The "Gifted Children's Bill of Rights" hit home as both a mom of a gifted child and a teacher of gifted children. In so many of these, I try to control as a mom. As my girl has gotten older, I've seen that I get push back when I try to keep her under my tight reign. She has blossomed, has found her niche, and has grown in confidence as I've let go a bit and let her explore her rights.
As a teacher, I hope to do the same for the gifted children in my classroom. I want them to be able to explore their rights and know that it's acceptable to do so in our classroom. As I read through this chapter, this is what stuck out to me most..."By encouraging young people to recognize and develop their talents, we move humanity forward...even if these individuals do not become accomplished scientists or best-selling authors, they lead HAPPIER AND MORE ENRICHED LIVES WHEN THEY ARE ALLOWED TO PURSUE THEIR INTERESTS AND DEVELOP THEIR TALENTS." ***mic drop***
This book study has truly opened my eyes to how I can grow as a teacher and as a mom. As with everything we do to make our classrooms and homes places where success can blossom, it might be a little more work, but the payoff will be SO worth it!
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Friday, July 21, 2017
Summer book study-The Underachieving Gifted Child Chapter 12
Chapter 12: Putting It All Together
I liked Kehle research he did about what makes people happy. The ideas of RICH-resources, intimacy, competence, and health were all very eye opening. Happy people have resources to guide them to individual freedom, significant personal relationships, feel competent in something they do, and value mental and physical health. What a significant topic in the world we live in-the pursuit of happiness. I loved the simple yet poignant breakdown of what makes people happy!!
The Gifted Students' Bill of Rights by Siegle hit home as a mom first. Reading through the list I started thinking about the control I try and keep over my own personal child and how I need to loosen up the reigns some and let him explore talents he feels he has and desires to pursue instead of me telling him what he should and/or will be doing. As a teacher, this also reminds me that students are who they are. My role as their teacher is to foster their talents and gifts; my job is not to try and change them. One of the very last lines of the book is powerful when it says that the final choice is ultimately up to the child-they have to want change and believe that their continuous effort can produce achievement! Love this statement!!
I liked Kehle research he did about what makes people happy. The ideas of RICH-resources, intimacy, competence, and health were all very eye opening. Happy people have resources to guide them to individual freedom, significant personal relationships, feel competent in something they do, and value mental and physical health. What a significant topic in the world we live in-the pursuit of happiness. I loved the simple yet poignant breakdown of what makes people happy!!
The Gifted Students' Bill of Rights by Siegle hit home as a mom first. Reading through the list I started thinking about the control I try and keep over my own personal child and how I need to loosen up the reigns some and let him explore talents he feels he has and desires to pursue instead of me telling him what he should and/or will be doing. As a teacher, this also reminds me that students are who they are. My role as their teacher is to foster their talents and gifts; my job is not to try and change them. One of the very last lines of the book is powerful when it says that the final choice is ultimately up to the child-they have to want change and believe that their continuous effort can produce achievement! Love this statement!!
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
The Underachieving Gifted Child - Chapters 10 & 11
Chapter 10 - Environmental Perceptions
BUILDING TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS
BUILDING TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS, (in all caps on purpose), isn't a maybe for teachers, it's a MUST! Over my years of teaching, I have seen how this is vital for EVERY student! Little kids, big kids, kids with special needs, and kids who are gifted all need to know that I care for them and that I like them. They need to know that my classroom is a safe place for them to make mistakes, have a bad day, question me, and be themselves. I truly believe that the best teachers spend a LOT of time building relationships.
Meaningful relationships with our students can be the difference between achievement and underachievement. I love how Siegle talked about connecting with students through humor. I love using humor with my students. I especially love when there may be a gifted student or two who get a giggle from something that not many other students quite "get" yet. I believe they love that too. It deepens the connection that they feel and allows them to trust you even more.
