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CREATING ORDER OUT OF CHAOS: Teaching Life Skills Through Project Work. with examples from a unit on African American Heroes. Christy Folsom Lehman College, City University of New York NAGC 2009 St. Louis. Life and Chaos Gifted Students & Project-based Curriculum
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CREATING ORDER OUT OF CHAOS:Teaching Life Skills Through Project Work with examples from a unit on African American Heroes Christy Folsom Lehman College, City University of New York NAGC 2009 St. Louis
Life and Chaos Gifted Students & Project-based Curriculum Life Skills: Intellectual and Social Emotional Skills TIEL Curriculum Design Wheel Examples from a Project-Based Unit: African-American Heroes
Claude Levi-Strauss, Anthropologist Chaos of Discovery and Learning
What life skills help us make order out of chaos? • Observation • Making connections to prior experience • Self-direction • Decision making, planning, and evaluation • Logical thinking • Creative thinking • Risk-taking • Flexibility • Empathy • Ethics • Perseverance—don’t give up
GIFTED CHILDREN and PROJECT WORK
What do we know about gifted learners? • Question and wonder • Solve problems • Autonomy • Choice • Hands-on • Doing • Pursue interests • Work with learners similar to themselves • Work alone • Need intellectual challenges and social emotional support
What is Project-Based Curriculum? How does project learning meet the learning needs of many gifted students?
Project-based Curriculum a unit of study centered on a student project that features opportunities for students to
Pursue interests • Learn (and teach) rigorous content • Develop research skills • Make choices • Learn self-management skills of setting criteria, making decisions, planning, and self-evaluation • Do hands-on creative work • Develop perseverance and willingness to work hard • Solve problems • Utilize a broad range of intellectual skills • Develop qualities of character through individual or collaborative work
LIFE SKILLS INTELLECTUAL and SOCIAL EMOTIONAL
How do we explicitly teach life skills through project work? • By including a broad range of intellectual skills • By including qualities of character (social emotional skills)
Social Emotional Thinking
A Synthesis John Dewey J.P. Guilford
Joining the Two Dewey Guilford
A UNIT OF STUDY: AFRICAN-AMERICAN HEROES
PROBLEM SOLVING MAKE ORDER OUT OF CHAOS
The Final Project DRAMATIZATION Heroes Conference RESEARCH and WRITTEN BIOGRAPHY August 8, 1866 In a cabin near Nanjemoy, Charles County, Maryland. Matthew Alexander Henson, born of Lemuel Henson's second wife. He is Lemuel Henson's 3rd child. TIMELINE
TIEL Curriculum Design Wheel Teaching for Intellectual and Emotional Learning
What characteristics could Davon learn from Adam Clayton Powell’s life? How could Raylene explore her interest in science through studying Mae Jemison? Would getting to know Jacob Lawrence help Henry recognize his artistic talents? What would Maya learn about her leadership abilities from studying Shirley Chisholm?
Jennie as Marian Wright Edelman Civil Rights Worker Lawyer Founder, Children’s Defense Fund Author
Teacher It feels so much more natural and wholesome in a way. The kids can be swept up in it…I’m not always dragging them on this heavy sled. Stacy 4th grade teacher
Students Out of all of these [thinking operations], the seasick thinking makes you the most…..SICK! Harry 4th grade student …without decision making, planning, and evaluating, projects would not come together. It would be like a “snake without a spine.” Raya, 4th grade student
Sometimes it feels like you are AROUND that thinking.
Dr. Christy Folsom TIEL Institute 446 Central Park West 7A cfolsom@TIELinstitute.com 212 865 0366 Lehman College, CUNY 250 Bedford Park W. Bronx, NY 10468 ctfolsom@gmail.com