I-AM Learning Theory

• I-AM courses are designed to be spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally engaging through higher-order thinking, creative speech acts, classroom community—and in higher-level courses—in-depth discussion, analysis of texts, and accent modification.
• We offer a unique program rooted in music, movement, and story. Music and story-telling are highly therapeutic and create effective and enjoyable opportunities for learning. Our program meets the needs of learners who have encountered pain, stress, or trauma.
• English moves to its own rhythms rather than to predictable stress patterns—so the most effective way of learning how to speak properly is through memorizing and reproducing the sounds and melodies of English, then expanding that learning into new territories. To this end, we believe that memorizing powerful, uplifting Biblical passages nurtures the spirit and the soul—no matter what religion an individual follows.
• There can be no learning without memory, yet most students forget 70% of what they learn within 24 hours. I-AM teachers are encouraged to appeal to students’ contextual memory, which is triggered through movement, music, intense sensory experiences, sounds, and relationships.
• Emotions are a key part of the logic and reasoning process. The brain biologically prefers integrating emotions into thinking—so I-AM learning is significant, deeply felt, and real.
• We remember 20% of what we read, 30% of what we hear, 40% of what we see, 50% of what we say, 60% of what we do, and 90% of what we hear, see, say, and do. More effective than reading something is repeating it out loud and attaching physical movement or emotions to it. Hence, music, movement, and story play a significant role in all of our courses.
• Our recall improves by 2-4 times when we spend time reviewing the material we learn. Students should spend 20% of their time learning and 80% of their time reviewing. I-AM teachers spend approximately one third of each lesson in review, using a variety of mechanisms.
• Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning by working with teachers to find strategies for improvement, by attending all classes, and by completing daily homework assignments.