See below for answers to frequently asked questions regarding Kolbe’s Asynchronous courses.

 

What is included in the Asynchronous course?

Kolbe Academy's Asynchronous courses blend online course convenience with the flexibility to tailor pacing to the student's schedule. The student accesses weekly folders on Schoology which contain each week's coursework including reading, recorded content, and assignments. School year due dates on assignments are offered and aligns with Kolbe's school calendar. Students have access to their asynchronous courses from June 15th through July 31st of each school year. 

 

How are Asynchronous courses formatted?

Coursework is organized into weekly folders on Schoology. Depending on the course, this may include all or some of the following:

• readings
• practice assignments
• weekly homework checks
• recitations
• assessments
• recorded content
• and more!

What is the parent's role in an Asynchronous course?

The parent's role will vary with the age, ability, and academic maturity of the student. At the very least, the parent should ensure that the student is completing work and meeting the pacing goals either set out by the parent or as laid out by the due dates in the course itself. 

 

What does Asynchronous coursework entail?

• Overview: Every week begins with an overview. This shows the student what is in store for the week. Depending on the course, it may include readings, key points, topics for discussion, and any special assignments such as chapter tests or essays.
• Recorded Content: Every course includes recorded content that is either a demonstration or lecture. In humanities courses, the reading should be completed prior to watching. Depending on the course, there may be multiple recorded videos.
• Recitation (CFU): In certain courses, the student is given a prompt for a recorded response. It may be in a language course to assess pronunciation, or a humanities course to gauge the student's ability to organize and articulate a thesis. Recitations help prepare the student for further assessment in chapter tests or exams and form them in the art of speaking well.
• Practice Assignments (PA): Practice work is either problem sets or key point questions for study. Practice Assignments are designed to give practice opportunities to students as they move throughout the course. These assignments may include problem sets or key points for students and are generally graded on completion. Once a student has moved onto subsequent material, PAs skipped by the student will be exempted by the teacher and not factored into the grade. Some practice work assignments come with answer keys for students to self-grade. Those that come with answer keys must be self-graded to receive a completion grade from the teacher. 
• Check For Understanding (CFU): Homework checks are short, formative, open-book assignments that are teacher-reviewed and weighted in the grade book. They are auto-graded, which gives the student and parent immediate indication of the student's understanding of the content for the week. A poor homework check may indicate the need for further teacher instruction.
• Major Assignments (MA): Every course has designated major assignments which may include tests, exams, essays, labs, essays or other major projects. Students are notified of these in advance in the weekly folder description and overview. 

 

How does my student turn in completed work?

All coursework is submitted through Schoology.

 

Can I go back and re-watch a recorded lecture?

Yes. Recorded content does not have a limit to the number of times it can be viewed.

 

What is a recitation assignment?

Many Asynchronous courses include recitation assignments, which means your student is asked to submit a video response reciting something they’ve written, learned, or memorized. Most recitations are formative in that the student is still learning a topic or skill and is not yet expected to show complete mastery. These activities are a chance for the student to receive feedback and guidance on that path to mastery. This means teachers will respond with things the students did well and ways the students can improve. 

 

Recitation assignments may ask the students to respond with a couple sentences. It may ask the students to submit a single thesis statement to an essay prompt. It may ask the student to describe some process learned or to demonstrate it. Recitations will always ask for a video submission, but the instructions and timing requirements will vary. 

 

Students will use the video recording feature in the Schoology assignment to record the recitation submissions. When you click into the assignment, instead of uploading a file from your computer, select the microphone image (pictured below left), then select the audio & video option (pictured below right). You will be prompted to begin recording right there in the assignment by using the start and stop recording options. When finished, either submit your recording, or record again until you’re satisfied. Submit once you’re happy with your recording. Unsubmitted recordings are not saved. 

 

Once the recitation has been evaluated, you will see the rubric with areas for growth. Don’t forget to look there for messages from your teacher. If your Schoology settings are set properly, you will be notified by email when your teacher has posted a comment for you there. 

 

Who reports the final semester grade for Asynchronous courses?

The instructor will report the final term's grade unless the student has an approved audit. 

Final term grades for asynchronous courses are uploaded to the student’s academic record in the Kolbe Portal after the end-of-semester exam has been completed. Grades are posted during the school’s monthly grade update cycle and do not appear immediately upon exam submission. The final term's grade will include grades for all Check for Understanding (CFU) and Major Assignment (MA) assignments due during that term, which are required for credit, as well as any completed PAs. Any incomplete or missing CFU or MA assignments will be factored into the grade as a zero once the end-of-semester exam is submitted, and all unattempted PAs will be exempt and not factored into the grade.

 

How can I ensure my student earns the "A" designation for their high school level Asynchronous course? 

The student should submit all Check for Understanding (CFU) and Major Assignments (MA) each term to earn the "A" designation. For more information on our course designations, please refer to this article. 
 

What if I have a question that was not answered here? 

• Prospective families can schedule a pre-enrollment appointment.
• Currently enrolled families should contact their assigned family advisor.
• Questions regarding the Kolbe Portal, the enrollment process, and tuition should be emailed to [email protected].