Honestly, being a knowledgeable teacher is something that I'm always a little nervous about. I've found that there are times when I have to say, "I don't know!" Over the years, I've gotten better at that, but it was difficult to admit in the beginning. Admitting to kids that you don't know something can be freeing for them. It also allows our gifted students to possibly be the expert by giving them the task to find the answer or share what they already know about a topic.
After teaching special education for a couple of years, I've come to see that there are more teachers out there with biases than I thought. To their defense, it's often because they just don't know how to teach kids with learning differences in a different way, and they just need some guidance. Making sure that we are bias-free is especially necessary for our gifted kids. As soon as they feel that you might not treat them fairly, underachievement could show up.
Building trusting relationships is something every teacher needs to spend time doing. I love asking kids questions about what they're interested in. I tell them all about myself. They love knowing about their teacher and feel a closer connection when they know about me. I sing with my kids. I dance with my kids. I joke around with my kids. I set boundaries with my kids. All of these things build a trusting relationship with students. I'm always striving to make sure that I continue to learn new ways to connect with them.
Chapter 11 - Developing Self-Regulation and Study Skills
All of the strategies and study skills discussed were interesting, but there were a few things that stuck out to me in this chapter...Premack's Principle, the Active Study Checklist for Different Learning Styles, and Organization.
Premack's Principle, or "Grandma's Rule", was fun to read about. It seems easy to implement and as a parent, that's what my husband and I do at home. Yet, as the years go by in the classroom, I'm finding that more coaching needs to happen for some. Students are often accustomed to being in charge and deciding what they are going to do first. As the teacher, it is my responsibility to help them see that reward comes after effort and work. Many parents may need to be coached on this too.
I loved Table 2 on page 135. This is a great checklist to keep out and refer to when a student might not be "getting it". All learners learn differently and it's up to us to make sure we can teach them how to study so they are getting the most out of the time they are putting in.
I am an organized person. One might call me slightly OCD. There are five people in my family and I am the only one who organization has come to naturally. I've had to teach my daughters (and husband) ways that they can organize and how it makes life so much easier. Checklists have become what my oldest (gifted) daughter uses to help keep her on task and organized. She has a whiteboard in her room with checklists, she has a planner, and she has sticky notes on her desk. I have to remind myself that teaching organizational skills will be necessary for many gifted kids.
I'm looking forward to coming back to this chapter as I get to know my students and as I'm figuring out what it is they need. I do believe that we, even as elementary teachers, need to spend time teaching them study skills and self-regulation. When they go to middle school, they are expected to know how to study and self-regulate. Let's give them the boost they need to help them be achievers.
Monday, July 17, 2017
Summer book study: The Underachieving Gifted Child Chapters 10 & 11
Chapter 10: Environmental Perceptions
This chapter, along with the rest of the book, focuses so heavily on building relationships with students. This I love! Whether your class is full of achievers, underachievers, gifted, special needs-our MAIN goal as an educator is to build trust with our students. They should know that, although sometimes we may be disappointed, we love and value them as learners and thinkers. Showing support to students in the classroom should include active listening. Many times I find myself doing all the communicating and never asking my students what they think or how they feel to better understand them. I believe another way to support students is to clearly set goals and expectations. Teaching younger students has shown me that all students love structure and what is expected and what they should expect. This cuts down on missed learning opportunities and miscommunication from me or the student.
I love the part of this chapter that speaks about what students hear from educators. This hits home-I have great intentions to be as clear and forthright, but when I ask students to clarify they don't know. I have found in many PD sessions by practicing collaborative feedback and asking students to share what they heard another student say, or if I para-phrase what I heard the student say it helps in more clear communication.
Building relationships, as I stated earlier in the blog, is crucial. Probably #1 of goals for me each year! Some ways I try and build those important relationships for me starts before I ever meet my class. The day we get our class list I get my yearbook from the year before and start putting a face with a name. That way, at Meet the Teacher, I can greet them by already knowing their name. Seems so simple but it makes a HUGE impact! Throughout the year, I use lots of humor-not sarcasm-silly humor that only a 1st grader could appreciate! I also give out surveys to parents early in the year to get to know the child and who they are outside of school-interests, hobbies, family dynamics. My most favorite part of the day is first thing in the morning, when students are trickling in, is spending a minute or 2 greeting each child and doing a little check in with things going on with them. I love this special one on one time and by the time the announcements come on I've made a personal connection with each child for the day!
