In the majority of courses at Concord Academy, the pace is decided by the teacher. Every student will have roughly the same schedule: same due dates for homework, essays, and tests, and the same in-class instruction. In recent years, an alternative form of teaching has become more popular at CA: self-paced learning. Although this approach is most common in language instruction, many teachers across different departments have experimented with aspects of self-pacing in their classrooms.
Similarly to more traditional classroom experiences, self-paced learning environments can take a variety of forms, though all have some element of the class that is directed at the individual student’s own pace. This may manifest itself in the form of proficiency-checks, often in the form of a short quiz, that students can choose when they are assessed on, or in activities (such as tutorial videos or listening to a podcast) that students complete at their own pace. This flexibility in when assignments are completed allows students to spend more time on concepts that they find difficult, giving them the opportunity to navigate the course content in a way that caters to their specific needs in the classroom.
Key to the self-paced class is the concept of blended instruction: the delivery of content through many different modalities. As with other methods of teaching, blended instruction may look different in different class environments, though at its core, it is about combining multiple types of teaching into one class. This combination may come from additional online resources. However, a common misconception is that blended instruction is solely about video tutorials. In reality, blended instruction may encompass collaboration with peers, activities from a textbook, podcasts, one-on-one help with a teacher, etc. This combination of resources assists in students’ ability to self-pace, as they are given more options for how they can engage with the course material.
Students at CA who have taken a self-paced course have varying opinions on its success in facilitating their learning. For example, of 30 students surveyed, 47% agreed that they would be inclined to continue taking self-paced courses in the future and 27% said they would not continue taking self-paced courses. Students were asked to rate how helpful self-paced and non-self-paced courses were for their learning on a scale from one to ten (one being “not at all” and ten being “the best”). The average rating for non-self-paced courses was 7.6 and the average rating for self-paced courses was 5.9. However, the numerical evaluations for self-paced courses varied widely. Additionally, 60% of students surveyed indicated that they prefer non-self-paced instruction, 30% preferred self-paced instruction, and 7% indicated that it depended on what type of class it would be.
In the additional information section, a few students commented on their main concerns about these classes, indicating that for some students it can become very easy to fall behind in a self-paced structure. Getting the hang of a new system can be difficult. In self-paced classes, not only is the teacher instructing students on the course content, but they also have to teach students how to navigate the course structure in a way that will be beneficial to their learning. Modern and Classical Languages Department Head and Spanish Teacher Carmen Welton, who has been working with the self-paced classroom model since the pandemic, commented on this challenge, explaining, “I’ve had to develop better scaffolds to help students learn how to self-pace.”
If a student is having trouble with the self-paced structure, that can negatively affect their ability to engage with the course material. However, the majority of students agreed that the self-paced classroom environment allowed them to have more individual support from their teacher. With more support, students may be better equipped to navigate the challenges that come with self-pacing. Not only that, but the very structure of self-paced courses allows for more feedback between students and teachers. “One of the things I really appreciate about this system is that it is centered around iteration and feedback. And so that’s true for the student experience but it’s also true for my experience,” said Welton.
For example, if a few students in a self-paced class take a proficiency check and are confused by what it is asking them to do, the teacher can create a new version of the quiz in the moment—they do not have to wait until the next year to tweak their curriculum. This flexibility can facilitate communication between students and their teachers, providing students with more individualized support.
With any model of teaching, there will be students for whom the system works perfectly and others who do not feel it is the best learning environment for them. The breadth of classes and approaches to teaching present at CA allow students to explore their own learning styles and figure out what types of instruction work well for them. This article describes self-paced learning at one point in time during the school’s history, yet as a system inherently built on feedback between students and teachers, there is no doubt it will continue to evolve in the years to come.