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By admin, July 29, 2010 2:48 pm

Beverly Stewart, founder of Back to Basics Learning Dynamics, Inc. was recently asked to speak at the 2010 EDventures Conference in Chicago. The 2010 conference celebrated the organization 20th anniversary, bringing together providers of private education services, charter schools, investors, and others who are stakeholders in private education.

“I was incredibly honored to be asked to speak at the annual event,” says Beverly Stewart. “This is the 10th year I have addressed a group of my peers from around the globe and each year I marvel at the level of dedication and commitment that is exhibited to improving the quality of education. By sharing our best practices, tips, and specialized knowledge, I know that students all over the country benefit.”

EIA, formerly the Association of Educators in Private Practice (AEPP), was founded in 1990 for the purpose of peer support, networking, professional development and advocacy in the education industry. Members represent every area of the diverse industry including school improvement and management services, charter schools, alternative education and special education services, professional development for teachers and administrators, educational content providers and suppliers, private providers of undergraduate and graduate education, as well as tutoring and state-approved private schools like Back to Basics Learning Dynamics.

For more information visit Back to Basics Learning Dynamics or call 302-594-0754.

For 25 years, Back to Basics has been recognized as the area’s undisputed leader in one-on-one tutoring. In addition, the firm offers a unique Delaware private school for all grades. Back to Basics is the 2010 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics.

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By admin, February 27, 2010 10:16 am

Susan Said What?! www.susansaidwhat.wordpress.com is a lifestyle blog created by Delaware-based freelance writer Susan McNeill. Recently, Susan enrolled her son at Back to Basics for test taking preparation. She recounted her experience on the blog, an excerpt of which follows.

“It’s hard for me to believe, but my son Matt will be entering high school in the fall. In Delaware, the choice-magnet-charter-private school competition is nothing short of fierce. He’s extremely bright and has top grades, so initially we weren’t concerned. He took the placement test for the Charter School of Wilmington (the state’s top academic public school) along with 800 other students for a chance at 225 freshman slots. When he didn’t make the 1st cut and was assigned to “interview status,” we were understandably worried (although after his interview he was accepted).

For his next placement test we targeted prestigious private prep school Archmere Academy (Vice President Joe Biden is an alum). This time we decided to take no chances – so we looked for some testing taking / test prep help, so that that he could do his best. Enter Back to Basics Learning Dynamics.

If you aren’t from Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania or New Jersey, you’re probably not yet familiar with this firm. Back to Basics is the area’s undisputed leader in one-on-one tutoring, homeschooling, testing like SAT prep and ESL instruction. For over 24 years Back to Basics has served the varied educational needs of over 11,500 children and adult students!

Matt was paired with an exceptional tutor who proved to be the perfect match — both in teaching style and personality. Sessions on test taking, timing, eliminating answers on multiple choice questions, and many, many practice tests later, we thought Matt was ready.

He took the placement test last week. Not only did he score well, he scored so well that he was eligible for several thousand dollars academic scholarship money. Not too shabby!

I can’t thank Back to Basics enough! Many of the firm’s policies and procures differentiate it from a Sylvan of Huntington – or really any of the big chain services you may see advertised. Although Back to Basics is small in comparison (just under 100 tutors) their careful matching of a student and tutor make a student’s success much, much more likely. In fact, Matt has made such dramatic strides in such a short time, that I think we will be continuing with weekly sessions to get him ready for the more challenging academics he’ll face in September.

If you want to learn more, you can visit them at www.backtobasicslearning.com. You’ll be glad you did!”

This excerpt was reprinted with permission by Susan McNeill, www.susansaidwhat.wordpress.com. For more information, please visit www.backtobasicslearning.com or call 302-594-0754.

For 25 years, Back to Basics has been recognized as the area’s undisputed leader in one-on-one tutoring. In addition, the firm offers a unique Delaware private school for all grades. Back to Basics is the 2010 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics.

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By admin, December 15, 2009 7:20 am

Is your child in the right school? Perhaps you’ve seen signs throughout the early months of the school year that made you question this issue. However, you decided to wait before making a change, thinking your child may be readjusting from “summer” mode. Or maybe he/she started at a new school and a transition period was in order.

Now that we are almost midway through the year, if you are still questioning your child’s placement, this is a perfect time to reconsider. Evaluate and assess the situation, getting feedback from your child, teachers, administration, and maybe an Educational Consultant. If you reach the conclusion that a change is necessary, here are some tips to help your child transition smoothly.

Ask current teachers and administration to speak with new school staff. In this way, new teachers will know child’s strengths, difficulties and learning style.

Deliver school records to the new school yourself. This will allow you to review them and make sure they are accurate, fair and relevant information is included.

Sit in on one of the new school’s classes or attend a school event. Your child will know what to expect and will be more comfortable with his/her new surroundings.

For more information, please visit Back to Basics website at http://www.BacktoBasicsLearning.com

For 25 years, Back to Basics has been recognized as the area’s undisputed leader in one-on-one tutoring. In addition, the firm offers a unique Delaware private school for all grades. Back to Basics is the 2010 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics.

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By admin, September 30, 2009 7:15 am

by Beverly Stewart, Founder of Back to Basics Learning Dynamics

This article was first published in the Hockessin Community News in August 2009.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s almost time for the kids to return to school! Amid the frantic scramble to purchase notebooks and pens, gym uniforms, and of course, the coolest pair of sneakers, it’s also the perfect time to address an often misunderstood topic: learning styles.

