College Career Compass™
Cognitive Horizon Academy™
Advanced Honors Educational Psychology
A Ph.D.-led live cohort course for motivated high school students ready to study human development at a higher academic level.
Explore how people learn, grow, think, develop, stay motivated, and succeed in educational settings through rigorous instruction, structured accountability, and CLEP-aligned preparation.
Live Cohort Course | Flipped Classroom | CLEP-Aligned | College-Preparatory
Live cohort instruction begins September 14, 2026.
Fall Term: September 14, 2026 – January 22, 2027
32 total 60-minute instructional blocks
Mondays & Wednesdays from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST
Arizona ESA | ClassWallet Direct Pay Instructions
College Career Compass™ is an approved Arizona ESA / ClassWallet vendor.
Families using Arizona ESA funds may request eligible College Career Compass™ and Cognitive Horizon Academy™ courses through ClassWallet Direct Pay / Pay Vendor.
Arizona ESA families will need to request an invoice first, then upload that invoice in ClassWallet for payment review. Arizona ESA notes that payment submissions may require an invoice, statement, or supporting document.
💳 Step 1: Request Your Arizona ESA Invoice
Before submitting payment through ClassWallet, please email:
Include:
Parent/Account Holder Name
Student Full Name
Selected Course Name
Arizona ESA Student ID, if available
You will receive a detailed PDF invoice for the selected course.
🔍 Step 2: Submit Through ClassWallet Direct Pay
Log in to your Arizona ESA / ClassWallet account.
Go to Pay Vendor / Direct Pay.
Search for:
College Career Compass™
or
Virtual College Consulting, LLC
Upload the PDF course invoice.
Submit the payment request for review.
Arizona ESA’s ClassWallet information identifies Marketplace and Direct Pay / Pay Vendor as payment pathways for ESA families.
✉️ Step 3: Confirm Your Student’s Enrollment
After submitting the Direct Pay request, please send an email to:
Include:
Student’s Full Name
Selected Course Name
Screenshot of your ClassWallet submission or confirmation, if available
This helps us match your student’s enrollment request with the payment submission.
📬 What Happens Next?
We verify the payment request in our provider/vendor account.
We process your student’s registration.
You receive an email with full course access instructions.
For live cohort courses, you will also receive schedule details, course expectations, and next steps before the course begins.
What Makes This Course Different
Ph.D.-Led Instruction
Students are taught directly by Dr. Leslie Tucker, founder of College Career Compass™ and Cognitive Horizon Academy™.
The course is designed and led by an instructor with deep training in educational psychology, curriculum and instruction, student development, higher education, and college readiness.
This is not a video-only course or a passive content library. Students engage in live instruction, guided discussion, structured learning activities, and academic accountability.
Not just psychology content—college level thinking
The Advanced Honors Educational Psychology course uses a knowledge-rich, cognitively informed guided-inquiry model.
Students first develop the background knowledge and conceptual understanding necessary for advanced thinking through concise readings, explicit instruction, retrieval practice, worked examples, and embedded comprehension checks.
Live class sessions then engage students in structured inquiry, case analysis, evidence evaluation, collaborative reasoning, and the application of educational psychology to authentic learning and teaching problems.
Instruction is carefully scaffolded to respect the limits of working memory while gradually increasing students’ independence, intellectual responsibility, and ability to transfer knowledge across contexts.
Rather than asking students to discover complex principles without adequate preparation, the course equips them with the knowledge, questions, evidence, and guidance needed to think deeply and reach defensible conclusions.
Who This Course Is For
This course is a strong fit for students who:
Are interested in psychology, education, teaching, learning science, instructional design, child development, counseling, coaching, human behavior, student success, or working with people.
Enjoy asking deeper questions about how people learn, grow, think, stay motivated, solve problems, and succeed.
Are ready for a more rigorous elective experience than a typical high school course.
Can participate in live cohort sessions and complete independent preparation between meetings.
May want to prepare for the CLEP Educational Psychology exam.
Want to strengthen college-level reading, reasoning, discussion, and applied analysis skills.
Flipped Classroom Model
Students prepare before live sessions through assigned content, guided viewing, readings, or Edpuzzle accountability checkpoints.
Live class time is then used for deeper explanation, discussion, applied examples, concept clarification, and higher-level thinking.
This model helps students come to class prepared, stay accountable, and use live instruction for meaningful academic engagement.
Structured Accountability
Students are expected to engage with course materials, attend live sessions, participate appropriately, and complete assigned checkpoints.
Accountability may include:
→ Edpuzzle assignments
→ Guided notes or reflection prompts
→ Concept checks
→ Discussion preparation
→ Applied examples
→ Review activities
→ CLEP-aligned practice
This structure helps students build independence while still receiving clear guidance and expectations.
CLEP - Aligned Preparation
This course is aligned with major concepts commonly assessed on the CLEP Human Growth and Development exam.
