Stop, Hammer Time! Drop the Beat for Advanced Learners, Not the Ball

1. Stop, Hammer Time! Drop the Beat for Advanced Learners, Not the Ball https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gbqued-9VQ

2. Hello! • I am Krista Mitchell • Program Facilitator for Gifted • mitchellk@santarosa.k12.fl.us • 850-983-5563

3. A Little Info • More emphasis is put on the lower 1/3-we differentiate for them • The upper 1/3 is the most difficult to show growth • It is often thought that advanced students will learn no matter what so why worry with enrichment for them • Advanced students are early finishers and are used as peer tutors instead of being provided with challenges that help them grow • The term gifted often gets the “eye roll” from many teachers (You’ll understand this in a bit)

4. Let’s Be Real for a Minute • Teachers are in competition • But not the type of competition you are thinking • We are in competition for our students’ attention • Students have so much entertainment available to them today (Gaming Systems, Smart Phones, Smart TVs, Tablets, Music, Movies, etc.) that teachers must find creative ways to grab and hold their attention in the classroom • Why is more emphasis not put on differentiating for Advanced Learners? • Gifted and Advanced Learners can be some of the most challenging • Let’s find out why

5. Gifted vs. Advanced Learners • The difference between gifted and advanced is driven by IQ. • A gifted child must have an IQ of at least 130 in most states. (This is the case in SRCSD.) • This places them in about the top 2% of IQ scores. • Advanced students are usually in the top 20%. • Advanced students may not demonstrate other characteristics associated with gifted children.

6. Characteristics of a Gifted Learner • A Gifted Learner May: • Become frustrated with pace of class and progress • Rebel against routine and predictability • Daydream • Refuse to conform • Be driven by interests • Act out or disturb others or act with intensity • Resist directions or orders • React in super sensitive ways to criticism or cry • Be bossy with classmates • Monopolize class discussion • Not complete work or homework • Not make the best grades • Have asynchronous development • Seek to achieve beyond reasonable expectations • Question everything • Be socially awkward • Exhibit overexcitabilities

7. Characteristics of an Advanced Learner • An Advanced Learner May: • Learn the basics of a topic and be ready to go deeper and move on to more challenging work. • Exhibit a few gifted characteristics, but are not likely to demonstrate most of them the way a gifted child does. • Tend to be the high-achieving teacher and parent pleasers who work hard to get straight A’s. • Not tend to have the “special needs” that a gifted student does. • Thrive off of setting and then achieving goals for themselves. • Be less worried about pursuing their own interests in learning. • Comprehend information at a high level and grasp the meaning of concepts well. • Need to be challenged and thrives best in a rigorous environment. • Have the self-discipline to be successful and will push themselves to meet or exceed expectations. • *Yes, gifted students can display these characteristics as well.*

8. DAUNTING TASK Classroom Teachers Face: - Supporting ALL Learners - ~ Supporting – ALL- Learners ~ Now Let’s See How

9. Spark Curiosity • Create curiosity in your students • Curiosity takes time • Take time to develop the question • Take time to divulge information • Kids are curious unless we train them not to be • Spark questions • Create some confusion • Questions to help you: • What do I show 1st? • Where should I pause? • How much info do I give vs. leave unknown? • Do I let students shout out or write questions? • How long can I stretch anticipation? • What if I make them wait until Monday? • How can I bring the concept into lesson? • “The book of unanswered questions.” – make a notebook of unanswered questions from class, what do I still wonder that we didn’t learn? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjSxrVXsfVM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4QcyW-qTUg Start at 1.22

10. Group Investigation: John Dewey 1859-1952 • Present student with puzzlement • Collect all questions (chart paper, type, write on white board) • What do you notice? What do you wonder? • Create and structure groups of students • Provide students with resources (in advance) • Students investigate the questions • Whole group share • DO NOT assign leftover questions for homework or extra work or you will not get them to ask questions next time you do it Check www.Byrdseed.com for Puzzlements Puzzlements.co- Difficult to pull up on school servers

11. Group Investigation: John Dewey 1859-1952 What do you notice? What do you wonder?

12. 4 Level Framework: James Gallagher and Mary Aschner 1963 Asking Good Questions • Memory: Regurgitating facts. Ex. - Who was our 1st president? • Convergent: Right answer but requires explanation. Ex. – Why was George Washington a great president? • Divergent: Expect not to have 1 right/set answer, hypothetical. Ex. – What if Washington were president during the Civil War? How would Harry Potter have helped or hindered the characters in A Wrinkle in Time? Creative but not fluffy, clearly wrong answers but more open ended • Evaluative: Opinion question but without obvious right answer. Ex. – Who was the better president Lincoln or Washington? Which planet is strangest? Why? Which method of solving a problem is most likely to cause an error? Which planet would Harry Potter most likely visit?

