Showing posts with label featured. Show all posts
Showing posts with label featured. Show all posts
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.
 |
| https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/how-the-student-voice-can-make-education-better/ |
 |
| http://crushingtallpoppies.com/2015/04/01/anxiety-in-gifted-children-3-simple-steps-parents-and-educators-can-take/ |
 |
| http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10129.aspx |
 |
| http://sengifted.org/archives/articles/the-gifted-identity-formation-model-in-search-of-the-gifted-identity-from-abstract-concept-to-workable-counseling-constructs |
 |
| http://www.byrdseed.com/five-unexpected-traits-of-gifted-students/ |
 |
| http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/hennesse.html |
 |
| http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10514.aspx |
 |
| http://podcasts.shelbyed.k12.al.us/lsherrell/files/2015/02/Differentiating-for-Gifted-Learners.pdf |
 |
 |
| http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/tag/Digests/e607.html |
 |
| http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/kennarch.html |
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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!
Through a series of events and medical awesomeness, I became the mother of two amazing, creative children who love to build. They are makers. Perhaps it is my science background mixed with their father's carpentry skills, but my kids love to create. Maybe they attended one too many Odyssey of the Mind meetings with my students as babies and caught the bug before being vaccinated. I also put them in art class before they could talk, so that might have played a role in their development and uncanny ability to recite all of the color choices in the 64 pack. I believe the biggest factor in this whole game is that making is fun. They fail, they mess up, but they start all over again and get better. In this maker world of theirs, they learn and become masters.
They started young stacking cans as soon as they could crawl. We have bins full of Kinex and Legos and most nights involve creating something new. Do you have any idea how much those pieces hurt when stepped on in the middle of the night? I often trip over the ramps and tracks for the car races going through our little home and I firmly believe my son has redefined, at lease in his school, the term Angry Bird. The phrase evolved into Angry Birding and, as his structures involved real projectiles, it was quickly banned at school. At home, we use Amazon cardboard boxes, plush Angry Bird toys, and exercise elastic bands for outdoor Angry Birding.
My 3 and 5 year old are exploring the world of littlebits, Makey Makey, and SnapCircuits. In this whole new world, I am learning alongside my children. Sure, I studied physics in college, but I majored in and taught biology. I never used circuits in my teaching. I didn't even begin to think about these things until my little ones came along. Learning this stuff is hard and takes effort. Then, all of a sudden, my professional world and my personal life collided. I shifted from a classroom teacher with a more narrow view to a curriculum supervisor with a district view of science education. I saw the connection between what my children were doing and what the students in our classrooms were not. I saw the joy of creating something new and the pride in making and knew that I had to advocate for students to have the same experiences. All students should be creating, tinkering, building, and making. They should be collaborating, communicating their ideas, thinking critically, and above all else, being CREATIVE!
These experiences are the ones that will propel our students into the readiness category for careers and college and I know that many of students do not have enough making in their day. So now I am tasked with a mission to create minions who see the value in making as well so our students can build, fail, learn, and succeed. If you are a momma, or a poppa, ask your child's principal what type of maker spaces or design programs they are promoting in schools. If you are a teacher, do your research and invent creative spaces in your classroom based on the 4 Cs (http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/4csposter.pdf). Let's build something awesome for the future, together.
In a time when teacher worth is connected to a few classroom observations and student test scores, I decided to pursue renewing my National Board Certification to connect myself with my choices and my students. I, like the thousands of other NBCTs, did not do this to prove that I am better than anyone else. I underwent the process to become better at who I am as a lifelong educator. This means I willingly put my practice under a microscope for other science teachers to evaluate. I defended why my choices in professional development for pedagogy and educational technology made a lasting impact on student achievement. This is exactly the type of reflection I love and crave as a professional.
I just submitted my renewal portfolio which represented 10 years of my growth as an educator. What learning did I accomplish and why was it important to my students? These are the types of questions we should be asking ourselves all of the time. Will this help my classroom? Will my students benefit from a better teacher as a result of my participating in this workshop or is there something more meaningful? As professionals, we owe it to ourselves, our students, and our profession to be reflective in our choices and thoughtful about our own learning endeavors.
After having gone through the NB process for a year 10 years ago with an extended PLC and now for renewal, I see an even greater need for teachers to connect with their colleagues daily and to share their practice. When we share ideas and discuss how our students are performing, we force ourselves to step outside of our comfort zones and become more critically reflective. When I have the opportunity to share ideas about education with other passionate educators, I can feel the fire energizing my brain. Going through National Board, you realize that extreme importance of a professional learning community and not just a common planning team. When we force ourselves to open our doors and invite others in, we can learn from feedback and improve our craft. My hope is that more teachers will seek NB Certification to promote and improve the profession and to become more reflective about their own practices.
Curious about National Board? Visit http://www.nbpts.org/ or http://www.nbpts.org/national-board-candidates
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
