Providing a differentiated curriculum for gifted students in the
mainstream and regular classroom - ideas and work samples to help you get
started.
9:30 Saturday, Raybould Theatre
June O'dell
If all children are to
achieve their full potential then schools, teachers and the Department of
Education must work together to provide the best possible learning environment.
We've had lots of theory and written documents but now we need the practise.
Teachers not only need some training but written units of work with work
samples that demonstrate very clearly how to provide a differentiated
curriculum.
Most participants at this
conference would be very aware of the needs of Gifted children and have all
done a lot of work in trying to meet those needs. Unfortunately for many
practising classroom teachers with the best will in the world - large class
numbers, an overcrowded curriculum, demands to write individual programmes for
slow learners and bureaucratic paperwork - this becomes a difficult task. Added
to this many teachers in our schools have had little or no training in this
field. Then there are the sceptics. We've all met those. They constantly talk
about elitism, in the academic sense only. It's quite okay to have selection
and specialisation in sport or even cultural activities but not in the academic
field .
In a perfect world it would
be wonderful if all GAT children could work together with children of like
minds and abilities, in a supportive environment using a differentiated
curriculum. In an OC class or GAT class this might be possible but all gifted
children don't have this opportunity. Teachers need training in Gifted
Education just as most teachers have had some training in Special Education for
slow learners. While millions of dollars have been spent in that area very
little has been spent at the other end, by comparison and bright children do
not learn "in spite of their teachers."
How can we provide a
differentiated curriculum for Gat students in a mixed ability classroom without
adding more stress to overworked teachers?
· View two units that can be
used in a mixed ability classroom for all students; units that will meet all
the requirements and outcomes of our state syllabuses but also extend enrich
and enable students to reach their potential. An open-ended unit of this type
that employs all the best GAT strategies, extends all children and identifies
those underachievers who may otherwise have gone unnoticed.
· Unit 1- A Novel Study that
allows children to choose their own book at their reading level and extends
children into critical analysis, performance, technology and exposure to a wide
range of good, quality literature.
· Second Unit: An H.S.I.E.
unit called "Through the Eyes of a Child." It is a history unit using
primary sources and is written from a child's perspective. It traces the rights
of a child through Industrial England, the penal colony of N.S.W. to children
around the world today. It is a very explicitly written unit with all
proformas, resources and outcomes. It uses Krathwohl's Learning Model and asks
the children to internalise and evaluate.
·
Copies of these units will be given to everyone and some children's work
samples shown. Many of the practical activities will be done in the workshop on
the following day.
These are two samples
only of units I have written that can be used by all teachers in a mixed
ability or specialised classroom. They teach children the enabling skills so
that they can locate, present and evaluate their work. This open-ended approach
allows students to choose their preferred learning style, work as part of a
team and bounce ideas off other students.
As GAT co-ordinator at my
school I not only run workshops in Gat strategies but work with teachers and
help them to extend core units of work so they include open-ended activities.
The models above can be incorporated into many core units. Teamwork is
important if you want change.
Is it elitist to have a
special GAT class and what are the advantages?
For the last two years I have
been an O.C. teacher. People in N.S.W. would be familiar with this term. O.C.
classes were established in N.S.W. in the 30's. It is a class for academically
gifted students. Selection is by examination through the schools Selection Unit
in Sydney. About six or seven years ago they were extended to all large country
towns. One school in each area is a centre. At my school I have a class of
thirty children made up of Year 5 and 6 students. They stay with me for two
years. As all my children are above average ability I work on a differentiated
curriculum. Because I am specialising in this area I have the expertise to help
teachers extend their units and the resources and work samples are at my
fingertips.
OC classes aren't elitist.
These children have special needs and they are met in this type of classroom
where they can work with children of similar ability, at their own level, in a
supportive environment. It is a wonderful experience for any teacher to work
with these children. They are demanding and keep you guessing but they are
passionate and caring and give you back so much. As I constantly say to the
children when exhorting them to complete tasks "you get back what you put
into it." This class has become a focal point for many of the GAT
activities across our school.
No-one would question
selecting children to be part of an elite sports group or perform in The Sing
2000 Choir but we still have an ingrained habit in our society of knocking
anything academic as elitist. All parents are happy to tell their friends that
their child is a very fast runner or swimmer but how many would say their child
was very clever?
June
O'dell is Assistant Principal at Toormina Primary
School in N.S.W. She currently teaches an Opportunity Class for Gifted and
Talented students in Years 5 and 6. Entry into this class is by selection
through a series of tests administered by the Schools Selection Unit in Sydney.
June presented a workshop at the National Conference in Brisbane last year and
has run many workshops in her district. She has been actively involved in the
area of Gifted and Talented Education and has written many units of work in all
K.L.A's that cater for the needs of gifted and mainstream students.
Her special areas of interesting the classroom are drama, musicals, creative
writing, H.S.I.E. and English.
Programmes for gifted
students in the mixed ability classroom - a practical workshop
How can the needs of Gifted students be met in a mixed
ability classroom? Withdrawal programmes or workshops and camps certainly
provide stimulation and challenges but these children spend most of their time
in a regular classroom and teachers need to provide programmes of work that
meet all students' needs.
Many teachers do not have the training or time to
write a differentiated curriculum. In this workshop I will show teachers how to
write an open-ended unit that caters for all learning styles and abilities and
integrates many of the key learning areas, with an emphasis on the enabling
skills.
If gifted students are to reach their full potential
they need to be taught the skills necessary to locate, interpret and present
information in a variety of ways, while evaluating and analysing their
findings. Using an open-ended and inquiry approach that teaches these skills
opens many doors. Many children also identify themselves as gifted and talented
as they respond very differently to this approach and no longer present
"dumbed down responses."
I have written many units of work for gifted and
talented students from Years 2-7 using learning models from Taylor, Krathwohl,
Bloom and CoRT Thinking with an emphasis on the enabling and higher order
thinking skills. Using a couple of these units as models, we will discuss their
format and outcomes and then work in groups to try some of the activities
ourselves. Come along and have fun. Write lyrics, perform a Readers Theatre, Do
a Plus Minus Interesting, solve word games or take part in a Polarised Debate
and present your point of view on an issue. (Not compulsory)
High quality samples of children's work will be shown to demonstrate just how
far gifted children can go when allowed to work on challenging open-ended
activities. A short multi media presentation using Power Point and compiled by
a group of Year 6 students will also be shown. Hands on and visual
presentations demonstrate more clearly than the spoken word and as a practicing
classroom teacher I enjoy seeing what children can achieve when given the
skills and opportunity to perform and present.
This is an outline of the workshop only as flexibility is needed to accommodate
different group dynamics. At the conclusion of the workshop participants will
be given a booklet of units that cover many different topics.
Professors Miraca Gross and Eddie Braggett have had a
profound influence on my teaching style and my belief that all teachers must
cater for the Gifted children in their class. One off programmes do not meet
the needs of these children and the oversupply of creative thinking, activity
worksheets are no more than fill in activities that take the children nowhere.
Gifted children need a differentiated curriculum that has purpose and the
opportunity to work with children of a similar ability in a challenging
supportive environment.
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