13. Concept Attainment: What’s in My Brain? – Jerome Bruner • 3 examples down one side of chart and 3 non examples down other side of chart • 3 ungrouped examples down the middle that can be moved to different sides of chart • Let them talk about what they think with a partner and write down in notes • The Spectrum of Confusion • Beware of False Patterns – don’t put repetitive or easier patterns • Can students “figure it out” with their background knowledge? • We want students to get it, but not be too obvious!

14. Concept Attainment: What’s in My Brain? – Jerome Bruner • Wash your hands. • Is that fun? • Put away your pencils. Can you name the concept? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeituEngelE

15. Inductive Model - Hilda Taba • Begin with ungrouped examples • Students group examples • Students label and explain groups • Formalize their understanding

16. Inquiry Training – Richard Suchman 1966 • Begin with a puzzlement • Students ask teacher yes/no questions • When ready students create a hypothesis • Teacher confirms or denies • Ex: What’s in the box? • NO GUESSING • After, go back and talk about questions • Which ones helped most or were too broad? • Students are bad at yes/no questions • They want to jump right to a hypothesis

17. Allow Choice • Try to offer more than one way for your students to show what they know and understand. • All of your students will benefit from having more choice in what materials they use and what assignments and projects they will complete. • It's essential for advanced learners, as it allows them to delve deeper into a subject. • Try these adaptations for your strongest students. • Offer a Range of Texts: Advanced students could report on a more difficult book than their peers for a research project. • Ask Deeper Questions:Encourage your students to move from the factual to the conceptual. Instead of just asking for facts, push students to make connections. • Do the Research: Push students, particularly strong learners, to use a variety of texts, websites, blogs, and so forth. • Get Creative:Instead of mandating a product, encourage divergent thinking. In addition to essays, students can express their learning through other forms—poems, collages, podcasts, etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGoJIQYGpYk– Problem Based Learning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crMM4z3oKmQ– Project Based Learning

18. Let Kids Work Together • For advanced learners, working with peers is critical. Social and emotional difficulties diminish when they have opportunities to learn with intellectual peers. • In Pairs:  Students who need more challenges could work together to share their ideas on an assignment that is more complex or involved. • In Groups:  Let advanced students work together in areas where they need the stimulation of intellectual peers (e.g., in literature circle). • Across Classes:  Combine your advanced students across the grade, if possible. Then, you and your colleagues can share responsibilities for monitoring extra projects. • On Projects:  Advanced learners could work on an independent project that is supervised by a parent volunteer or community member.

19. Teach Creatively • Creativity is not about paintbrushes and poems. These students tend to be out-of-the-box learners, so they occasionally need alternative ways to process new concepts and information. Creativity is a way of thinking and an attitude. • In a reading class, for example, you could have your advanced students select a more difficult short story and retell the story’s events from the points of view of different characters. • Consider the following general principles. • Explore: Point out the hidden, less traveled paths and warn against set patterns. • Create: Assign work that requires creative and imaginative thinking. • Envision:Nurture boldness in vision and endeavor. • Support: Support students’ trust in their creative powers. • Improve: Give them opportunities to correct errors, refine visions, improve, and elaborate. • Exhibit: Find venues for students to show, demonstrate, perform, or exhibit.

20. Follow their Interests • Give your advanced students a chance to explore their interests. Follow their curiosity. It’s not always easy or possible in a classroom setting, but any opportunity you have to draw on student interest will greatly aid their growth and learning. • Terrell Bell, former U.S. Secretary of Education, once said, “There are three important things to remember about education. The first one is motivation, the second is motivation, and the third is motivation.” • Student engagement propels authentic learning experiences. • As teachers, we play a critical role not only in encouraging student interests and linking them to the units we’ve planned but also in helping them to discover new interests. • Consider these possibilities. • Offer choice time. • Do student-interest inventories. (you can find these all over the internet) • Have students keep portfolios. • Exhibit student work on the walls, in displays, and through performances.

21. Offer the Most Difficult First • Students who successfully complete the five problems are excused from that night's homework. • "Most Difficult First" is one manageable way for teachers to compact the curriculum for their high-ability students. With compacting, students get to "throw away" the part of the curriculum that they already know, while receiving full credit for those competencies. • This frees up students to work on more challenging content.

22. SCAMPER SCAMPER stands for : Substitute Combine Adapt Maximize/Minimize Put to other uses Eliminate Rearrange/Reverse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8w0rJhztJ4

23. Questions and Survey