- If so, how did it go? How did you overcome your nervousness about giving students this type of freedom and the feeling of chaos in your room?
- If not, what barriers keep you from doing it? How can you overcome those barriers?
Posts
It isn't either/or
8 years ago
I have had some success in classes that were all GT students. Students had an Earth Science project where they formed and ran oil companies to search for oil. As soon as they understood the rules, which they eventually changed anyway, they were off and extremely competitive. The major problem was keeping them from going to far afield and staying focused on the project. This didn’t work as well in Pre-AP only classes. They didn’t have the competitive spirit and curiosity the other class had.
ReplyDeleteAs all my classes are Pre-AP, I try to challege my students all the time. For all projects, I give students a rubric with a time line; usually have suggested steps. My problem is that many students work at such a slow pace and seem to think that it's O.K. to turn work in late...even with a late penalty.
ReplyDeleteI would love to do more of this kind of learning for my classes. Several things limit this creative learning. First is TAKS. Second--time constraints. I only see my PAP/GT classes every other day for one hour. This lack of continuity is a factor in the children going off on tangents.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both l. oliver and pcarr about the focus and the time students take to do anything that is too open-ended. My students are 8th graders and they're not ready for too much freedom in choosing projects.
ReplyDeleteIn response to pcarr I seem to have the oposite problem. I constantly need to slow the GT stdtudents down. They think it is a race with a prize for finishing first. The late work or "I lost it"work is also a constant problem.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a classroom teacher (kinder & first grade), I did not do any individualized projects. I think a combination of time restraints, required curriculum, and too many students is what kept me from trying anything similar to what is described in the book. Now I am a SPED/resource teacher. I can see myself doing more of this now that I have fewer students and see them in a small group setting. It's much easier to personalize the work for these kiddos.
ReplyDeleteAll my classes are Pre-AP, too but they are pure open enrollment with no one moved out regardless of ability. I see both what pcarr sees from many of the non GT students and what I. oliver sees in my GT students. This extremely large range of ability in a class makes it more challenging to meet all the needs in open-ended or choice menu activities. When there is time to really delve into a short term in depth research project of interest I see the most growth and wish that these opportunities could be more often and with mixed grade level GT Peers. As cfisher stated a smaller group definitely makes it easier to personalize things for each type of learner.
ReplyDeleteLast year, I used independent study Menus from the book "Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom" by Susan Winebrenner for students in my academic class who, in my opinion, exhibited GT characteristics. To my surprise, this practice was very successful. I hand picked the students and offered them the IS in lieu of classroom instruction if they passed the unit test prior to instruction. This worked wonders for my classroom management and personal stress in regards to adequate differentiation. However, I have not used IS this year. I have majortity Pre-AP students (which is new to me) and have found it difficult to manage "accusations" of unfairness or "you don't think I am smart enough". In my academic classes, the students really do not know each very well. It seems that the Pre-AP students are all friends and they notice when someone it absent, missing, doing something different, etc. However, I think that I could prepare whole class lessons that were more flexible and if a particular student(s) expressed deep interest I could allow them freedom to explore autonomously while those who were ready to move on did so. I think this may alleviate some of the percieved "unfairness". It is worth a try:)
ReplyDeleteI have conducted similar assignments before in two different settings. One was a pure GT class and the projects we fabulous! The other however was a mixed class and it did create problems. Some of the students felt left out due to the fast pace that the GT students work in or they do not understand the goal of the GT student's project (it is too advanced). The GT students also create much more interesting products that leave some of the regular students in the class feeling as if thier project is not very good.
ReplyDeleteI teach kindergarten and have for the past 13 years. I agree that it is hard to do individualized projects at this age with time to help each accomplish a finised project.