Far too often I hear from parents that their child is doing poorly in school, even though he seems to spend an inordinate amount of time studying. The truth is that many schools still rely heavily on classroom and book-based teaching, lecturing, and rote memorization. The result is an environment that strongly favors students whose learning style meshes with these instructional methods, but hampers a student who simply learns differently.

This is a vicious cycle for everyone! The teacher is frustrated. The child is labeled a poor student. And the parents are left to wonder, “What do we do now?” If this describes your child’s situation, take heart. There is hope and help!

The first thing that you can do, in conjunction with your child’s teachers, is to identify his “perceptual learning style.” Perceptual learning styles are the means by which learners extract information from their surroundings through the use of their five senses. According to The Institute for Learning Styles Research (ILSR), the perceptual styles theory is based on learning research conducted by Drs. Russell French, Daryl Gilley, and Ed Cherry that began back in 1975.

The seven learning styles are:

Print

This refers to the type of student who learns best when he can “see” the material. Often a note-taker, this student can remember what he has read and may even be labeled a bookworm. Seeing materials or data, and more importantly writing notes down, are the keys to success for this student.

Aural

The aural learner is one who learns best by listening. He responds well to the spoken word and can often repeat material verbatim after hearing it in a lecture hall setting. This learner also takes directions well. The use of recorded materials or recording lessons themselves is usually very successful for this learner.

Interactive

The interactive student learns through verbalization. Basically, this student is a talker (and often a hummer, self talker, and just generally vocal)! Actually speaking the material aloud is a great memory booster for the interactive learner as are verbal Q&A sessions.

Visual

This student often has a vivid imagination and can visualize written words as a series of pictures or a movie in his head. A student with a strong “mind’s eye,” this learning style is reinforced through the liberal use of all sorts of visual aids such as pictures, illustrations, graphs, and charts. The lecture hall is a torture chamber for this student.

Haptic

This learner is literally “hands-on.” Creative types are often haptic learners – from painters to welders — if they can touch it, manipulate it, and grasp it, they can understand it. The use of manipulatives in mathematics, word and sentence “construction” with moveable letters and words in language arts, and other hand-on activities spell success for the haptic learner.

Kinesthetic

The kinesthetic student learns by doing. This student is often labeled a fidgeter and is generally not successful when long stretches of quiet time or listening are required. Center-based learning and plenty of movement in the classroom help keep this learner interested.

Olfactory

Students with a strong sense of smell and taste find that smells can add significantly to learning. Certain smells can evoke strong memories which can be used to advantage when a student is studying for an exam. Repeating scents during studying and test time can actually evoke memories of the subject matter.

It is important to note is that everyone has some mixture of these learning styles, but one will generally predominate. By recognizing and understanding your child’s dominant learning style, you can implement the strategies that will truly help him learn faster, retain more information, and generally feel more confident about school.

Here’s to a successful school year!

For more information, please visit Back to Basics website at http://www.BacktoBasicsLearning.com

Back to Basics has been recognized as the area’s undisputed leader in one-on-one tutoring. In addition, the firm offers a unique Delaware private school for all grades. Back to Basics is the 2010 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics.

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By admin, August 26, 2009 7:05 pm

There can be several reasons why students struggle in the traditional classroom setting. Here are just a few.

• Pupils sit at individual desks, often in rows and listen to a teacher lecture. There is very little interaction this way.
• When students are asked questions by the teacher, the same kids tend to raise their hands, leaving others excluded.
• It is very rare that students ask questions on their own.
• When non-lecture work time is allotted, interaction between students is often not related to the current work.
• Some students will finish lessons early and engage in non-school activities while others will struggle to even finish the assignment given.

If your child doesn’t seem to be performing to the best of his ability, it may be time to look at different educational options. Give your child the tools he needs to make his future a successful one!

Back to Basics has been recognized as the area’s undisputed leader in one-on-one tutoring. In addition, the firm offers a unique Delaware private school for all grades. Back to Basics is the 2010 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics.

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By admin,

It’s usually very true that there are two sides to every story. In order to compliment last month’s feature on learning styles, it seemed logical to take a look at teaching styles to bring the process full circle. It makes sense that if an instructor’s teaching style matches a child’s learning style, the student will learn better, retain more and perform at a level that is satisfactory or greater. But how is that done in a classroom of many students with varied learning styles? Just as there are multiple learning styles there are also various teaching styles. The key is for the teacher to strike a balance and use a combination of styles when doing lesson plans and choosing educational materials. In this way a large number of students will benefit by the teacher’s daily lessons. There is sure to be one method or another presented that each student can relate to and therefore respond to in a positive manner. Let’s explore four basic styles of teaching.

Formal Authority-This approach is centered around the teacher. He/she provides and controls the information sent out to the student. There is little concern as to whether a relationship is established between the teacher and student.

Demonstrator or Personal Model-This method also revolves around the teacher but he/she gives examples and then guides or coaches students to apply what they are learning.

Facilitator-This approach is student-based and puts much responsibility on the students. The teacher may plan a group project but then students have to work together to achieve a goal.

Delegator-This last method takes the student centered approach one step further. Not only do students work together and collaborate, but they design the actual project instead of the instructor. This fosters an almost totally independent, very interactive group dynamic.

Back to Basics has been recognized as the area’s undisputed leader in one-on-one tutoring. In addition, the firm offers a unique Delaware private school for all grades. Back to Basics is the 2010 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics.