There is something to be said about being average. I had the pleasure of being an average learner
at a Denapalooza event in Boise this past weekend.
What is average you ask?
Here is the best explanation I have heard. Think about a Bell Curve. The average is the highest point of the Bell
Curve. The average is dead center. When we think of gifted people we look at the
people who are on high end of the curve, or the far right. You might note that those on the far left are
equal distance from the midline as those on the far right. In school, those on the left qualify for
special education services and if a child on the right side is lucky, there
school provides gifted education services for those students who need
them. I use the word need here because
if you fold the Bell Curve in half, both students are equal distance from the middle,
or average student. Both sides are
entitled to services because we are part of a system, out of necessity, that
teaches to the middle.
I experienced being in the middle this past weekend and it
was glorious. I was fully engaged and
learning from those around me as an attendee at the Denapalooza event. I was a speaker and shared what I knew with the
audience and loved every minute, but the highlight was getting to hang out with
people who knew more about technology than I did. I love being around really bright people,
especially in my area of passion which is technology. I learned about using green screen technology
to do videos in the classroom, how to organize a classroom so every student is
working at their own level, and we even delved into creating our own apps to
share with the world. Now that really
intrigues me.
I came home feeling like I had really learned a lot. There is something to be said for attending
events and coming away with new and exciting ideas and opportunities. This is the kind of learning out gifted students
may rarely experience. They know over
half of the material when they walk into the classroom and when they do not
know something, they can learn it in 1-2 repetitions. As an average learner, I was fully engaged
and taking notes like crazy as those around me shared what they were doing in
their classrooms. How do we give this
kind of opportunity to our gifted children and help them to have the best
experience ever as a learner? I believe
it boils down to 5 things.
1.
We come
alongside our students as an ally. This means that we are a servant teacher, one
that practices the art of Servant Leadership and puts the needs of the students
first.
2.
We are adaptable
to the needs of the students. In gifted
education this comes in the form of differentiation. Differentiating as much of the curriculum as
possible to meet the learners where they are in the learning process. It also means that we are willing to adapt
our own view of education and allow ourselves to be both a teacher and a
learner.
3.
We are architects
of the student’s learning. We know how
to build learning experiences that are at just the right level of readiness for
our students, in their zone of proximal development. We know how to structure learning so it is
engaging and builds on a student’s strengths and interests.
4.
We are resource
aggregators. We know how to pull the
best print, digital, and human resources together to meet the needs of the students. As my friend Ginger Lewman likes to say the
teacher is not “the source, but a resource.”
5.
Finally, we must promote autonomy. We will not always
be able to be alongside the student so we need to teach them how to learn on
their own, promoting lifelong learning.
This is not always easy, but it is always necessary.
My bog is going to focus on these 5 areas as it relates to
teaching, learning, gifted education, and 21st century learning
tools. When I mention the idea of an
educator as an adaptable ally, who
is willing to aggregate resources to
create a learning architecture that
promotes autonomy, the idea can be awesome
and overwhelming, all at the same time.
We are going to break it down through a series of blogs and trainings
that will help you to see the whole picture and how to accomplish it. In the meantime, what strategies are you
currently using to educate the gifted learners in your life? If you are a gifted person, what strategies
work for you? Please leave your ideas below.
I would also like to send you a personal invitation to friend
us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, join us on Pinterest and learn from us on
Youtube. We look forward to you becoming part of the ingenuity we are sharing with educators
everywhere.
