ECA School Wide Learning Objectives:

Graduates from 8^th Grade at Erie Christian Academy will be able to demonstrate (or will have experienced) the following criteria: 

Spiritually:  Each student will develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, leading to discipleship, spiritual maturity, servanthood and ethical character.

                 Essence: Each student will understand and commit to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and be led by the Holy Spirit as they pursue a life of faith guided by the knowledge of the Scriptures.

v     Behavioral Objectives

• Clearly articulate their personal testimony and be able to share it with others

• Understand their identity is in Christ

• Demonstrate an eagerness to continue to grow into Christ-like maturity through fellowship with Jesus in prayer, memorization and meditation of the Scripture

• Demonstrate a servant’s heart

• Reveal through their life the Fruit of The Spirit

Intellectually:  Each student will acquire and apply a core of knowledge foundational to academic success and be committed to life long learning.

Essence: Each student will have knowledge and will apply skills across disciplines and in real-world situations.

v     Behavioral Objectives

• Apply the living Word of God

• Apply math and language arts skills

• Apply knowledge of natural and social sciences

• Apply healthy lifestyle choices

• Apply knowledge of the fine arts

• Apply computer literacy skills

• Apply study skills necessary for success in all subjects 

Essence: Each student will be a thinker, using creative approaches.

v      Behavioral Objectives

• Initiate, pursue, and complete a given assignment

• Evaluate and prioritize time and assignments

• Express thoughts clearly and effectively

• Listen and respond appropriately

• Access, gather, and document information while utilizing resources including technology to find, analyze, evaluate and apply it

• Know their learning style and dominant intelligences

• Use skills to question, solve problems, and make wise decisions

Physically & Emotionally: Each student will see their body as a temple of God created in His image. 

Essence: Each student will take personal responsibility for his or her own health and wellness.

v      Behavioral Objectives

• Know their uniqueness in God’s image of self for intrapersonal wellness

• Make healthy diet and exercise choices with regard to nutrition and fitness

• Develop standards for dating, relationships, and marriage

• Display appropriate boundaries in relationships and social situations

• Be dependable and self-motivated

Socially:  Each student will show respect in their attitudes toward others. 

Essence:  Each student will know the worth of every human being as created in the image of God demonstrating love, respect and relating with integrity to the people with whom they work, play and live.

v      Behavioral Objectives

• Be considerate of the feelings and needs of other people (cultural awareness, gender awareness, special-needs people, and generational differences)

• Be aware of differences and similarities among people

• Work cooperatively in teams

• Use constructive conflict resolution

• Display age-appropriate social skills

• Articulate and defend their Biblical worldview while having a basic understanding of opposing views 

Essence: Each student will serve God as a leader in their school, church, local and world communities.

v      Behavioral Objectives

• Contribute God-given gifts and talents to serve others

• Demonstrate respect for God, authority, peers, community, and self

•  Treat others as they would like to be treated

• Demonstrate self-control

• Accept responsibility for the consequences of their actions

• Obey school and societal rules

• Carry out the Great Commission locally and around the world

*Differentiation can occur in the content, process, or product in the classroom.

1. Differentiating the Content/Topic
Content can be described as the knowledge, skills and attitudes we want children to learn. Differentiating content requires that students are pre-tested so the teacher can identify the students who do not require direct instruction. Students demonstrating understanding of the concept can skip the instruction step and proceed to apply the concepts to the task of solving a problem. Another way to differentiate content is simply to permit the apt student to accelerate their rate of progress.

 2. Differentiating the Process/Activities
Differentiating the processes means varying learning activities or strategies to provide appropriate methods or students to explore the concepts. It is important to give students alternative paths to manipulate the ideas embedded within the concepts taught.

 3. Differentiating the Product
Differentiating the product means varying the complexity of  that students create to demonstrate mastery of the concepts.

 4. Differentiating by Accommodating Individual Learning Styles
Learning styles group common ways that people learn.  Differentiating according to learning style takes into consideration and adapts instruction to the three dominant styles: auditory, visual and tactile/kinesthetic.  Some students have a dominant style of learning, while others may find that they use different styles in different circumstances. There is no right mix, nor is a student’s style fixed. Students can develop ability in less dominant styles, as well as further develop styles already used. A student’s preferred style guides the way they learn and changes the way they internally represent experiences, the way they recall information, and even the words they choose. By recognizing and understanding learning styles, we can adapt instruction so the student can use the techniques suited to them. This improves the speed and quality of learning. Research shows that each learning style uses different parts of the brain and by teaching to a variety of learning styles we are involving more of the student’s brain during learning resulting in greater comprehension and retention of material.

5. Differentiating by Intelligence
Varying teaching strategies makes sure that students will occasionally learn in a manner compatible with their own learning style but also expands their repertoire of alternative learning strategies in turn. The Multiple Intelligences Theory is applied by teachers to recognize that students have differing aptitude in different subject areas.  We are responsible for what a child learns and it is essential that we understand what (s)he knew at the beginning and how to move him/her forward from that point in a successful manner. This means we need to understand how each student learns best and to then build on what they already know. 

Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences