Homeschool Co-op Courses
Jeff offers valuable cooperative learning opportunities to home educators with high school students. His Socratic teaching style and high standards fit in perfectly with a classical curriculum. Jeff also uses a mixture of interactive teaching and interactive technology to ensure students get the most of their time and never go unsupported.
Click here to fill out a form to have Jeff contact you about a co-op class
What is a Socratic Teaching Method?
The Socratic teaching method fits in perfectly with the Dialectic stage of learning in the classical curriculum, and leads naturally into the rhetoric stage. In the Socratic teaching method, the teacher’s main role is to lead students through a thought process about the subject with questions. The goal is to teach students how to think about a subject, and how to learn about it. I have used this method successfully as a teacher in a Catholic school, as a freelance educator offering 1-2 hour programs, and as a teacher for a home education co-op group. The successes I have seen using this teaching method include:
- Students claiming that my Moral Theology course was the best class they ever took!
- Students continuing to discuss issues from class years after they graduate from high school!
- Self-motivation in learning so students get excited about seeking out the information about the subject
- Critical thinking – the ability to analyze information being discovered and discussed rather than passively taking it in
- Higher levels of thinking rather than simple memorization of facts – comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation – are practiced on a regular basis and form the central learning tasks of the class
- Student confidence increases as they learn the skills necessary to master the course material
High Standards
I encourage students to reach beyond the typical requirements of high school education. I want them to become better thinkers, clearer communicators and engaged learners. For example, the typical high school literature course requires students to memorize the main characters, plot elements, and plot sequence. While other literary elements may be discussed in class, they are rarely tested. The sad truth is that most high school students can pass a literature course without ever actually reading the literature! In contrast, I do not require students to memorize much of anything. Rather, I challenge them to dig deeper in their understanding of the literary piece, to use literary elements (such as metaphors, allusions, etc) to unlock the meaning the author is communicating, and to relate to the literature as Catholics – intellectually, morally and spiritually.
I use a variety of evaluation methods, all of which measure higher thinking skills, critical thinking skills and intellectual virtues
- essays
- oral evaluations
- online activities
- open-ended quizzes
Courses
Moral Theology: introduces students to the concepts of natural law and divine law, and helps them to apply moral principles to specific moral issues.
Literature: focuses on understanding the meaning of good literature and entering into the dialogue with the culture about the truths being discussed by the author.
United States History: focuses on learning the skills of historical research and discovering how events in history have shaped our identity as Americans
Informal Reasoning: teaches the skills necessary to construct, propose and defend a valid argument, and those necessary for evaluating arguments and truth claims made by others (including common logical fallacies)
Cathoilc Anthropology / Psychology: Combines an exploration of modern secular research into human nature with the classical understanding of human nature taught by St. Thomas Aquinas
Pricing & Booking Procedure
Pricing for educational co-op programs depends on the size of the group.
- Basic teaching service for groups under ten families: Each family pays $10 per two hour class period, plus a travel stipend of $0.58 per mile
- Complete teaching service (full grading) for groups under ten families: Each family pays $15 per two hour class period, plus a travel stipend of $0.58 per mile
- Basic teaching services for groups of ten families or more: The entire group will pay a total of $100 per two hour class period, plus a travel stipend of $0.58 per mile.
- Complete teaching service (full grading) for groups of ten families or more: The entire group will pay a total of $150 per two hour class period, plus a travel stipend of $0.58 per mile.
Are you interested in hiring Jeff to design a customized curriculum for you? You may reach him by phone at 888-470-5972 or by email at jeff@fromtheabbey.com, or you may fill in the form below and Jeff will contact you.