This is a logical question, the answer to which we have given a good deal of thought and research. In addition to the truly excellent and concise The Great Courses Plus/Wondrium lectures by some of the world’s finest math and science teachers for each subject – they know these specific subjects and what students need to understand about them incredibly well and teach that with great enthusiasm and clarity–for each half hour lecture we offer either quizzes or tests, and we also have labs (both virtual and in-hand physical kits-students may chose either or both), together with reference to the online course Guidebooks prepared by each Professor giving the lectures. We also provide additional online resources such as direct links to, for example, the Khan Academy lectures, and similar resources that discuss the same or similar concepts from different perspectives, for assessing and strengthening our students’ understanding of the material, if needed. Our students may also watch the lectures a second or third time, or more, or parts of them, as needed–an advantage not available in schools.

Each course is carefully laid out in a course syllabus, with easy to navigate assignments and assessments on our Online Learning Center. Each course is self-paced, although we recommend a completion schedule. To complete each course in the recommended time of two semesters, students will watch 1-3 lectures per week per course for 28 weeks and complete the corresponding quizzes, practices and labs. There are typically 2-4 additional weeks set aside for midterms and finals, for a total of 30 weeks per academic year. Progress is reported monthly to students and parents.

If a student needs help understanding a concept from one of the lectures, they may ask their assigned Mentor, who will either help them or schedule an online tutorial session with one of our math and science Tutors, to meet online in one of our live classrooms to go over the specific topic and answer any questions or provide any help, resources or references, as needed.

Besides all of the above, because many students have used the Saxon math courses prior to joining the Greats Honors Program, with each lecture we provide references to the corresponding Saxon math chapters and exercises relating to each topic in our math courses, so that they may continue to use Saxon alongside the Greats Honors Program if they wish, for a greater measure of continuity or if they benefit from doing extra math problems. This is completely optional, but it may be helpful for some students.