GT: Getting There a Different Way: Learning Personalized

As a child, I sat in my various classrooms, bored, distracted and often inquisitive, asking my annoyed teachers to explain and justify everything, especially science. I have Dyslexia so my brain does not process nor assimilate new information or old data for that matter, the way other brains do. During the 1970's this was not a diagnosed affliction, we Dyslexics were merely placed in a category of special education without any strategies for success put into place. Those who believed they knew best simply stuck us in rooms and gave us a lot of simple handouts they felt we needed and could keep us busy. It wasn't long before those worksheets were not enough to keep me busy for long. I was always an advanced student but was treated as if there was something wrong with me. When I became a teacher I knew that in the field of advanced curriculum, gifted-talented, whatever it is called in individual states, this is what I needed to be teaching because this is how my brain works.

Unfortunately growing up, when the powers that be finally realized I was advanced, the field of gifted education was about more work not better design. Harder assignments just to be more challenging not more challenging to push student limits and get them to be more independent. Even today, sad to say, I see many GT classrooms only differentiated by the fact that they write longer papers, read more articles, and have more projects. Not more student-centered, original or personalized, merely harder for the sake of being harder or longer and more time-consuming assignments. I want to change this, step by step, blog by blog, Tweet by Tweet I want to spread the word about student-centered classrooms and how by having them differentiation and personalized learning is the norm and rather than having more work it is simply more personal therefore more interesting, relevant and creative. Student-centered classrooms are all about GT not gifted and talented but getting there in your own personal way.

The words take-risks, fail fast, keep moving forward are all words integrated into our student-centered classroom. They are the cornerstones but a student-centered classroom would not be possible without a few implementations: Flexibility, resilience, rigor and personal growth. Grades need to be pushed to the background and the focus needs to be on accomplishment, goal setting and reflection. It can be nerve-wrecking for sure to give control over to your students. But it is necessary. Do not sit at home and plan a lesson from beginning to end, preparing for every contingency, because you never will be able to do so. At the beginning of the week my students and I discuss our plan for the following week and how we want to begin the week strong. This discussion takes about 20 minutes every Monday, but it is invaluable. I write the vocabulary and standards on the board and we "unpack" them looking at the action verbs and expectations for mastery. Then I always ask them one question: What can I do to help you teach yourself this content? They give me great ideas- activities using the makerspace, labs (some far fetched, I do have some veto power) but most of their ideas are creative, visual, authentic and collaborative. While some are more independent and individualized. They agree on the main path the "community" is taking and they have options to add or alter depending on need and desire.

I was the one who suggested Edcamps and summits. Their eyes focused and they were very intrigued. These basic demonstrations of collaboration became a weekly event through various means: conferences, debates, interactive and formative quizzes, panels of experts and even skits and musical interpretations. I provide the framework and they decide how they want to display and demonstrate their ideas and ultimately become master of the information. Some weeks one table group will have a debate while others a panel. There have been weeks where they chose to just create things with the makerspace or go outside and explore but either way they had a voice and a choice and this made even the most mundane of topics, groundwater, fun and interesting. They made personal aquifers and had a ground water conference to explain how humans impact the water supply. Demonstration of knowledge needs to be personal, open-ended and flexible.

Next year I am taking the interactive word wall to another level I am calling it the EDISON board- Evidence Driving Inquiry and Science Observations Now. The whole back wall of my classroom, blackboard and all, is going to be a blank slate and it will slowly, each unit, become a giant (crime scene board) web of pictures, artifacts, student work, magazine articles, anything and everything, connected by yarn and thumb tacks, tape etc. It is going to be a giant messy, overlapping connection spot where students can move things, add things and eventually step back and see the connections between concepts and ideas, all interpreted and created by them. It will be a process not a location. I will continue my one-minute check-ins and all of the flexible seating adding more options, and create a more calming place to learn. I bought a table Chinese gong that I will use to begin class and transition. I will soften both the lighting and the flow in order for it to be a more comfortable, cozy place in which to immerse into learning. Not a frantic grades based pace but a go with the flow stride. Together all of our classes will be GT, getting their at our own pace: canter, gallop or march. But through personal choice and flexibility every student will feel like they belong to a greater community, have a voice in decision making and control their own learning and personal growth.