success in high school and beyond.

This grant award was made in September 2004. Read more...