Describe how participation in the Gifted In-field Endorsement Program has changed your approach toward curriculum development and your ability to effectively instruct gifted students. (Include student work from strategies implemented in the Curriculum and Strategies course.) (GEPO-K4, GEPO-K5, GEPO-K6, GEPO-S3, GEPO-S4, GEPO-S5, GEPO-S7, GEPO-S8)
For me, the Curriculum and Strategies course was the most helpful when it came to my Gifted In-field Endorsement Program. It provided practical and concrete strategies and techniques to engage students, in particular gifted students, in the classroom. These lessons were student-centered, and gave students the opportunity to engage in higher order thinking, problem solving, and inquiry-based learning skills. I was able to step back and guide students rather than being the one to provide the answers. I found myself answering questions with questions and asking students, “why?”, “explain how you got there?”, “because….” My TAG students often taught me new ways to do things, new ideas on how to explain something, and even new mediums for them to express themselves. For example, I had students use Mindcraft to teach about government; that was something that I never even thought of!
I also think that understanding what to look for in the CISS process, helped me to create lessons that would allow students to show their talents. If I am doing a graphic organizer every day, then those students whose strengths lie in creativity and humor might not show through. By knowing what characteristics gifted students exhibit, being in-field has taught me how to change my lessons so that students have more opportunities to exhibit those qualities of giftedness.
In particular, I really loved the Mystery, Compare and Contrast, and Decision Making lessons the best. I think at the heart of these lessons is that students are creating meaning from their learning. It’s not just memorizing and regurgitating information. These lessons provided them ways to explore new ideas and create authentic learning from the classroom curriculum. By employing these lessons and strategies I can offer students ways to think critically and in depth. In the future, I hope to learn how to incorporate more strategies and apply them to Document Based Questions and Socratic Seminars.
For me, the Curriculum and Strategies course was the most helpful when it came to my Gifted In-field Endorsement Program. It provided practical and concrete strategies and techniques to engage students, in particular gifted students, in the classroom. These lessons were student-centered, and gave students the opportunity to engage in higher order thinking, problem solving, and inquiry-based learning skills. I was able to step back and guide students rather than being the one to provide the answers. I found myself answering questions with questions and asking students, “why?”, “explain how you got there?”, “because….” My TAG students often taught me new ways to do things, new ideas on how to explain something, and even new mediums for them to express themselves. For example, I had students use Mindcraft to teach about government; that was something that I never even thought of!
I also think that understanding what to look for in the CISS process, helped me to create lessons that would allow students to show their talents. If I am doing a graphic organizer every day, then those students whose strengths lie in creativity and humor might not show through. By knowing what characteristics gifted students exhibit, being in-field has taught me how to change my lessons so that students have more opportunities to exhibit those qualities of giftedness.
In particular, I really loved the Mystery, Compare and Contrast, and Decision Making lessons the best. I think at the heart of these lessons is that students are creating meaning from their learning. It’s not just memorizing and regurgitating information. These lessons provided them ways to explore new ideas and create authentic learning from the classroom curriculum. By employing these lessons and strategies I can offer students ways to think critically and in depth. In the future, I hope to learn how to incorporate more strategies and apply them to Document Based Questions and Socratic Seminars.