This is a professional development blog. We'll be discussing books we read as a group. Our discussions will be focused on gifted children.
Chapter 1 pg 1&2. I have given a few dinner parties in my life and when I read the first 2 pgs of Chpt 1 this all just clicked for me. You go to all the trouble of planning the meal without even thinking about your guests special dietary needs. This is when the light bulb came on for me. We need to treat our students the same way they ALL are different and they ALL have different needs.
On page 7, about the middle of the page, "When gifted students discover during elementary school that they can get high praise for tasks or projects they complete with little or no effort, they may conclude that being smart means doing things easily." This made an impact because I have noticed how some students, when appropriately challenged, tend to want to quit because it is supposed to be easy for them.
Brollins wrote about special dietary needs--and forgetting them in planning. I can relate because I have special dietary needs. It is so wonderful when people have taken it in consideration.That is true that we need to treat our students with an eye for differentiation.
I liked that the first chapter stated very clearly who this book is for. Who should read it (pg 3). One of my classes that I took at UH focused on differentiating in your classroom, so I am familiar with many of the concepts BUT am unsure where to begin. The first chapter made me feel welcome and that I can do it. I am excited that this book will help me to get started!
The statement on page 7 “Underachievement results from the one-size-fits-all curriculum” seems to be the most important. GT students figure out very quickly that they can get the easy “A” with little or no effort. The GT classes need to be structured to be challenging, not everything should be easy. Students learn more by allowing them to fail and correct their work, than when they get the easy grade.
pg. 5: A plan with differentiated experiences could accommodate the wide range of learner needs. My ah-ha about this is my recent love of same subject, but different leveled reading material. For instance, I have 3 levels of material on Clara Barton. This can be used as gradually harder material, or I can give out 3 different levels of reading material to work on. But we will all be able to discuss and learn about the same content.
I can really relate to this chapter in that I was always picky as a child. I still to this day always have specifications when ordering at a restuarant. On page 2 when the book talked about just eating or starving, I understood and connected that the kids need choices that meet their needs. These choices can be set up in a fashion that are acceptable to the teacher.
On page 9, the book mentions that "differentiation and assessment are two of the hottest topics in education today." As we have gone through many trainings, we keep learning about differentiation and how we should implement in in our classrooms, but little is done to show us how. On the same page, it also says "ongoing opportunities to make continuous progress." In my classroom, having such a wide range of ability levels, I felt overwhelmed at the idea of trying to come up with different lessons for everyone. It sounds good in theory, but in practice is very overwhelming. While reading Ch. 1 and trying some different things in class, it is not as difficult or as time consuming as it seems.
The quote in the margin on page 6, "Remember, the brain responds positively to novelty and challenge." provided a bit of affirmation for something I have been experimenting with this semester. I have been trying to use technology as much as possible in the social studies classroom, but in doing this it is very easy to wear something out, i.e., doing a google apps presentation, a PhotoStory, or an essay. However, at the same time, I fear changing things up to much too often because it might cause the students to feel overwhelmed or like they never really achieve proficiency in a previously introduced/use skill/technology. This quote combined with classroom observations alleviated some of my fear. It seems that periodically introducing new technological applications, web 2.0 tools, etc. create interests and engagement that students appreciate and challenge that they need....especially our most able students.
On page 10 and 11, the idea that a pretest is a map, the formative test is a detour and the postest is a measure of success is a reminder to focus on assessing kids at many points durign a lesson/unit rather than teaching to a prescribed curriculum. When planning, it can be easy to lose sight of how the lesson/unit will work for each student. Rushing to "get through curriculum" we may be moving on before a student is ready, or on the flip side, if the curriculum dictates review of a concept, we may feel that we need to reteach and revisit ideas even when the students already have a firm grasp on the concepts.
This chapter brought me back to when I first started working in Spring Branch in the mid '70's. At that time "continuous progress" (p.3)was the phrase applied to how students were assessed and moved through the curriculum. I like the way this chapter makes the case for differentiation to be the avenue through which all students continue to progress, including those that are the most academically capable. I also thought the research cited on p.6 that showed how brain capacity increases with challenge was pretty interesting.
