How to craft gifted classroom dynamics that empower students to take charge of their own learning Holy Learning Partnerships Batman! Ben and Jerry PB and J Batman and Robin Teacher and student Some of the best results come from great partnerships; and learning partnerships between teacher and student are absolutely essential in the gifted classroom, [...]
Beyond book reports: How to spread a contagious love of reading Empower gifted students to engage literature in a new way Classroom Zero: Where the reading infection begins Like any good zombie virus, a contagious love of reading has to have several phases: Infection-- The “aha” moment in which a student first makes a personal [...]
Teach a child to test and he will succeed for a day. Teach him to think creatively, and he will thrive for a lifetime. Developing creative thinking in the classroom In the competitive, technology driven world that, today’s students are preparing to enter, there is one skill that will set them apart. It isn’t intelligence. [...]
Twice Exceptional Learners A Lesson on the Potential of Twice Exceptional Learners from Sir Richard Branson Billion-dollar business tycoon, Sir Richard Branson, is one of the most innovative entrepreneurial thinkers of our time. As a life-long sufferer of dyslexia, he’s also a perfect example of the greatness our twice exceptional (2E) students can achieve. [...]
The true face of the multi-exceptional student Removing the Masks of Multi-Exceptionalities Pushing, fighting, scrabbling, reaching… I can’t breathe… I can’t escape! That sounds like a scene from the latest thriller to hit movie theaters, but it’s not! That’s what it’s like inside the mind of a multi-exceptional student. I have a special treat in [...]
Understanding young gifted children with advanced abilities That’s Not Fair! If I’ve heard it once, I’ve probably heard it a hundred times; “That’s not fair!” And how do grown-ups overwhelmingly respond? “Life’s not fair.” We tell them that because cries for fairness often seem like the ravings of a petulant child demanding their way. But, [...]
Emphasizing academics alongside social and emotional awareness in the gifted classroom A False Dichotomy Do you remember The Nutty Professor? Not the 1996 Eddie Murphy version, I mean the original 1963 Jerry Lewis classic. It’s pretty funny to watch a master of comedy at work in his prime, but more importantly I think the movie [...]
Texas Teachers Defeat Professional Development Procrastination in Four Simple Steps The 6-hour update One of my most vivid school-related memories as a child is from the fourth grade. I wasn’t a huge fan of science. Rather than working on a science fair project over the course of the month we were given to prepare, I [...]
We are Living in a Technological World Using Technology to Differentiate Gifted Students In 1985 Madonna boldly sang that we were “living in a material world”. So much has changed in 30 years. Yes, as Americans we still love our stuff, but the one characteristic that defines this generation isn’t materialism it’s technology. If I’m [...]
Are We There Yet? Questions for Higher Order Thinking in the Gifted Classroom Kids love to ask questions. Have you ever been on a road trip with a child between the ages of 2 and 18? Then you'll recognize, “Are we there yet?” It's probably one of the most dreaded questions to come from a [...]