What If Learning Could Extend Beyond the Classroom?

A school day can hold a lot.

There are books to read, math concepts to practice, questions to investigate, projects to build, people to learn from, and sometimes concepts that need another try.

Some learning also makes more sense when students have an opportunity to take it somewhere else.

That is the idea behind Extended Learning Experiences, or ELEs, at PEAK Mastery.

ELEs are part of PEAK Mastery's proposed educational model. They create structured opportunities for students to continue learning beyond their regular classroom schedule through personalized learning, additional support or enrichment, fieldwork, community experiences, projects, and other activities connected to their learning goals.

The experience may look different from one student to another, or from one Learning Unit to the next.

The important part is that the learning continues.

So, What Is an Extended Learning Experience?

An Extended Learning Experience is scheduled learning time that gives students another way to work toward their goals and competencies.

Depending on a student's learning needs, goals, and scheduled opportunities, an ELE may take one of three forms in PEAK Mastery's current model.

Personalized Learning Experiences

Sometimes a student needs space to work independently.

A Personalized Learning Experience might include independent study, portfolio work, a passion project, intervention, reflection, or an opportunity to demonstrate a competency.

Families can support students with engagement, routines, and reflection while coaches provide learning plans, monitor progress, offer feedback, and verify competencies.

For one child, that could mean revisiting a math skill they are still developing.

For another, it might mean continuing a project they cannot stop talking about.

The experience is connected to where that student is in their learning.

On-Site Support & Enrichment Experiences

Sometimes the most useful next step happens back at school.

Students may participate in small-group instruction, intervention, enrichment, project work, coaching, or collaborative learning on campus.

A student who needs additional time with a concept can receive targeted support. A student ready to explore something further may have an opportunity for enrichment.

Mastery-based learning gives educators information about what a student understands and where additional instruction or challenge may be useful. Research on mastery learning and formative assessment supports using evidence of student understanding to guide feedback, reteaching, and subsequent instruction.¹ ²

ELEs give PEAK Mastery another place in the schedule to respond to that information.

Field Work & Community Learning Experiences

And sometimes learning needs to leave the school building altogether.

Field Work & Community Learning Experiences can include field studies, service learning, community partnerships, mentorships, authentic projects, exhibitions, and other experiences that connect students with the community and natural world.

Imagine studying an ecosystem and then going outside to observe one.

Learning about local history and visiting the places where it happened.

Working on a project that requires talking with someone who actually does that work.

Or creating something meant to be shared with people beyond the classroom.

Research on learning and transfer has emphasized the importance of helping learners connect knowledge across contexts and apply what they know to new situations.³

ELEs create room for those connections to become part of school.

Where Does PEAK Fit In?

Extended Learning Experiences are one way PEAK Mastery's four values can become visible in a student's week.

P: Personalized

ELEs can respond to individual learning goals and needs. A student might receive additional instruction, work independently, pursue enrichment, or demonstrate what they have learned.

E: Expeditionary

Fieldwork, service, projects, community partnerships, and authentic experiences can bring academic learning into the world students are trying to understand.

A: Agency

As students develop, ELEs can give them opportunities to practice setting goals, managing their learning, reflecting on progress, making appropriate choices, and taking increasing responsibility for their work. Research on self-regulated learning supports the development of skills such as goal setting, self-monitoring, strategy use, and reflection.⁴

K: Kinship

Learning can connect students with educators, peers, families, mentors, community partners, and the places where they live. PEAK Mastery's model also keeps coaches connected to students' ELEs through planning, communication, progress monitoring, and evidence of learning.

What Does This Look Like in PEAK Mastery's Two Pathways?

Extended Learning Experiences are part of both proposed PEAK Mastery pathways.

Students in the 4-Day On-Site Pathway would have four days of scheduled on-site instruction and one day of off-site ELEs each week.

Students in the 2-Day On-Site Pathway would have two days of scheduled on-site instruction and three days of off-site ELEs each week. During off-site learning, families have a larger role in facilitating school-approved foundational literacy and mathematics curriculum, while coaches maintain responsibility for assessment, intervention, competency verification, attendance documentation, and oversight of student learning.

That distinction matters.

For a family considering PEAK Mastery, an ELE is more than a free day in the schedule. It is part of how the educational model distributes learning across school, home, and community settings.

How Do We Know Learning Is Happening?

This is one of the most important questions families can ask about a flexible school model.

PEAK Mastery's current model connects ELEs to the same systems of academic oversight used throughout the school.

Coaches and other educators would monitor participation and progress and collect evidence through student work, observations, reflections, portfolio artifacts, and competency demonstrations. Portfolios, conferences, and Celebrations of Learning would give students additional opportunities to show and reflect on their progress.

The setting may change.

The responsibility for student learning remains with PEAK Mastery.

Learning Can Happen in More Than One Place

A child might need a teacher and a whiteboard one day.

Another day, they might need a trail, a museum, a community expert, a project spread across the kitchen table, a small group working through a difficult concept, or enough uninterrupted time to follow a question further.

PEAK Mastery's Extended Learning Experiences are designed to make room for those different kinds of learning while keeping them connected to clear academic goals, educator oversight, and each student's progress.

As PEAK Mastery continues through Utah's charter approval process, we also want to hear what Cache Valley families think.

What kinds of learning experiences would you love your child to have?

What community organizations, places, skills, or questions could become part of their education?

Your answers can help us understand the community we hope to serve and continue refining the school we are building.

Take the PEAK Mastery Interest Survey Here

Research Cited

1. Bloom, B. S. (1968). Learning for Mastery. Evaluation Comment, 1(2).

2. Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2), 139–148.

3. Pellegrino, J. W., & Hilton, M. L. (Eds.). (2012). Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century. National Academies Press.

4. Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An Overview. Theory Into Practice, 41(2), 64–70.