ReplyDeleteLast year I tried something new with my class--I only had 11 students and i had a student teacher to help me. We used a research chart to study dinosaurs.We did the first as a whole class study on Tyranosaurus Rex. We had students brainstorm what they thought they knew about the dinosaur and then they researched the pictures in non-fiction books(I had gotten from the public library)to prove if what they knew about dinosaurs could be proven to be fact. I made sure that I had at least enough books for every 2 students to share. They were told that if they could see it in the picture then they could say it was a fact about the dinosaur. For example, If it showed T-Rex eating another dinosaur then they could prove the statement that T-Rex was a meat eater. Then we used what we learned to make a class big book about T-Rex that had a table of contents and each child helped to write it. After having that experience, i placed books about other dinosaurs and they had to choose one they wanted to learn more about. My student teacher and I conferenced with each student to proceed though the same process for each individual student--brainstorming what they knew, proving these statements by researching the pictures and then writing their own non-fiction book about what they had learned. I did not have any G/T students last year but I did have reading levels ranging form a level 1 to a level 24. Each child worked at their level with only as much support asthey needed from the teacher. If I had a G/T student I think I could us this approach to my advantage to help them let loose and take off with it in thier on way. I felt it was greatexperience for all my students an way to see if any of them show G/T characteristics since they are not usually identified until the end oof Kindergareten.
I think the barriers of doing this every year will be the class size, not having the extra help of a student teacher and of course everyone's favoorite--Lack of TIME.
Re: question one - I am not sure what we can do to improve our district's gt program practices. That phrase on page 10 stuck with me about unschooling as an approach to education. It would be great to let kids pursue their own interests and always be doing an exciting projects. But we are contrained by time, materials,testing etc. I feel these constraints and I teach K and 1st. I think it must be much harder for the intermediate and older grades.
ReplyDeleteSince I work with gifted kids only, we often implement the kind of lessons that Tamara described in our classroom. In our Medical Sciences unit, my teaching partner and I serve as facilitators while our students conduct research. Each student is responsible for completing research on a medical topic. The topics vary greatly. We've seen topics like Medicine in the Civil War, the applications of nanotechnology in treating bone cancer, the history of the polio vaccine and All About Dr. DeBakey. We serve as facilitators in helping students find information both in and out of the class. We teach students how to take notes from resources ,and show them how to use MLA citation format. The room can become chaotic, but we have implemented classroom management practics that help keep the noise level down. More importantly, we do everything possible to keep students productive, and we accept that the classroom will be noisy. This research project lasts weeks, and it's a lot of work in preparing and executing, but the final research papers are always great to read and share!
ReplyDeleteDear slhardie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that someetimes students that are not as quick will feel left out when the gifted kids take over the project. I find this even in classrooms where all the students are gifted, this is very noticeable. For example, some of my bossy students will take over and it turn into a real power struggle between the students. We talk about individual contributions and accountability quite a bit in my classroom.
I have done a few projects over the years, moreso when I first started teaching 12 years ago - when kg and first grade were not the new first and second grades. I have never minded the controlled chaos that can occur. I can remember having all kids of books, models, clay, tissue paper all over the room but the kids were all on task and having a great time. I feel guilty sometimes that I let myself be constrained by that little voice in my head saying got to get that guided reading done, got to do those running records, got to teach these little people how to bubble in for tests. These are the constraints I feel! It gets harder every year to get past those barriers. Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteI have a little girl in my class now that fits the asynchrony characteristic to a T. She has great vocabulary, asks lots of questions, is very curious, etc. But her physical development lags behind in gross motor coordination - she has no idea of personal space, constantly bumps into kids, knocks things over and falls down standing still. The other kids get really fed up with her so she also has social issues. I need a lot of patience in my toolbox most days!! I am concentrating on trying to appreciate the funny things she says and the way she says them in order to be more patient with her. I am picking my battles so she doesn't always feel I am on her case.
