Three images I’m using to do a better job explaining giftedness to parents of gifted kids.
Year: 2018
What Differentiation Does NOT Look Like
There’s lots of faux-differentiation out there. In this article, I catalog a few anti-patterns: tactics that look like differentiation, but are actually quite the opposite.
What Textbooks Think “Differentiated Instruction” Looks Like
In a time when teachers feel prohibited from writing their own lessons, many are limited by what their textbooks offer. So what, exactly, do textbooks offer in terms of differentiation for gifted learners?
Thinking or Remembering: Abstract and Concrete
One way to emphasizing Thinking over mere Remembering is to consider the level of abstraction we’re asking students to use. You might think of abstraction as a spectrum from highly specific, concrete details to really big (but vague) ideas.
Enrichment Must Prompt Thinking
Enrichment is not merely about doing fun things. It should never be just a project-of-the-week. It must be about getting students thinking in new and interesting ways. Here’s how!
Divergent Questions (How To Ask ‘Em)
How to ask Divergent Questions and ensure that your students are thinking rather than merely remembering.
Are Students Thinking or Merely Remembering?
The more I started looking, the more I realized that most of my questions asked students to remember, not actually think.
Curiosity 6: Recipes for Curiosity
As we wrap up our curiosity guide, I share three recipes to help you cook up curiosity in your classroom.
My kid isn’t being challenged!
As a parent, it’s easy to be concerned about a blah teacher. But you have more power and influence than any one teacher. Be aware of your praise. Be aware of your actions.
Curiosity 5: Curiosity Is Slow
We’ve been digging into curiosity, and now we come to curiosity’s big downside: it’s slow. Let’s look at how films take their time to establish an audience’s interest before revealing the real conflict.