Sunday, April 17, 2011

Differentiation Growth

My Personal Differentiation Growth
Many times when teachers hear the words “differentiation” they often groan.  I must admit that at times I have feared the idea of differentiation.  Teachers, like me, are often under the impression that to differentiate a unit or basic activity takes a lot of extra time and preparation.  However, the more I differentiate the easier it becomes.  
This semester I have made it a goal to include differentiation into one to two activities a week.  Each week while reading assigned chapters, I have learned more and more techniques to include in my classroom.  A personal favorite is from Frances Karnes and Suzanne Bean’s Methods and Materials for Teaching the Gifted, Chapter 6 “Product Development for Gifted Students.”  All students thrive by producing various products based on their own unique abilities and interest.  This chapter provide a large list of products that are easy to incorporate in every classroom.  Product development is extremely important in all students especially gifted.  Giving them the opportunity to explore different options allows for them to really show what they learned in a particular unit as well as demonstrate to the teacher their own personal growth and new knowledge.  
Throughout this course I have examined various curriculum models to use in the classroom.  These models provide opportunities to differentiate for all learners.  Personally, I was only extremely familiar with Bloom’s Taxonomy.  Yes, Bloom’s Taxonomy is a very important model to use in the classroom and allows for differentiation among all students, however, as I researched I found more and more wonderful models to use.  A particular favorite is The Renzulli Schoolwide Enrichment Triad Model (SEM).  Research using the SEM model shows both positive outcomes for both teachers and students.  Independent Studies allows for both creative thinking while taking on an analytical approach.  
I have tried various independent studies this year for my gifted students.  I have often feared this method of differentiation.  However, after reading multiple articles and chapters, I have learned how to successfully incorporate this idea in my classroom.  An important aspect I learned about conducting independent studies in my classroom, is the importance of constant communication among the teacher and participant.  Communication allows for the teacher to still serve as a facilitator in the students learning process.  
As I continue to go through Meredith’s program, I hope to one day fully incorporate differentiation into all learning units.  I hope to serve as an advocate for gifted learners at my school and increase the importance of serving this special population.  

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Teaching Gifted and Talented Students in the Regular Classroom

Gifted Students in the Regular Classroom
Today’s heterogeneously classrooms are filled with an array of learning abilities among of all students.  How are we as “educators” ever expected to meet the demands of all students in our classrooms?  Everyday teachers are faced with this problem as they plan units.  
Budget cuts have taken away funding from gifted education.  Therefore, it is the classroom teachers job to make sure they are providing challenging and rigorous lessons engaging their gifted population.  Tracy Riley provides an overview of various ways to make sure your gifted students needs are being met in your classroom.
As a classroom teacher, there are many areas in educating my gifted students that I need to improve on.  Yes, I have great plans and ideas of how I am going to challenge these students but I must admit that these great plans do not always make it into my classroom! I personally struggle with “pre-assessments” before each unit.  My social studies curriculum consists of very broad topics in which I have a hard time determining if a student has surpassed the anticipated skills.  Therefore it is often in the middle of a unit that I notice a student has already mastered the concept being taught.  Possibly I should be assessing the students throughout the unit in order to make sure all students needs are being met even the gifted population. 
My goal as an educator is to provide more opportunities for student exploration in my classroom such as “learning spots.”  Riley mentioned an idea of setting up various centers pertaining to curriculum throughout the classroom. Students can explore different concepts and ideas that interest them pertaining to current information being presented.  I personally believe my students would greatly benefit by having a few minutes each day exploring concepts being taught in the classroom in greater detail on their own.  Student exploration and interest is extremely important for all students including the gifted population.  Many teachers may fear that learning spots will require extra planning and resources, however, many of the activities that could be placed in a particular center may be activities you already have but do not have the time to incorporate them in your lessons, as well as activities you may have that are not appropriate for all learners.  Many of the resources are at the finger tips of your hands!
With the growing demands of state mandated tests, teachers feel pressured to teach to the curriculum so that ALL learners receive the basic knowledge expected.  How is this beneficial to our gifted population??  ITS NOT!  Therefore, teachers must take advantage of various learning activities to challenge their gifted population.  Activities such as “spin-outs” allow for teachers to have the opportunity to divide students based on ability and present them with the same concept but in a different manner.  This ensures that gifted students needs are being met in a totally different way then special needs learners.  Teachers need yearly professional development examining how to educate all learners in the classroom by challenging the highest achievers and meeting the basic needs of certain children.