Class Format

Need-to-Know

Packet Press courses are designed for schedule FLEXIBILITY.

Students receive a set of assignments designed to be completed within a month’s time.  Students may work at their own pace while completing the assignments.  The course instructor is available throughout the month to help students understand assignments and to give assistance when students have trouble locating answers.  Classes that include a monthly project or presentation will also include a 72-hour “discussion” time when students will view classmate presentations, leave a courteous comment or question, and respond to comments/questions on their own presentations.  Please note that this must be completed within the 72 hour window, but does not require a specific time (such as 1pm Eastern Time USA) when the student must be online. 

              Students may choose to spend an hour a day working through assignments, or save up and spend several hours on two or three days per week to work on assignments.  It will be necessary to practice time management skills, as there truly is a month of work which cannot be completed in a single day if the student procrastinates too long.  Each course does include a suggested schedule of completion that spreads work out through the month for those students who need help with time management.

Packet Press courses are designed to MOTIVATE by incorporating choices.

In literature classes students choose an author/work from a list each month, in history classes students choose an individual topic or region to study each month, in World Religions students choose one religion as a focus each month, in Philosophy students choose one philosopher each month to study, etc.  In all of these courses, the student becomes the class “expert” on the selected individual topic and will create a presentation to teach the rest of the class about that topic.  The instructor facilitates discussion.

Packet Press courses are primarily designed as GUIDED RESEARCH utilizing primary source material rather than textbooks or lecture-based classes.

Instruction is provided via slideshows, web articles, short videos, practice games, virtual museum visits, and more.  Students develop both a breadth and a depth of learning that textbooks cannot provide.

FOR EXAMPLE

In American Literature, each student will read 8 works (usually a full book; occasionally representative selections if a work is especially long or difficult).  That student will teach the other students about this work and will learn about the works that classmates read.  In a class of 10 students, they will become familiar with 80 works of American Literature!