Chapter 11: Developing Self-Regulation and Study Skills
I love the sentence on the first page of this chapter that says, "...making school more meaningful appears to be the most effective strategy to address student underachievement with gifted students."
Next year what will I do if I have an underachieving student? Great question, I think its so hard to know what you will do until you meet that student. I know for sure that getting to know that child personally and with the help of their parents to know what makes them tick and is meaningful to that child will be my best ally. From experience, taking time with students who say they are bored or work is too easy and really try to understand what they mean. I find myself trying to fix the issue without using the student to help with the problem. Also, using parents as a great resource. They know their child far better than I ever can and have probably already witnessed what I may see in class. Asking for help from parents can be a great resource!
This chapter, along with the rest of the book, focuses so heavily on building relationships with students. This I love! Whether your class is full of achievers, underachievers, gifted, special needs-our MAIN goal as an educator is to build trust with our students. They should know that, although sometimes we may be disappointed, we love and value them as learners and thinkers. Showing support to students in the classroom should include active listening. Many times I find myself doing all the communicating and never asking my students what they think or how they feel to better understand them. I believe another way to support students is to clearly set goals and expectations. Teaching younger students has shown me that all students love structure and what is expected and what they should expect. This cuts down on missed learning opportunities and miscommunication from me or the student.
I love the part of this chapter that speaks about what students hear from educators. This hits home-I have great intentions to be as clear and forthright, but when I ask students to clarify they don't know. I have found in many PD sessions by practicing collaborative feedback and asking students to share what they heard another student say, or if I para-phrase what I heard the student say it helps in more clear communication.
Building relationships, as I stated earlier in the blog, is crucial. Probably #1 of goals for me each year! Some ways I try and build those important relationships for me starts before I ever meet my class. The day we get our class list I get my yearbook from the year before and start putting a face with a name. That way, at Meet the Teacher, I can greet them by already knowing their name. Seems so simple but it makes a HUGE impact! Throughout the year, I use lots of humor-not sarcasm-silly humor that only a 1st grader could appreciate! I also give out surveys to parents early in the year to get to know the child and who they are outside of school-interests, hobbies, family dynamics. My most favorite part of the day is first thing in the morning, when students are trickling in, is spending a minute or 2 greeting each child and doing a little check in with things going on with them. I love this special one on one time and by the time the announcements come on I've made a personal connection with each child for the day!
Chapter 11: Developing Self-Regulation and Study Skills
I love the sentence on the first page of this chapter that says, "...making school more meaningful appears to be the most effective strategy to address student underachievement with gifted students."
Next year what will I do if I have an underachieving student? Great question, I think its so hard to know what you will do until you meet that student. I know for sure that getting to know that child personally and with the help of their parents to know what makes them tick and is meaningful to that child will be my best ally. From experience, taking time with students who say they are bored or work is too easy and really try to understand what they mean. I find myself trying to fix the issue without using the student to help with the problem. Also, using parents as a great resource. They know their child far better than I ever can and have probably already witnessed what I may see in class. Asking for help from parents can be a great resource!
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
The Underachieving Gifted Child - Chapters 8 & 9
Chapter 8 - Self-Efficacy
It's so important to really get to know our students. We MUST take the necessary time it truly takes to really get to know them. This is the only way we will get to know where their confidence to learn really is! Over the years, I've learned that increasing self-efficacy is important for EVERY student. Knowing a student's source of efficacy will be vital to helping them grow.
Because self-efficacy beliefs are generally influenced by a student's past performance, their vicarious experience of observing models, verbal persuasion, and physiological clues, it is imperative that we know our students. This is a lot to work through, but all of it comes back to the feedback that our kids are given.
