(850) 565-9913 admissions@stmaryschristianuniversity.org
Student Portal Apply Now
Saint Mary's Christian University
Student Portal Apply Now
About
About the University Mission and Values Leadership and Faculty The Digital Campus Compare Us With In-Person Learning Accreditation and Status
Programs
Programs of Study Undergraduate Degree TESOL Certificate Curriculum and Modules
Study
Study Formats Assessment The Platform Research and Evidence Accessibility Neurodivergent Students
Admissions
How to Apply How It Works Tuition and Financial Aid Credit Transfer International Applicants
Student Life
Student Life Careers and Outcomes Common Questions Contact
Home/Study/The Platform

The Platform

How individual instruction is delivered to every student, and what the University does and does not delegate to a machine.

What it does

Four Functions, Applied to Every Lesson

Entry Assessment

Existing knowledge and professional experience are established at the start of a program, so that material already mastered is not taught again.

Adaptive Pacing

The depth and speed of each lesson adjust to the comprehension a student demonstrates, rather than to an average across a cohort.

Gap Identification

Misunderstandings are detected at the point they occur and addressed before the student proceeds, rather than surfacing in an examination months later.

Scheduled Revision

Material is revisited at intervals calculated from each student's own rate of retention, following the established findings on spaced practice.

Academic support

Questions, Answered at Any Hour

Support is informed by the lesson in front of the student and by everything they have covered before it. It is not limited by office hours, and not limited by the number of times a question is asked.

  • A lesson may be paused at any point in order to ask a question
  • Questions may be put in writing or in speech, as the student prefers
  • A point may be explained in different terms until it is understood
  • There is no limit on the number of times a question may be repeated
SM
Academic support · within the lesson
Available
Could you explain what Piaget meant by the concrete operational stage?
Between approximately seven and eleven years, children become able to reason logically about objects and situations that are physically present to them.
I am still unclear how that differs from the stage that follows it.
A child at the concrete operational stage can sort physical blocks by color. A formal operational thinker can reason about the rule of sorting without the blocks being present. The presence of the objects is the distinction.
Ask a question about this lesson
In use

The Platform as Students See It

Comprehension check. The lesson pauses and asks the student to restate the material in their own words.

Guided video. Lessons divided into parts, with follow-along text beside the narration.

Listening mode. Structured audio with chapters, transcript and written key points.

Progress. Credit, results and grade average kept current rather than issued at the end of a term.

The Evidence Behind the Design →