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More than 25 years ago, the founder of Pace Learning
Systems, Inc. (PLS), designed the first fully integrated instructional system
for efficient, individualized learning. Today, at-risk young people are
finding new hope in school, and adults who have lost hope of meaningful
employment are seeing their hope reborn—thanks to Pace Learning Systems.
Pace Learning Systems, Inc., was founded in 1977 by Dr. John M. McKee, a
psychologist who spent many years studying the causes of school failure,
crime, delinquency, and mental health disorders. Dr. McKee created the
company to disseminate the individualized instructional systems he developed
to give older youth and under-educated adults the tools to succeed in life.
Pace Learning Systems incorporate learning concepts
and performance technology that ensure user-friendly assessment
procedures, efficient instructional methods, and effective motivation
strategies. Produced at the company's headquarters in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Pace Learning Systems are in
place in public and private schools, adult education programs, business and
industry training centers, and correctional facilities throughout the nation.
Learner success is the hallmark of Pace Learning Systems. Through the
reinforcing effects of success, students develop skills at a rapid rate and
retain more of what they learn. Pace Learning Systems employ an
individualized approach to learning - one that emphasizes self-paced
learning, "shaping" of skills, and constant feedback to mark
student progress. This approach encourages students to be responsible for and
manage their own learning. Active student involvement promotes student
success.
Accommodating students at varying skill levels, Pace Learning Systems deliver
instruction in an efficient manner while providing for the gathering of
student data. An instructor can track students' progress through the
instructional materials. A program administrator can readily track students
from program to program and from instructor to instructor.
Pace Learning Systems employ a systems approach to
teaching, a sequential process whereby students progress independently at
their own rate through instruction, guided by their particular educational
needs. The learning systems provide for the monitoring and recording of
student progress through instruction, thus giving information to both student
and instructor. The instructor becomes a learning manager and mentor to
students.
The systems approach consists of diagnosis, prescription, instructional
management, and evaluation, with motivation built into each step of the
process. Integrated and comprehensive, each learning system includes all the
necessary instructional and management materials from assessment tools to
documentation of student achievement to mastery tests. Such an inclusive
system frees the learning manager to focus on the needs of the student rather
than the requirements of a curriculum.
From middle schools through GED preparation to adult education programs, Pace
Learning Systems, in both print and software, provide instruction in basic
math, reading, language, writing, science literacy, and advanced math. PLS
also offers a workforce development system that provides instruction in how
to get a job and succeed in the workplace. Other instructional programs
developed at PLS include a life skills program and a literacy program for
teaching non-readers how to read.
Pace Learning Systems, Inc., is committed to providing "fail-safe
learning" for students. Its materials and products are structured to
guarantee the success of every student who uses them. The philosophy of PLS
is reflected in its motto — "Nothing teaches like success."
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