Feedback is a MUST! It's not something that can be skipped. The section on "Verbal Persuasion" stuck out to me. "Students experience higher self-efficacy when someone they believe is trustworthy tells them they are capable." Yet, research shows that although positive verbal persuasion can be important, it doesn't contribute as much as past experiences or vicarious experiences. Yet, "Although positive verbal comments are not extremely effective, NEGATIVE ONES ARE DEADLY." Drop the mike! We must watch what we say to our students, what tone we use, and our intent! This is something that, I believe, must be worked on with teachers. Sadly, I've see it all too often. We CANNOT talk down to kids. We CANNOT have a "bad day" and take it out on our kids. We CANNOT make snide comments and think they don't understand. We MUST make sure the feedback our kids are receiving is valuable, will lift them up, and increase their confidence! To me, this is a non-negotiable. When it comes to our gifted students, we must put in the extra effort to help them believe that they are capable of learning and growing.
For me, written feedback has been the toughest to give. Taking the time to write feedback into student notebooks takes lots of time and effort. Specific verbal feedback is something I don't struggle with as much, but it's just as important as written feedback. I do believe that SPECIFIC feedback is vital. So, taking the time during a work period or closing should be something that we do on a daily basis.
I'm loving the idea of students being recorded for e-portfolios. How easy and completely valuable! What kid doesn't love watching themselves on video?!
Chapter 9 - Goal Valuation
As I went through this chapter, I thought about my younger brother. My brother is one of the most gifted, genius people I know. He liked school in elementary because he had CARING teachers. Middle school was easy for him. He enjoyed school then because he was able to be involved in extracurricular activities, but he wasn't challenged academically. He did great in high school too because of CARING teachers, but was again more focused on his extracurricular activities. His interest and one of his gifts was always in architecture and building, so that's what he decided to get his degree in.
He hated college. His professors weren't willing to hear new ideas. He felt like it was a waste of time, because what he was "learning" in his classes, he already knew how to do. He also didn't like that they talked down to him. Today, my brother is a successful builder who builds beautiful houses. He has done all of this without a college degree. As an adult, he does look back and wish he would've finished, but I can't help but wonder if he would've experienced some CONTROL, CHOICE, CHALLENGE, COMPLEXITY, & CARING professors, if he would have that degree hanging on his wall.
Making school meaningful for our gifted students is another non-negotiable. We don't have a choice.
Monday, July 10, 2017
The Underachieving Gifted Child-Chapters 8 and 9
Chapter 8: Self-Efficacy
Ahh-the story of The Little Engine That Could! What a classic and a good practical meaning to self-efficacy! A student's ability to see the "I can" or "I can't" in all things they do!
In the book I made sure to double highlight the sentence that shared that building self-efficacy should begin as early as possible. I tend to read books about students who are gifted and I find myself saying, "oh my first graders can't do that or that doesn't apply to 6 and 7 year olds", but what I know for a fact is that building a child (any child's) self-efficacy early is crucial to success later!
In my first grade classroom I have struggled to find a workable balance of feedback and the appropriateness of it in class. This year I used a system that really seemed to work and I saw great results from it. I used it mostly during Writer's Workshop sharing during our closing. I picked 3-4 names per day and those students would share. We, as a class, would share out 2 "glow's" and 1 grow. To combat the glows being more about the person than their work, we made sure to start it by saying things like I noticed you did... or I liked the way you... Our grow feedback would then include something the student could work on next time or could return and add later. I would then add my own feedback mainly using comments the students had used. The class learned first how to be accountable for their work, it became great peer modeling, and they loved hearing from others. I felt like this year my students felt their work was valued and I cared about what they did during their independent work times.
As far as portfolios are concerned first grade at my school uses SeeSaw. Although I know at some point we will need to move to Google, we have loved using SeeSaw as an e-portfolio. It is so simple for students to upload work, create videos about what they have done, and parents love the online features. It is very user friendly!!