I love to cook and usually spend part of my Sunday planning out my menu for the week and organizing my grocery list. I really liked how to book on p.1-2 compared planning for your lesson to planning for a dinner party. In any given classroom there are so many different levels, interests, and student needs that all need to be addressed during each lesson. It is important to get to know the needs of your students, just like you would the guests at your party, so every student will enjoy and grow from the lesson.
The part that spoke to me was on page 6, where it stated “Children learn more quickly when the learning experience is made relevant to them.” In my experience as a mom and as a teacher, I have found that when kids don’t have an interest in what is going on in the classroom, they don’t give it their all. When they are invested in what is being taught or have choice in how they show their learning, the quality of work produced is much higher. My own son has shown this numerous times and I’ve become “that parent” who lets the teacher know what my son needs or pointed out ways to make it more interesting to him. I think teachers and parents alike need to be aware of kids’ needs and interests when planning. Intentional differentiation is really the key to making a difference with our students.
In response to question #1, the passage on p.3 made a significant impact when it stated very plainly that students of all ability levels need to make continuous progress. I was glad to see the point made that making modifications to the curriculum ensured continuous progress being made for the learner who needs more time and modifications, as well as the advanced learner who needs more depth and complexity
scentanni talked about making the choices acceptable to the teacher. What a great idea! As the teacher, you can make the choices something interesting to the students and something that works for you as well. Choices that work for everyone! love it!
In response to question #1, there is discussion in the text regarding the three factors that work against differentiating. As stated on page 5, "The number one reason is time." This is so true for me. It is often difficult to differentiate for every student, in every subject, every day. Differentiation is a powerful method for instruction, but when I first tried to implement the process, I was overwhelmed. I found it best to start with one subject area and become proficient with the process before tackling another subject. I admit, I still find "time" to be a significant enemy to differentiation, but I now feel much more confident.
s. acevedo talked about how the brain responds well to novelty and change. I find this especially true in children. I love trying new things with them and seeing how they process and manuever with new "tools", such as the web 2.0 tools and the new technology that has been introduced into schools. They are so much more receptive to the changes than the adults! Why do you suppose that is? And what can we do to change it?
I really liked the analogy of the dinner party (pages 1 and 2). I’ve always understood the why of differentiating, but this just really put it in such a new light that made it all really make sense to me in a way that I’d never thought of before. Also, on page 3, about halfway down the page, it says “basic differentiation is concentrated on making modifications to the curriculum rather than writing curriculum that differentiates.” This makes a lot of sense to me, and seems much more manageable time-wise.
The comment that resonates with me is found on page 3 of the chapter where the author states that the purpose of the book is to "remove the learning ceiling and allow each student to make continuous progress". The part that I struggle with in teaching science K-5 is that I always know where that ceiling is for the grade level I am teaching and I limit the kids from going above because I don't want them to step on another grade level's curriculum. My question I have is "What's wrong with that?" I need to not limit my students when they are in the science lab so that authentic learning can take place for all students and I do not have students that are bored or causing problems because they are not challenged.
Melanie I think you bring up a good point about not forgetting them in planning. Even though you talk about special dietary needs I think that we often forget a special group of students in our planning. We are so good about planning for our below level students, but often forget the GT students in our planning and later say - Oh they can just do this activity. We need to put as much focus on planning for them so that true differentiation can happen in the classroom.
I had not thought about what Chapter 1 mentions on p. 7 "without appropriately challenging learning opportunities, underachievement set in and becomes very difficult to reverse." By not challenging these kids we are creating what potentially could be lifelong habits that undermine their success, inhibit them reaching their full potential. We are not teaching them the skills necessary to become problem solvers, to overcome adversity, and to push forward and ask questions and attain strategies that could lead to great discovery.
response to mcushing...I have found myself in the same situation, not wanting to explore certain areas or strategies because I know they "belong" to a certain grade level. It is a little ridiculous, why wouldn't we want to allow children to explore beyond what they already know? This is only going to strengthen the foundation for further learning and create a richer more diverse classroom where students can learn from each other.
A good start for me is internalizing the three questions leading to differentiation, from page 9. Roberts and Inman identify directional questions to guide "you to the road of continuous progress for your students".Those questions are: The planning question, the preassessing question and the differentiation question. Later, the authors state that "without the first two steps, differentiation is whimsical....Effective instruction is intentional." I want to find the resources to make this possible for my students.
