We Already Have It! It’s Within Us
AUM believes human beings are intrinsically motivated to learn, create, and to expand. We find joy and a sense of purpose when we engage in challenging conditions with proper tools and resources, most importantly with our faith in ourselves, others, our world and or higher power for infinite possibilities that ignite energy in motion for manifesting our realities. We welcome every student and honor his or her beautiful presence, gifts, and talents for he or she brings wisdom and inspiration to our table of academy.
Learners & Educators Centered
Learners thrive when their educators are excited about learning! We focus on empowering our educators, allowing our teachers to shine and to be excited about sharing their knowledge, skills, wisdom, and passion for learning. We ensure their needs are well met and that they are abundant in support because we believe they are the best resources we have for our learners. We provide our teachers with ongoing feedback and professional development in pedagogy, the art of teaching, as deeply as their content knowledge. Training in the metaphysics curriculum allows teachers to observe and to listen to their students in depth, seizing every teachable moment. We welcome teachers’ authenticity, honor and trust their unique gifts and talents, and value them with highest professionalism in alignment with our academy’s essential core values. Their enthusiasm in tandem with our spirited youth is where the real magic of learning happens.
We Acknowledge the Spirit in Inspiration.
We believe in holistic education of mind, body and spirit. It is the acknowledgement of our divine connection to the universe that allows us to remember who we truly are as part of God—infinite unfolding expression of the creative energy of life—having human experiences! Metaphysics, beyond the physical, is included in our curriculum. This isn’t to draw any ultimate conclusions or to confuse anyone or any one belief system as being superior. It just simply means that intelligence, wisdom, and harmony can be found in nature, and that we have the liberty to further discuss our soul potential in order to thrive in health, happiness, and productivity for a more compassionate world.
Learning Models
AUM we are not exclusive to any one particular learning model. Often we use multiple models that fit the needs of our learners and or the nature of the lesson objectives. We train our teachers (and youg learners too) in ways to sharpen their discernment in making decisions regarding their learning or while designing their lessons within the structure that uphold academy standards and honors our mission. Below are a few learning models, but not limited to, practiced at AUM:
The purpose of cooperative learning is to provide structured opportunities for learners to work together to learn both content and collaboration skills, such as communication, conflict management, leadership, and decision-making, while also strengthening their commitment to group goals and other group members. AUM grade-level grouping helps create a wider range of cooperative dynamics and learning opportunities.
The purpose of blended learning, also known as hybrid learning, is an approach to education that combines online educational materials and opportunities for interaction online with traditional place-based classroom methods. This model may be used for homework, self-paced subjects, or if the students will be absent for a long period of time.
The purpose of the project-based learning includes fostering student voice and choice, providing opportunities to regularly reflect on learning, and setting an appropriate level of goal or challenge. Furthermore, project-based learning requires students to create a public project that demonstrates their understanding of the information they’ve gathered. AUM requires at a minimum of one project per semester that relates to community service.
The purpose of the individualized learning, or individualized instruction, is a method of teaching in which content, instructional technology, and pace of learning are based upon the instructional readiness and interest of each learner. Subjects such as Math and English Language Arts are self-paced subjects.
The purpose of mastery-based learning is that learners progress from one skill, activity, or lesson to the next only when they have shown that they are ready to advance. They move to more complex learning tasks only once they’ve shown an authentic understanding (mastery) of the fundamental skills they need in order to truly learn (master) those complex tasks. This model is often used together with Individualized Learning Model in areas of Math and a few other subject areas.