Come together: in defence of congregated settings

http://matthewpoyiadgi.com/blog/tags/uk-channel-community/

Lev Vygotsky and other situated cognition theorists believe that "learning in most settings is a communal activity, a sharing of culture" (Bruner, 1986, p.127)  In other words, higher mental processes in humans develop through social interaction.  In the case of gifted and bright students, this community comes in congregated settings, where academically talented students can collaborate with other academically talented students in order to solve problems critically and creatively, and to encourage each other to create on higher ground.  According to Brown et al, collaboration is not just about working together in groups; rather, it enables insights and solutions to arise synergistically (Brown et al, 1989).* 

After surveying a group of grade 6 students in a congregated setting for academically talented students, the results revealed that this type of classroom:

• more projects
• allowed to ask more questions
• more freedom (to be self, choose topics, choose project types)
• not just listening to teacher
• not just about textbooks and rows
• multi-disciplinary
• focus on the 'why' not just the 'how'
• more challenging
• encouraged to 'think different'
• better pace of learning
• more class discussion (and more people actually listen and speak)

This is not to say that students were not being challenged in their mainstream classes; rather, they feel more supported in a congregated setting, and see that they are working together toward a common goal- not just working quickly only to have more work to do upon completion (this is, sadly, often the case for gifted students, who are often given more homework because they finish quickly.  As these students likely understood the concept quickly, doing extra work only bores and frustrates the gifted student; thus decreasing motivation and engagement in learning in that setting).

A video that I like to show my gifted students is Apple's "Think Different" campaign.

My students identified that they made a connection with the message of this video, and that one of the great things about a congregated setting is that this idea is supported and encouraged by staff and peers alike.

Constructivists emphasize collaboration as a critical feature of in the learning environment (Driscoll).  This community of gifted learners in Saskatoon Public Schools outlines their goals as: 

• using an integrated approach to provide learning challenges. As well, opportunities are provided  for students to improve social skills, cooperation, and responsibility. Skills such as critical and creative thinking, synthesis, and analysis are also emphasized.**

Furthermore, as Schwier states, "in the simplest sense, communities are collections of individuals who are bound together for some reason define the boundaries of the communities."*** Looking at the goals of gifted programs in Saskatoon, one can see that Schwier's definition of community supports the need for these programs.

According to a transformative view, "the initiate in new ways of thinking and knowing in education and learning practices is transformed by the process of communication with the cultural messages of others, but so, too, is the other (whether teacher or peer) in what is learned about the unique voice and understanding of the initiate" (Pea, 1994, p. 288- found in Driscoll).  A congregated setting of gifted learners has a unique voice, and it is important to support this voice, and encourage it to be heard.

In order to share their unique voice, gifted students are now afforded more opportunities to communicate and collaborate with other gifted classes around the world.  For example, students could create blogs about a chosen topic and then collaborate with another class in the same city (or perhaps in another city in a different country).  These blogs could then be developed into a number of different projects that would allow students to transform their understanding to higher ground.  Another avenue that a gifted class could take is to communicate online (via Skype, Googledocs, Edmodo, etc.- see my post on creating and collaborating for more suggestions) in order to share ideas with another class (or classes) that is working toward a similar goal.  A colleague asked me how a teacher could line this up and I replied: Twitter!

If we want students to work toward their strengths and passions, and do so in a comfortable and creative environment, then it is imperative that such a classroom exists.  The integration of technology into this setting encourages and allows students to collaborate and create on a higher level, and therefore empowering the unique voice of this community.

Stay tuned...


*Driscoll, M.P. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction. Toronto, ON: Pearson
**http://www.spsd.sk.ca/files/programs/SpecialEducation.pdf
***Schwier, R.A. (2007). A typology of catalysts, emphases and elements of virtual learning communities. In R. Luppicini (Ed.). Trends in distance education:A focus on communities of learning. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing
`http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/communities/typology.HTM