Melanie (Feb 2, 4:28) wrote about three levels of materials on Clara Barton. This reminds me of some new elementary science texts publishers are coming out with, first grade through fifth grade level texts about cell structures or other topics. They are excellent. Materials like these on hand would help ease the resource problem I mentioned in the previous posting.
I agree with the sentiments that Rebecca J (4:54)makes about being overwhelmed with starting differentiation. Starting with one subject makes so much sense. Math materials seem to more easily allow for deeper thinking and processing with number problems. Reading more advanced texts might suffice. I SOUND whimsical. I really need to find time for the planning (my time) and preassessing (our time)in classroom instruction.
The dinner party analogy was fantastic. It was completly accurate in its comparison with a typical classroom. I think that on the first day back from summer, it would be great for principals to read this section to their falculties. It made me as a teacher want to try harder to meet the needs of all of the different students in class. It really motivated me to want to be better!
I think the most interesting thing of Chapter one is the fact that they have to write it. Being an educator, I just assumed you would differentiate that classroom curriculum even for the basic purpose of controlling behaviors. -If you have bored children, you usually have disruptive children. I also feel as an educator that I get bored doing whole lectures and routines day after day. Having a differentiated classroom allows me to stay motivated by seeing my students challenged with concepts and succeeding.
I agree with S. Acevedo comment about technology in the classroom and then the over use of it. While using the Activ boards in the classroom are a new/cool item for the students, they can also take away a lot of good learning techniques. One that comes to mind is the use of the boards in Math as the manipulatives. Yes, the boards are great in manipulating objects, shapes, and numbers but when (on the older boards) only one student can use it at a time it then becomes an individual’s tool. Students that have already mastered the skill are then left not being able to use the boards as much since they are doing an alternative activity and the teacher needs the board to reinforce the concepts to the others.
On page three,the sentence that really hit home with me was " For experienced teachers, that means taking a unit intentionally designed to meet the needs, interests, or abilities and "tweaking it" a bit. In my teaching career, I have learned to do this yearly. I am always adjusting projects/ideas to meet the needs of my present class, and going back into my routines to "tweak" them and give them a new spin. I believe it makes you a better teacher when you can take an old idea and refresh it with new thoughts- the kids like to give me suggestions on tweaking lessons too. Try it!You might like it.
I agree with M. Cushing's comment about there really shouldn't be any "ceiling" to where we teach. If we never stretch the kid's thinking- they get in a rut. They like to conquer a challenge and I've incorporated more open ended questioning to my lessons, and the kids are finding "TAKS" like questions easier to answer because they have thought the question through before hand and know their stuff. Challenge away, Mr. C!!!
RE: Melscales...You are SO right in your statement about students being so much more receptive to the changes than the adults! Why do you suppose that is? And what can we do to change it? My first guess to why adults may be a little less receptive is because it is a "change"...change can be difficult and a little bit scary. As far as changing this, not sure about a cure all, but something interesting has happened this year in our department. I was a part of one the teams that were awarded one the the PTL grants and we acquired mini laptops and Wii systems for our classrooms. These devices have revolutionized the classroom experience for both our students and us. However, in the beginning, especially in the idea stage of the grant, it was obvious that many people were not buying into our ideas or convinced that we would have any success. They supported us and were polite, but...there was always the lingering "but" or "we'll see". Some of our closest colleagues openly admit that they are tech illiterate and that technology overwhelms them to the point of complete and total disinterest. However, something amazing has happened. It seems that our success with the devices has had a positive effect on some of our colleagues attitudes and fears regarding educational technology. There has been VALUE in being able to see this in action in a classroom with similar students to their own. Professional development is necessary and essential, but I do not think it is going to bring about any change in receptiveness in those who seem to fear or dislike technology. This experience has caused me to believe being able to observe classrooms (similar to one's own) in which technology is being used successfully is an excellent way to try make using technology in the classroom more palatable for teachers.
I agree with Sara Russa.....she said that in her classroom she has a wide range of ability levels and feels overwhelmed at the idea of trying to come up with different lessons for everyone. I feel this books is going to give us some tools that will helps us with those overwhelming feelings.