Students may use this course as preparation for the CLEP exam, which may lead to potential college credit depending on exam score, college requirements, and each institution’s transfer policy.
College Career Compass™ does not award college credit directly. Credit decisions are made by the testing program and the student’s future college or university.
Course Topics
Students will study development across the lifespan, including:
→ Learning theories and instructional applications
→ Cognitive development and learning
→ Motivation, engagement, and achievement
→ Memory, attention, thinking, and problem-solving
→ Student development and individual differences
→ Classroom environments and learning conditions
→ Assessment, feedback, and academic accountability
→ Behavior, self-regulation, and student success
→ Social, emotional, and cultural influences on learning
→ Instructional design and effective teaching practices
→ Inquiry-based and problem-based learning environments
→ Applications of educational psychology to real-life learning, education, and human-centered fields
→ CLEP Educational Psychology review and exam preparation
16-Week Course Map
Weeks 1–4
Foundations of Educational Psychology
Learning, development, cognition, motivation, and the role of psychology in educational settings
Weeks 5–8
How Students Learn and Develop
Cognitive development, memory, attention, thinking, problem-solving, individual differences, and learning environments
Weeks 9–12
Motivation, Instruction, Assessment & Accountability
Motivational theory, instructional strategies, classroom conditions, assessment, feedback, behavior, and student success
Weeks 13–16
Applied Educational Psychology & CLEP Exam Prep
Application to teaching, learning, behavior, instructional design, student development, and CLEP Educational Psychology review
Student Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
→ Explain major theories of learning, motivation, cognition, and development.
→ Describe how educational psychology applies to student learning, achievement, and academic success.
→ Analyze how instruction, environment, motivation, assessment, behavior, and individual differences shape learning outcomes.
→ Apply educational psychology concepts to real-world classroom, tutoring, coaching, leadership, and learning situations.
→ Strengthen academic discussion, applied reasoning, and evidence-based thinking.
→ Develop stronger preparation for college-level social science and education coursework.
→ Review major concepts connected to the CLEP Educational Psychology exam.
→ Reflect on how educational psychology applies to education, instructional design, counseling, coaching, leadership, and other human-centered fields.
Why This Course Matters
Educational psychology helps students understand how people learn — and why learning is never just about information.
This course gives students a deeper lens for thinking about motivation, development, achievement, memory, instruction, academic confidence, learning environments, and student success.
For students interested in education, psychology, instructional design, child development, counseling, coaching, social science, leadership, or any human-centered career, this course provides a meaningful academic foundation.
Students often find the coursework challenging in the best way — rigorous, relevant, and rewarding.
Course Expectations
This course is best suited for students who are ready to:
→ Attend live class sessions consistently.
→ Complete preparation before class.
→ Engage respectfully in academic discussion.
→ Stay organized with assignments and checkpoints.
→ Think deeply about human development and behavior.
→ Take ownership of their learning.
→ Prepare seriously if they choose to pursue the CLEP exam.
Course Entry Recommendation
This course is designed for motivated high school students who are ready for advanced, honors-level academic work.
Students should be prepared to attend live sessions consistently, complete independent preparation between classes, participate in discussion, and engage with college-preparatory concepts in psychology, learning, motivation, development, and education.
No prior psychology course is required. Students should bring curiosity, responsibility, and a willingness to think deeply about how people learn, grow, and succeed.
Important CLEP Note
This course provides CLEP-aligned preparation for the Human Growth and Development exam.
Successful CLEP exam completion may result in college credit depending on the student’s exam score and the credit acceptance policy of the college or university the student later attends.
College Career Compass™ does not guarantee college credit, exam passage, or transfer acceptance.
Have Questions? Email dr.leslietucker@gmail.com
Meet the Instructor
Dr. Leslie Tucker is the founder of College Career Compass™ and Cognitive Horizon Academy™, the advanced academic division of College Career Compass™. She is an educator, researcher, scholar, and curriculum designer with a background in educational psychology, curriculum and instruction, higher education, student development, college readiness, and career exploration.
Dr. Tucker’s work sits at the intersection of learning, development, motivation, identity, and future planning. She has taught and supported students across secondary, college-preparatory, and higher-education settings, bringing both academic training and real-world student-development experience to her courses.
Her teaching is grounded in educational psychology, cognitive science, developmental theory, inquiry-based learning, and applied behavioral science. Rather than asking students to memorize information simply, Dr. Tucker designs courses that help students think critically, analyze human behavior, connect theory to real-life experiences, and develop the habits of mind needed for college-level learning.
Through Cognitive Horizon Academy™, Dr. Tucker offers rigorous, Ph.D.-led psychology and behavioral science courses for motivated high school students. Her courses are designed to challenge students in a meaningful and supportive way while helping them grow as deeper thinkers, stronger learners, and more confident future-ready scholars.
