AVID

Whether you’re a freshman looking ahead to the future, or a senior in your last months of high school, you’re probably getting ready for college. Lots of classes claim to get you ready for those tough years ahead, but there is one class that is actually putting in the effort to get students to that next level. AVID is a program that challenges students to expand their academic abilities and get the right preparation for the future.  People bond during class and participate in student-led activities.

Throughout the year, there are many techniques and strategies that the students learn. They focus on help with the ACT, SAT, writing college essays, exploring colleges, researching scholarships and public speaking.

“Students were assigned to a number group each group had to study a different problem, watch videos and explanations on ACT Test Prep on Naviance, and take notes,” AVID teacher Melissa Rumsey said, referring to the ACT tips students learn. “Much of the research on ACT shows that students can see what questions they missed on practice exams, but fail to remember why the missed the problem and tend to make the same mistake in the future. By evaluating the problem, learning steps and teaching the steps to the class, students have a greater probability of answering correctly in the future.”

According to Rumsey, once learned new tools, on average her students increase their composite ACT score 5 points after taken the exam a second time.

Students are required to analyze their questions and learn how to demonstrate and present to a small group.

“Tutorials are a process that is essential to AVID. They are basically a study group over a specific subject,” AVID teacher, Melissa Rumsey sai., “It’s a structured process and to help them get past their confusion to answer their questions. But it really is to set up a simulated college study group and how to have an effective study group without losing focus too much.”

Along with researching colleges and practicing writing college essays, classes also visit different campuses. There are two trips a year, involving Tulsa University, Oklahoma State University, University of Oklahoma, University of Arkansas and more.

Notes are a large part of AVID. They study a method called focus note taking.

“We start every class period answering the question why. So anything that you put in your notes is focused on that why. Because we found that students may write down all the dates and all the names but they miss all the information about the why. They have to ask why it is important and how it is connected.” AVID Teacher Jinafer Brown said.

For further information on note taking, here are the Five Phases of the Note-Taking Process.

https://www.spartanburg7.org/cms/lib/SC02205954/Centricity/Domain/449/FNT%205-Phases%20Overview.pdf