I agree with susanm and all the others here who related to the dinner party analogy used in Chapter 1. If we don’t take the needs and preferences of our students into consideration when making our plans, it would not be any wonder if many of them had no appetite for learning!
p.4 All teachers have a Walker in their midst and have the challenges of how to motivate this type student. I work with these students on a daily basis and one of the key elements is developing a relationship of trust, building self esteem, ownership, and confidence by giving choices in the way he learns best. Melscales said, "a teacher has to make good choices and learning is revelant to the student." Differentiation is the key to Walker's success in the way he learns by making accommodations and content modifications for his learning. This is very challenging because as a teacher we also feel the frustration and anxiety of stress just as the student. So a comfortable teaching environment must be created, planning time alloted so that differentiation can be effective and rewarding so the Walker's can be successful with continous learning and on-going progress.
At the bottom of page six and continuing onto page seven, the authors discuss the concept of fairness: “Fair is when every child has the opportunity to participate in learning experiences that allow for continuous progress.” This really spoke to me as someone who was bored a lot in class and even now in some professional development sessions. You can only hear so much about a certain topic before it gets old. The ‘continuous progress’ piece is a new slant for me; I’d never heard it defined quite that way. Everyone has the right to continuous progress in their learning, but no two people’s continuous progress is the same.
Katie K. mentioned that some students who are used to material being easy will give up when presented with more of a challenge. I had a GT student several years ago who exceled in reading and math (with minimal effort), but struggled with narrative writing. Frequently, he simply refused to write, rather than accept the challenge of organizing his ideas in a written format. This attitude frustrated both him and me. He admitted that he was afraid of failing. We eventually discovered stategies to help alleviate some of this pressure and allow him to experience success. As an educator, this case reminded me that raising the bar is necessary for all students, and even our smartest students have weak areas.
The statement on page 7, "without appropriately challenging learning opportunties, underachievements sets in and becomes very difficult to reverse", really caught my eye. It takes work on our part as educators, but it's what is best for kids. Children who aren't challenged, struggle with working hard and I feel that just sets them up for failure in the future.
Christa...I agree with you about the dinner party analogy. The anology is one that everyone can relate to and helps teachers realize that one plan won't fit all. Spring Branch has such a diverse group of kids with so many abilities and challenges.
At melscales: I completely am in agreement with your comment that children learn more when things are made relevant. As and adult in staff development, I understand what some students are going through if the content is not made relevant to me or challenging. Sometimes I feel as if presenters think that we are children and teach us at that level. I also like when things are made relevant to me. It makes things much more exciting and interesting and feel like investing more time into the subject.
I really liked the dinner party metaphor. I can especially appreciate it because I do not really cook much, but when I find something easy I can make that tastes pretty good, I make it over and over again. Many teachers find something they are comfortable with and do it over and over again. I feel teachers should have a huge bag of strategies that they can pull from to change things up. For example, my students like working on a webquest, but would not want to do them every day of the year. On page 2, “Think how much more successful the lesson would have been for everyone if the teacher had questioned herself about the learners”, this is simple, yet so true. It does take time, but my most successful lessons are ones that I take the time to think about my students’ strengths, likes, and personalities. Chapter one says that many teachers feel they don’t have to differentiate for GT kids because they will naturally rise to the occasion. I feel sorry for these students because they have often been under challenged and overlooked.
s. acevedo- I can completely relate to your dilemma. When the students get excited about a project or a new technology, it is hard to not go overboard with it. I try and change things up, but the old “power point” is very comfortable. I feel the active boards we now have in the classroom has really helped get active participation from every student. I do have to work on not letting a few students “hog” some of the components of the lesson. It is a challenge to have the shyer kids step up and participate.
What made an impact on me was from Chapter 1 was the excellent analogy of the dinner one dish wonder and differentiation. Never before have I heard it explained like that! On page 3, the authors note that differentiation is basically making modifications to the present curriculum…not writing new curriculum. So, just like at the dinner party, you might still have the same basic dish, but in order to differentiate for your guests, you can easily tweak it to meet the needs of the guests…provided you know their needs. Really knowing your students is absolutely necessary for authentic differentiation to happen.
