What is TLC?
The Learning Collaborative has been serving Richland School District Two since 1991 as a program of choice for middle school students. TLC is specially designed to meet the needs of our high-achieving, highly motivated students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades by providing a specialized, rigorous, intellectually stimulating learning environment. This learning environment encourages intellectual and creative abilities through collaboration as we prepare students for high school and beyond.
TLC encourages students to embrace the academic experience as a consistent and engaging journey that requires them to view learning as a process versus a performance. Most importantly, we want students to be accountable for their learning. Our goal is to assist students in developing skills to acquire and use information, ask thoughtful and engaging questions, and grow.
3 C's Dent of TLC
Community
An important focus of The Learning Collaborative is community. The activities and interactions from mentor groups, advisory, and field studies help build the personal and group habits that make our academic and social relationships thrive and grow.
At the beginning of the year, each student is assigned to a mentor group made up of students with similar personal or academic interests and a mentor teacher. Mentors have the flexibility to work with their mentees in a variety of groupings. This would include whole group, small group, and individual meetings. The mentor is responsible for working with students on academic and personal skills that will make them successful and productive members of the Dent and global communities.
TLC students participate in several field studies throughout the year. These learning opportunities help students grow academically and personally. Overnight field studies also help build strong peer and teacher student relationships each year. Additionally, students must show a high level of responsibility and respect with their peers, chaperones, teachers, and facilitators on these trips.
Ultimately, these community experiences are the foundation that makes TLC an exceptional learning environment. The blend of mentoring, enrichment, and field studies helps our students to grow into empathetic and engaging individuals who are ready for high school and college.
Collaboration
TLC students participate in a core program of literature, science, and social studies. Students pursue rigorous studies, engage in collaborative assignments, and work on interdisciplinary projects.
This collaborative environment:
- demonstrates to students the interrelationships among subjects
- allows in-depth study and investigations of real-life problems
- allows for authentic performance-based assessments
- fosters better retention and transfer of knowledge
- provides for a variety of student groupings
- educates students about their work styles and how to best communicate and cooperate with peers
Core Mastery
The Learning Collaborative at Dent encourages students to embrace the academic experience as a consistent and engaging journey that requires them to view learning as a process versus a performance. Most importantly, we want students to be accountable for their learning. We want to help students develop skills to acquire and use information, ask thoughtful and engaging questions, and grow.
We seek to help students develop the habits of a mastery learner. The rigorous environment of TLC requires perseverance and persistence in reaching personal academic goals. Students are encouraged to complete interventions and re-assess to show mastery on major assessments. Students have the chance to receive feedback from our highly qualified staff on assignments before submitting them as a final draft. These expectations push our students to not only acquire knowledge but to use that information in honing skill practices that will continue to encourage their academic growth. Students learn how to be effective students, and this is reinforced through teacher and peer mentoring as well.