ReplyDeleteL.oliver makes a good point regarding the "curiosity" level of some Pre-AP students. This can cause some issues in a Pre AP/GT class. There have been a few occasion in which the Pre AP students completed a project that should have taken 2-3 hours (class days) to complete in 1 hour. They met all the rubric requirements and recieved an A, but it was like they were a missile zeroing in a target. No distractions(good ones) what so ever. Some students took longer because they were sidetracked by other discoveries, interesting factoids, or project collabortation. However, some of my Pre-AP students, they found their answers, put them in the correct format with little to no creativity or flair, and were done and ready to move on.
ReplyDelete"When knowledge is their discovery, they will feel as though they own it", p. 11. One of my gifted education professor's told me never to hold my students to my learning. The way I was taught is nothing like I teach today. However, having all GT students makes a big difference in allowing their curiosity to take the lead. The "guide on the side" is a wonderful position to have when teaching gifted kids. "Give them an inch and they take a mile" is an old saying that applies here. Whether it is researching a medical topic of their choosing or dissecting a frog, these kids will take the lead in discovery because they can't help but be curious about their world. It is important to have guidelines and expectations known, so that they can work efficiently and productively. It is fun to see them in action. I am the one saying "Wow" when I see learning come alive!
ReplyDeleteIt is tough to work this kind of teaching in a differentiated classroom. I agree with slhardie. However, non-GT students will get exposed to the kind of work the GT kids produce. It may be an inspiration to the other students to learn from them. It doesn't have to be that every project or assignment is open like this. Maybe just have one, once a semester, to expose the kids to an opportunity to be curious about something worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteI have not tried anything like this in my classroom. I think that it takes a whole lot of organization and planning to make it work. I am not a very organized person and am afraid that the kids would just go bonkers. I am also afraid of admin coming in and not seeing that we are covering the TEKS. Atmy school we only have a few GT kids- not even 1 at every grade level, so if I decided to do thiese outside the box projects, it would have to include other students too. I currently donot have any GT kids in my class but when I taught 2nd grade and had 2, I would have loved to send tem off on a learning adventure like these. I think if I have a collegue to plan and organize with, sommeone to help int he projects I would do not be as apprehensive, at least on the first few. Also if there was more school admin suppoert for serving the GT kids in out of the box ways, it would be easier to try it.
ReplyDeleteI teach a fifth grade heterogeneously grouped language arts class with a cluster of GT students.I have wanted to try independent studies ever since I had a student a couple of years ago that really needed something different. I didn't really have the guidance at the time so I just tried to get him to think of something he was curious about which he did, but I could not structure the project in a way that supported him. This year I used a book Lynnette sent me that suggested a variety of ideas similar to the ones mentioned in Tamara's class p. 20, but also gave the kids an outline to complete as they went along. I met with the students once or twice a week to review how their project was going during the time I typically meet with the other children for guided reading. This went better than my past efforts, but I learned a lot. Additionally, every student had a project ready on presentation day and they were enthusiastic presenters.
ReplyDeleteDear Weberp,
ReplyDeleteYou are wise in the way you are dealing with your student. She probably feels very awkward, especially when other students get frustrated with her. It's the right thing to do to focus on her positive qualities. I always try to remember that, especially when kids are not as well liked by others.
When teaching 7th LA the class tone was one of fueling the curiosity of students along with setting guidelines as to the requirements for the products and/or assignments. While reading about Tamara's locked file cabinet experience(page 22)I was reminded about the movie, "Catch Me If You Can" where a young teen allowed his curosity to rise and after taking the "wrong" path he willingly put his knowlege to good use working with the FBI to stop bank and check fraud...as well as working with Fortune 500 companies to create check security measures.
ReplyDeleteDear turtletracs,
ReplyDeleteI understand your comments and appreciate your honesty regarding your fears of teaching the TEKS and having support or understanding from administration. One quote that I have used in my life is, "Do what you fear the most and you control fear". Perhaps taking little steps towards this type of learning environment would be something to try. Also, it seems that more Admin are expanding their support.
