Core Values

Davidson: Explore courses are designed and taught by faculty from the Davidson Academy. All courses adhere to the following core values:

• Rigorous – Courses will have an appropriate level of rigor that will challenge participants to achieve in a supportive online classroom that encourages academic risk and growth.
• Personalized – Courses will provide students with a highly supportive learning environment that will address the needs of individual learners and provide opportunities for student voice in learning.
• Critical thinking – Courses will provide opportunities for participants to think critically, form and support opinions, and experience a variety of perspectives.
• Rich discourse – Courses will rely on a rich and authentic two-way discourse between all participants.
• Collaborative – Courses will contain synchronous instructional elements that require collaboration among participants. While the courses will be online, it is important that the participants do not feel isolated in their learning experience.
• Flexible – Courses will have a flexible learning plan so that they are responsive to the needs of individual students.

"My son, almost 12, is currently taking two of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development online classes and they're going very well, he's enjoying them very much. They are a lot of work, take a lot of time, that's totally fine for us because he's using these classes as part of his homeschooling, but for a kid in school, it could be a challenge. I guess it depends on the subject, how much the child likes the subject and how heavy their course load is at school. The online format works well, all the software choices are top notch and there's a full time staffer who does tech support. And there's some built in social contact (group work) and purely social time. My son really enjoys the classes and has discovered an interest in history, which is totally new."  - Parent