In order to understand how to use technology with gifted learners, one must first know what a gifted learner is. The Association for Bright Children of Ontario (ABC Ontario) defines giftedness as:
"...an unusually advanced degree of general intellectual ability that requires differentiated learning experiences of a depth and breadth beyond those normally provided in the regular school program to satisfy the level of educational potential indicated."
Furthermore, ABC Ontario defines bright as:
"...one who has the potential for unusual accomplishment in any of several areas, including intellectual and creative ability, musical, artistic and athletic performance and social and leadership skills."
Given that gifted and bright learners are generally (but not solely) perceptive, inquiring, creative, exploratory and original, the implementation of technology would be beneficial as it would foster these gifts, talents and passions that these learners possess; thus, deepening and/ or broadening understanding of concepts, and empowering these students to communicate their understandings in rich and powerful ways to a potentially mass audience, which, in turn, provides authenticity to the learner.
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ReplyDeleteI've always been a little leery of classifying students by ability, mainly because I have a son with Down syndrome who has been given some exclusive choices that were as much designed to keep him from slowing down some other kids, as they were for his own benefit. That aside, I do think we need to nurture talent wherever we find it, and starting out with your definition helps sort out where we can look to find it.
I'm with you. Let's see where we can go with this and where technology can help!
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ReplyDeleteClassifying students can certainly be a defining moment in a child's life (good or bad). The key is what do we do with that classification. In Saskatoon Public Schools, we are fortunate to have congregated settings for the academically talented (AcTal) for grades 5-8 in two schools. These classrooms provide a safe and understanding environment for like-minded learners to share their ideas and collaborate with each other.
Unfortunately, gifted education is under fire in North America (see Maclean's article "The Death of Gifted Education" http://bit.ly/449Qdm), and there are not always places for gifted and bright learners to congregate. In this case, it is up to the classroom teacher to differentiate instruction for the gifted student. This poses many problems: lack of PD and understanding of gifted learners, not enough time to prepare for the plethora of learning styles and abilities in classes of thirthy-some students, and the social stigma of being "the smart kid." As many teachers I have surveyed about this say, students often don't want to do "seperate projects," and would prefer to just be bored in what they do. This is a sad statement, and shouldn't be that way, but it is.
Ideally, a "regular" classroom full of students of varying abilities and talents should accomodate all students. However, this would likely take a systematic overhaul of how things are taught and learned (not to mention a change in physical environment, resource use, collaboration with staff, etc.). This can be done, and the method that I propose is technology! This should be done by way of creating with the tech tools that we have (or could have), not just rewarding fast work with playing video games.
If you are a teacher with a gifted student, reflect on how you can differentiate with technology for gifted students. Don't just give a different project for one student, design it so that everyone can work to their strengths. However, you also need to understand the gifted learner, and be willing to accept that he or she does not need to do exactly what everyone else in the class does.