In the early parts of the book it tells us, "use your creative abilites to provide an exciting learning environment..." as an early childhood educator I think that is who we are and what I do daily. My students do not learn from lecture or reading the textbooks. We learn only from a hands-on immersiion style work.
ReplyDeleteBy using a project, or theme I am albe to allow my students to all explore and take the study to the level they will appreciate. They are able to infuse writing, reading, math any and all areas.
It may not sounds as exciting as some, but right now my students are engaged in a study of the grocery store. They have only started but are beginning to explore, role play and learn from there environment in the classroom. We started this study with a trip to the grocery store. More to come later.
In my 3rd grade class, I have 7 GT students. Like, Acevedo I tried the alternate activities/learning menu. I offered it to all the kiddos rather than just the GT ones. I had great results. The kids loved it and they even began adding things to it and coming up with interesting projects. I find with time constraints that this is done for the early finishers. So some kids never have time. The time is the biggest barrier. I also have inquiry groups, they decide on what to study and what the end product is. A group right now chose to research and study cancer. They are so invested in it and are going a thousand miles a minute (intensity).
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ReplyDeleteWhen I was in CISD teaching intermediate, we relied very heavily on independent study as a means of educating our GT students. In fact, all students were required to complete one independednt study each year. This was a very sussessful program as it challenged the students in areas that were high interest to them, however it required organization on both the student and the teacher's part.
ReplyDeleteThis year, I am teaching elementary and I have not quite figured out how to implement IS especially given that the students miss a day for SPIRAL pull-out.
I am interested in trying a learning menu for my elementary students, as mentioned by melwelsh. I think that might provide a transition for my students from guided learning to a much more independent system that they will hopefully experience as mature gifted learners (we can always hope, huh!?!).
ReplyDeleteKinder kids learn so much in nature. I always have butterfly hatch each spring and this year we have tadpoles. They spark interest in these kids as they observe the metamorphis which leads to art work, writing, reading, and investigation.
ReplyDeleteCommenting on what sutterr said...
ReplyDeletewhat a great way to learn about dinosaurs and teach non-fiction/research to study dinosaurs. The kids have choice in what dinosaurs to learn about and have to answer a burning question which creates curiosity and intensity.
Independent study can be a natural part of daily classroom life. I think this kind of learning is essential for all learners (not just gifted). Once students see that questioning what they read, see, and hear is essential to growing and learning, they are naturally driven to seek answers. Teachers can cultivate this by modeling how he/she seeks answers.
ReplyDeleteAt the fourth grade level, I start this kind of independent learning by showing how I set out to learn more about something in which I am interested. I choose a topic of interest and begin a search for info. Posing questions while I read pieces of text from several sources, I show how reading to answer my original quest ionsleads to more questions. We then spend time labeling our questions so that kids can see how to sort and organize their quests. ( this is a research question...I will need to seek out literature on this...I can talk or have a discussion with an expert about this.... I can share this information with a friend and see what they think about it..) Throughout the year, topics of interest come up naturally. We recently explored a series of articles about archeological digs. I had not planned this as a unit, but as we were reading an article about some pyramids and what treasures they held, the questions came flying out, so we set up groups to find out more.
I have found that there are some struggles with this. Sometimes, it is difficult to find structure in such a lazy river kind of learning. What is important is that students understand what is expected from this: 1. quality research that leads to increased knowledge in a topic 2. Organized inquiry that can be communicated to peers so that we can learn from each other.
As a music specialist currently teaching kindergarten and first grade students, I had not considered independent studies of this type. Previously, however, I have included independent projects in my junior high general music classes which met daily for nine weeks. It does take a great deal of organization, but provides excitement and enhancement of the learning environment that is wonderful to experience.
ReplyDeleteIn response to weberp, I too, was intrigued by the concept of 'unschooling.' However, I do not see how we could merge that concept with all the present curriculum requirements. And, I do not think our curriculum is a bad thing. But I do believe we must endeavor to strike a balance.
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