Design Framework by Rebecca McLelland-Crawley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Design Framework by Rebecca McLelland-Crawley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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| Grace Hopper |
My classroom is a melting pot of different flavors on the gifted spectrum. Because students self-select gifted enrichment in the middle school, and do not test into an enrichment track, there are varying degrees of giftedness and commitment walking through the door. Typically, my students are engaged in a variety of of their own research projects and have friends from all walks of life. These friends regularly follow their gifted buddies to our classroom from time to time. We openly welcome all to experience the room and meet the tribe. During one of the last days of the school year, a very interesting lunch discussion took place between some of the high academic, real-deal gifted, and lower-performing, self-proclaimed learning disabled students. They spoke with such passion about receiving some variation of an A on their final project. This was not the problem for them. Instead, they were all remarking on how hard they worked individually to achieve this grade when the rest of their group did not seemingly do much to contribute. I tried to act like a fly on the wall, because this is the kind of conversation that teaches us more than it teaches the kids. I overheard them say:
"Why do we always have to be the teacher in the group?" - Key word is ALWAYS. When pressed about it, they agreed that they have no problem with being a leader from time to time. They simply want us to remember what it feels like to always be put in charge. Our highest performing kids typically never have a moment when they are not the role model, the high flyer, or the leader for a group. This typically occurs in all of their classrooms. Ask yourself honestly if you have ever thought about how many projects our top students are simultaneously completing? Could we handle that type of pressure? Their typical perfectionist streak will not allow them to achieve anything lower than their best. This leads to extremely unhealthy levels of stress for our kids. In an effort to always put a high flyer in each group, for each project, we unknowingly contribute to their compromised social-emotional wellbeing.
"It isn't fair that we never get to work in a group with all of the top kids to see how much we really could do if they let us go!" Grouping is key to successful activities. We all learned this in our pedagogy classes, but there were failed connections between theory and practice. Somewhere along the way, we might have had a lesson on learning styles and multiple intelligence theory. After we all took a self-assessment, and maybe wrote out a reflection on how we can learn best, our classes quickly moved on to the next chapter. Thousands of under informed educators were set free in classrooms without a true understanding of how these can be powerful
I had the honor of learning from Susan Baum at the week-long Confratute at UConn in 2014. She said the unthinkable in our session - allow the kids with similar strengths to work together, not all of the time, but some of the time. After completing our self-assessments, we grouped ourselves in the traditional sense. We had representation from all areas. We completed the task, but it was indeed a task. It took us a long time to plan, and even longer to determine roles. If college educated, teaching professionals have difficulty with this model, shouldn't we spend more time explaining it to our kids? This is not second nature for anyone. Later in the week we broke into groups based on our strengths. We were given permission to demonstrate our learning how we saw fit. It was as if the heavens opened up and tiny cherubs cheered us to cooperative group victory. Afterall, if we truly consider our classrooms as hubs of talent development, it makes complete sense that our students be allowed to express their true talents with members of their tribe. While logistically this might not occur all of the time, consider ways in which you can make this type of an experience happen with greater frequency.
"We learn from you better than we learn from the teacher, but don't do all of the work. We need you to tell us what to do!" The most enlightening comment for everyone in the room came from a student who is not in the enrichment program, but who often showed up at the student stress project this year with her teacher. She stated to the group, "lower students learn better from you and not the teachers" because "teachers talk above us". She told them that it's not that the other students don't want to do the work, but rather they don't know how to navigate the system. "We don't know what to do. We need your help!" The other students thought about this statement and then looked to me. They had no response. How could they? They are NOT the teachers. They do not know how to scaffold or assign roles. They are only 12 and 13 years old. We often expect our little ones to enter our classrooms knowing how to run their own groups. This is simply not the case. We must model group expectations. Show them how to develop roles and responsibilities among group members based on talents and skillsets so that they are all appropriately challenged. Without such direction from us, we further reinforce negative self-concepts and create greater division within our classrooms. When we promote more effective classroom grouping, we allow all of our students to flourish and honor all of the learners in our care.
How often did I do this to my students in my former, more traditional teaching role, only because it was the way it had always been done? Am I still doing this to kids? How can I switch it up to make our groupings more personalized, more appropriate, more thoughtful? How can I make sure I am not operating on autopilot so that I can reach all of my students?
What if we stepped back for a moment and considered the possibilities brought up by my students? Chances are, these students are in your room as well.
How often did I do this to my students in my former, more traditional teaching role, only because it was the way it had always been done? Am I still doing this to kids? How can I switch it up to make our groupings more personalized, more appropriate, more thoughtful? How can I make sure I am not operating on autopilot so that I can reach all of my students?
What if we stepped back for a moment and considered the possibilities brought up by my students? Chances are, these students are in your room as well.
Inside the mind of gifted middle school students
I asked them to write things they wish their teachers knew about gifted students in middle school. I asked them to tell me what they need from school from their perspective. They responded in bold colors, with heartfelt messages. PRISM students came back all day to add to the wall to have their unique voices heard.
*In the days following this activity, the writing remained on the board and the students and I reflected on their messages. Over the course of 4 days, the students have re-read their statements and some have said that their frustrations made their comments sound meaner than their original intent. Nonetheless, when we give students a voice, we need to listen. Their feedback was honest and as their champion I am giving them a place to share and learn how to be empowered advocates for their needs as gifted learners. Links to resources for each statement have now been added as a caption and our hope is that educators will take this opportunity to reflect on their own practices to ensure all of our students are being given the opportunities they deserve to flourish in our schools.