Corrin, I think you hit the nail on the head when you talk about teachers doing what is comfortable to them over and over again. I agree with you that we need to use a variety of strategies, just as we expect our kids to. For example, in problem solving, it frustrates me when my students believe that every problem is "guess and check" rather than bringing in new strategies that they don't perhaps like as much or don't have as much of a comfort level using, such as making a table.
In response to Rebecca J.-I like that you mentioned that it was scary for both of you. I think letting students know our thoughts and feelings is just as important so they know they aren't alone. Way to stick with it and get your student to challenge him/herself.
I was struck by the comment on page 7 "When gifted students discover during elementary school that they can get high praise for tasks or projects they complete with little or no effort, they may conclude that being smart means doing things easily." Having had GT students in my 3rd grade class for several years, I saw many enter 3rd with the idea that work wasn't a requirement. Since third grade is a challenge for all students, many received lower grades until they realized they needed to step up to a new challenge. Now in second grade I experienced a similar reaction with a GT student who did not want to show his work on benchmarks. So we made an agreement. After doing it his way and getting an unacceptable grade he is now willing to try my strategies on more complex problems.
I agree with Rebecca's comment about some students being strong in some areas and really weak in others. This is a challenge with all students, not just the GT students. It seems human nature often wants to follow the path of least resistance. Also, although I liked the dinner party analogy, it is important not to overwhelm students with too many approaches and too many strategies. Pacing is important also.
Patrice T, I agree with your comments about continuous learning. I can relate to your own learning experiences. I know as a teacher I have a lot more fix-up strategies than I do acceleration strategies for my higher kids. I hope this book will give me some new ideas.
I agree with melscales and s.acevedo that children's brains do seem to respond more to novelty and change that adults' brains. This is wonderful to watch, and presents both a challenge and an opportunity for educators. I think we forget sometimes that for kids the opportunity for novelty in any given day is always out there, and they are quicker to take notice when it presents itself. At the same time, if they experience something more than once they see it as "something we always do", and can settle in with it quite comfortably. I think that is why, although they enjoy technology they do not see it as 'novel' in the way adults do. After a few experiences with a new piece of technology we look at it as something new - they incorporate it into 'normal' life.
Clearly, one size does not fit all whether in clothes or during the learning process of students with varying level of knowledge. The term “continuous progress” sets the stage for life long learners and is used numerous times in the first chapter. Found on page 3 is a statement that resonates truth with me, “basic differentiation is concentrated on making modifications to the curriculum rather than writing curriculum that differentiates.”
loliver…I could not agree with you more! It is refreshing to hear an educator understand the importance of challenging educational material for those identified gifted. If students breeze through the classroom lessons with little to no effort then what service are we providing to meet their educational needs.
p.1-2 I liked the comment that Christa said about the analogy of the fantastic dinner and how it relates to the typical classroom. I also liked the one-dish dinner that One-Size-Fits-All. The cook finds the greatest recipe and prepares it with all the perfect ingredients thinking all will enjoy the meal. This is often what happens in our classroom when we prepare to teach a unit and do not account for the differences in our styles of learning and ability levels. So we target the middle and do not differentiate the lessons so that students are not allowed to have continous progress in their learning. So one-size-fits-all is not challenging to them and they don't become effective learners.
I agree with Jeanne’s response about how students of all abilities need continual progress, and how that can be supported through differentiation—both for the learner who perhaps needs more time/less problems assigned, or for the learner who needs to delve deeper into the curriculum.
What made an impact on you from Chapter 1? Be sure to reference page numbers. The most impacting statement was that many of the "reasons offered for not differentiating are based on teacher needs and beliefs or the teacher's lack of preparation to differentiate" (pg. 5). That is so true and quite a wake-up call. These reasons are pretty selfish, and furthermore, if a teacher does not take the time to differentiate, they are wasting everyone's time. Just like it says in Chapter 1, "one-size-fits-all" does not work! Teachers need to remember this and need to remember that putting forth the ground work, which is time-consuming and daunting, is the only way to truly impact the student's learning.
I really like what Wanda Lewis said about "the key elements are developing a relationship of trust, building self esteem, ownership, and confidence by giving choices in the way he learns best." This is just sums up the foundation of teaching that truly impacts students to become life-long learners.
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