Chapter 9: Goal Valuation (Meaningfulness)
This is where I think we are missing the mark with students. I have taught for 15 years and I have seen such a shift in this time with meaningfulness. I remember spending a majority of the beginning of my year getting to know my class. Really learning what makes them "tick" and learning their interests. Fast forward and I feel like the beginning of the year is full of assessments and assessments and more assessments. It's embarrassing to think that in October when parent conferences come around I can tell parents all about student data, but I sometimes don't even know the child's middle name, if they have pets, or what they like to do on the weekends. Don't get me wrong, but slowing down and being able to spend time knowing children could potentially help develop ideas like curriculum compacting. I believe this could be a crazy valuable tool, but given the stress and pressure we are all in this would not be able to be effectively done or be seen in a positive light by teachers who are already overloaded in their classroom.
Ahh-the story of The Little Engine That Could! What a classic and a good practical meaning to self-efficacy! A student's ability to see the "I can" or "I can't" in all things they do!
In the book I made sure to double highlight the sentence that shared that building self-efficacy should begin as early as possible. I tend to read books about students who are gifted and I find myself saying, "oh my first graders can't do that or that doesn't apply to 6 and 7 year olds", but what I know for a fact is that building a child (any child's) self-efficacy early is crucial to success later!
In my first grade classroom I have struggled to find a workable balance of feedback and the appropriateness of it in class. This year I used a system that really seemed to work and I saw great results from it. I used it mostly during Writer's Workshop sharing during our closing. I picked 3-4 names per day and those students would share. We, as a class, would share out 2 "glow's" and 1 grow. To combat the glows being more about the person than their work, we made sure to start it by saying things like I noticed you did... or I liked the way you... Our grow feedback would then include something the student could work on next time or could return and add later. I would then add my own feedback mainly using comments the students had used. The class learned first how to be accountable for their work, it became great peer modeling, and they loved hearing from others. I felt like this year my students felt their work was valued and I cared about what they did during their independent work times.
As far as portfolios are concerned first grade at my school uses SeeSaw. Although I know at some point we will need to move to Google, we have loved using SeeSaw as an e-portfolio. It is so simple for students to upload work, create videos about what they have done, and parents love the online features. It is very user friendly!!
Chapter 9: Goal Valuation (Meaningfulness)
This is where I think we are missing the mark with students. I have taught for 15 years and I have seen such a shift in this time with meaningfulness. I remember spending a majority of the beginning of my year getting to know my class. Really learning what makes them "tick" and learning their interests. Fast forward and I feel like the beginning of the year is full of assessments and assessments and more assessments. It's embarrassing to think that in October when parent conferences come around I can tell parents all about student data, but I sometimes don't even know the child's middle name, if they have pets, or what they like to do on the weekends. Don't get me wrong, but slowing down and being able to spend time knowing children could potentially help develop ideas like curriculum compacting. I believe this could be a crazy valuable tool, but given the stress and pressure we are all in this would not be able to be effectively done or be seen in a positive light by teachers who are already overloaded in their classroom.
Friday, June 30, 2017
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Monday, June 19, 2017
The Underachieving Gifted Child - Chapters 4 & 5
Chapter 4 - Dweck's Mindsets
As I read through Chapter 4, I highlighted quite a few things, but kept coming back to growth mindset and feedback. We've talked extensively about the importance of both of these over the past year.
It was especially interesting to read about the Mindset Theory. I really hadn't thought about how Growth Mindset applied to the gifted child and how they recognize their own effort and ability. I found this so valuable..."She noted that students who see their intelligence as something that can be developed, rather than simply a fixed trait, are more motivated to learn, persevere more in the face of obstacles, are more resilient after setbacks, and ultimately achieve more." When I read this, I thought about the many GT kids I've had in my own classroom who saw their intelligence as a "fixed trait". To be honest, these kids frustrated me because I knew what they were capable of. I wonder if I helped them develop their abilities to where they felt they could attempt something that challenged them.