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| https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/how-the-student-voice-can-make-education-better/ |
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| http://crushingtallpoppies.com/2015/04/01/anxiety-in-gifted-children-3-simple-steps-parents-and-educators-can-take/ |
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| http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10129.aspx |
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| http://sengifted.org/archives/articles/the-gifted-identity-formation-model-in-search-of-the-gifted-identity-from-abstract-concept-to-workable-counseling-constructs |
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| http://www.byrdseed.com/five-unexpected-traits-of-gifted-students/ |
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| http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/hennesse.html |
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| http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10514.aspx |
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| http://podcasts.shelbyed.k12.al.us/lsherrell/files/2015/02/Differentiating-for-Gifted-Learners.pdf |
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| http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/tag/Digests/e607.html |
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| http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/kennarch.html |
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| http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/50-ways-to-teach-current-events/?_r=0 |
Links for more information:
What it Means to Teach Gifted Learners Well
Gifted Kids at Risk: Who’s Listening?
Competing with Myths about the Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Students
National Association for Gifted Children Standard 4: Learning Environments
Ten reasons why your gifted child procrastinates
Cybraryman’s What Students Want Page
One of the worst, most profoundly harmful quote of Vince Lombardi is "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." Gifted students carry an unmanageable burden when this is the voice playing in their head. We want our students to prosper and take risks, but if they are too afraid to fail, we may never see all they can achieve.
For many of our gifted students, local competitions generally result in a win, a trophy, or a certificate of achievement. When they stretch themselves and compete in a larger pond, the ribbon counts diminish significantly. This does not necessarily mean that their research was not exceptional, but learning how to lose gracefully is a hard, humbling, and necessary lesson for all.
Research is a process, not a competition. When we enter the gifted student into a competition, we subtly shift the focus from process to end product. While I understand that it is important for students to have authentic audiences evaluating their work, for many students, the extrinsic motivation of a ribbon or medal can sometimes detract from the learning. It is essential to remember that when students spend time investigating a topic, adults can be the guide keeping them focused on the process. What we say to children can help them combat negative self-talk, anxiety and disappointment. How we say it is even more significant. Kids need to hear that we are proud of their decision to tackle a research project on top of their demanding work load. They need to know that they are loved no matter the outcome. If we spend too much time focused on winning a medal, a child can equate loss with decreased value. We can learn from our mistakes by failing, finding new alternatives, and learning the pathways that were unsuccessful. As adults, we can honor and empathize with the sadness they feel for not winning, and remind them how many times they fell before they walked.
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| collectivelyconscious.com |
http://all4ed.org/creating-an-innovation-feast-through-makerspaces/
When I think about teaching as a profession, I think of the artfulness that exists in the kitchens of culinary geniuses. There is an entire network devoted to those of us who salivate over what is possible in the kitchen. I often wonder how can I use the same raw materials to make an epic meal. Sure, there may be a recipe as a guide, but we all use our creative juices when it comes to creating the final delectable delights. For me, I have found some inspiration for my classroom kitchen in the maker movement.
There is a very strong chance you have heard something about maker education. You may have noticed advertising for fablabs, makerspaces, hackerspaces, and maker camps. The maker movement is not new, but it has made a resurgence in schools in recent years. It is constructivist in nature, where students are active participants in their learning. On a genetic level, we were made for making. The maker movement appeals to all learners and is not about bubbling in the correct answer on any standardized test. A maker mentality can infuse your classroom by incorporating design elements as a part of long-term problem based learning or as smaller design challenges. It is interdisciplinary and students can construct a scene from a story with Legos or clay in language arts or hack an audio greeting card to build an alarm system to explain circuits for their science class.
I have the pleasure of working with incredibly enthusiastic middle school students who are a part of a maker ambassador program as part of a larger enrichment program within my school district. It gets messy and loud at times, but there is also tremendous intellectual engagement. Not only are they deeply vested in their designs, but also in helping others learn how to transform materials into new products. The makers have found their tribe in my room for the type of enrichment their learning style necessitates. My role of the facilitator of their learning mostly focuses on asking questions and helping them find resources for their longterm maker projects.
Students generate ideas, design prototypes, test them, and go through multiple design iterations. Instead of hitting the proverbial wall and giving up, they just go back and make the changes necessary. Making transcends traditional age structures and often times, my younger students teach the older ones new tricks. The program not only builds their engineering chops, but their resilience as problem solvers. Through this program, the students are the living embodiment of the 21st century skills of creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. This is a recipe I keep tweaking based on the feedback of my students and my peers. I explore the kitchens of extraordinary maker educators and modify things in my classroom often.
There will be plenty you will add to your own recipe, but here are some suggestions if my words have sparked your appetite:
Assess the kitchen:
- Look at what you already have in your school and classroom. You can quickly amass duct tape, pasta, marshmallows, and Legos by sending requests out to colleagues and parents.
- Check with your local libraries, museums, and science centers. Many offer workshops on the maker movement and have makerspaces.
Research the cookbooks:
- Check out the maker resources on Jerry Blumengarten’s Cybraryman site like the Maker Education Initiative.
- Check out Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom by Gary Stager and Sylvia Martinez, Zero to Maker by David Lang, and and sign up for Make magazine.
- Sign up for a free online course, such as the one offered this summer through Coursera on the basics of tinkering by Exploratorium.
Collaborate with master chefs:
- Expand your maker PLN! Connect with colleagues on Twitter who are using the hashtags #NationOfMakers, #maker, or #makerspace for some inspiration and examples. Pop in on Design Thinking chats by following #dtk12chat.
- Consider writing a grant through your local PTA or Donors Choose for some electronic, robotic, and programming supplies, such as littleBits, BrushBots, solder sets, Arduino microcontrollers, Squishy Circuits, Snap circuits, and Makey Makey boards.
Above all else, our students will remember how we made them feel. Will your legacy be that you made your students feel like innovators? They are the raw material. Ignite their creativity through an incredible maker feast. Bon appetit!
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