Program
| The curriculum at Pineland Learning Center is guided by the needs of the student, the student’s IEP, the NJ Core Content Standards and the Federal No Child Left Behind Act. Each campus has a full-time curriculum specialist and a resident LDT-C to assist teachers and to supplement classroom instruction. Classrooms are limited to a maximum of 12 students with a teacher and an aide. Each student has his or her own “office”, which is beneficial for organization, minimization of distraction and setting the boundary of personal space. Teaching staff and clinicians are instructed in the methodology of “differentiated instruction”, which starts with the immediate identification of each individual’s learning style upon their admission to PLC. At that time, the student’s unique strengths and weaknesses can be understood and addressed in the classroom, both in the delivery and assessment of knowledge. Educational activities include presentations, role playing, model building, demonstrations, cooperative learning, laboratory activities, technology integration and directed textbook activities. Evaluations include standardized tests, quizzes, laboratory reports, research papers, rubrics and special projects. Additionally, all academic instruction and curricular programming is presented and taught utilizing “executive functioning coaching”, which fosters the higher level brain development known as the executive functions. Collectively, these functions have been described as “a cornerstone for organized thinking”, and include self-monitoring, self-regulation, attention controls and planning ahead. Curriculum extension and infusion of NJ Core Content Standards are the vital components of the PLC curriculum programming. Programs such as Environmental Science, Archeology, Forestry, Coast Guard Boating Course, Animal Care, Study Island, Career Education and Consumer/Family/Life Skills also function to provide a vital medium for “hands on” and multiple intelligence instruction. |
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