KNOWLEDGE STAGE

     Answers the question of who, what, where, and the when of a subject.

     Learning at every level requires the acquisition of the basic building blocks of that subject.  In the early stages students have a proclivity to and find enjoyment in information consumption.  This is acknowledged and highlighted through the learning procedures at this stage:

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• Chants

• Songs

• Rote Memorization

• Sound-Off

• Catechism

• Disputatio

• Latin (starting grade 3)

UNDERSTANDING STAGE

     Answers the why of a subject.

 Relations between basic facts constitutes the development of logic.  The development of clear thinking requires that basic facts are not held in contradictory relations.  Students at this stage begin to wrestle with the authoritative grounding given to their beliefs and knowledge.  Formal training in logic gives students at this age the proper tools to reason well.  The learning procedures at this stage include:

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• Formal Logic

• Geometry

• Discussion

• Debate

• Progmynasmata

• Argument examination

WISDOM STAGE

    Provides the how of a subject.

    Rhetoric is the ability to formulate and create a well formed expression or application of knowledge and understanding previously gained.  Rhetoric teaches one to communicate well in order to persuade.               Students in the rhetoric emphasis learn how to synthesize what they have learned and apply it in a new way.  Learning procedures at this stage of development include:

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• Impromptu

• Invention

• Arrangement

• Style

• Memory

• Delivery