Renzulli's belief that, "Giftedness is something students do, not something they are," stuck out to me. As the mama of one identified gifted child and two who are gifted, but not identified (because aren't ALL of our kids gifted?! ;-)) I think I like this belief. As parents, we've made sure that our gifted child doesn't find her identity in her giftedness. She has to put effort into her abilities to develop them, and I'm thankful that she has a growth mindset and WANTS to develop them.
Feedback is another area that I'm constantly trying to improve in. The way that feedback and self-efficacy intertwine is vital. What we say to our students can help them grow or hinder them. Helping them develop a belief that they CAN do something, even when it's challenging, is so important, especially to those underachieving students.
Chapter 5 - Addressing Issues of Perfectionism
This chapter hit home. The very first sentence made me giggle because it was like the author was talking directly to me and my daughter. Maybe I got a little teary. Maybe. ;-)
"People who have a compulsive need to be in control of themselves, others, and life's risks."
What??!! I am that person. My gifted daughter is that person. We are both self-oriented perfectionists. We put high demands on ourselves. For the most part, our perfectionism isn't unhealthy, but as I read through the common behaviors of perfectionists, I giggled again.
At some point in my life, I've experienced all of these behaviors. I've seen them in my daughter. I've seen them in a few of my students. It's what we do with these behaviors that makes our perfectionism healthy or unhealthy. When dealing with my or my daughter's perfectionism, some of the solutions suggested were familiar.
My daughter LOVES reading and writing. Her challenge, although she's always done just fine, has always been math. It bothers her immensely that it doesn't come as easy to her as language arts does. Her perfectionism makes this even more difficult. We've really had to work with her on the belief that she CAN do the challenging tasks set before her. The thing that has helped her most is her creative outlet. She loves acting and has grown in love with Theater. It's not something she has to win or lose at, she can just use her talents. Her confidence has grown this year in math. I give huge credit to her teacher who let her ask questions, encouraged her, had real conversations with her, and built her confidence. My perfectionist girl learned that it was OK that everything wasn't perfect for her in math this year, but that she was successful.
This chapter will be one I will revisit...for sure!
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Summer book study: The Underachieving Gifted Child Chapters 4 and 5
Chapter 4: Dweck's Mindsets-Recognizing Effort and Ability
"Everyone has the potential to become smarter than they are now."-Carol Dweck
This quote begins chapter 4. Thank goodness we do have the potential to become smarter than we are now. As an adult this is true with every new life experience. I dare say as a teenager when I was smarter than my parents, doesn't compare to the smarts I have now as a parent!!
This is also shown in the mainstream classroom. Too many times we just leave the "gifted" kids alone-they are already "smart" when in reality this is a disservice to them as learners as well. Throughout the chapter the idea of Carol Dweck's growth mindset is spoken of. In professional development this past year this has been a buzz word. While we all know that pushing kids and stretching their thinking is of utmost importance, the problem lies in how we do this. The idea of a growth mindset, challenges the notion that gifted kids are smart and you can't teach an old dog new tricks-the fixed mindset idea. Instead, using a growth mindset abilities are malleable and "practice makes perfect". Moving away from the fixed mindset thinking allows children, especially gifted students the chance to attempt challenging tasks and persevere through difficulties. This helps to improve upon existing and new skills for the child. Growth mindset is a scary idea even for adults because along the way you will have to encounter failure in order to reach your potential. Failure is a word that teachers don't readily use and encourage. This becomes more about the experience than the outcome!
In the section about increasing self efficacy and promoting effort, it addresses the idea of feedback. We have had many training's on providing feedback and the amount of feedback that should be given and where it should be, but a factor I feel is missing in giving feedback is how it should be given. We are people pleasers by nature as educators and we want all children to succeed. In society we believe that any effort at all deserves praise (feedback), hence the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality. In the piece of the chapter I love how it structures feedback as 1)recognition of the skill and 2)attribution of its development to the student. For instance instead of saying "Good Work" (guilty ALL the time) you should re frame with something like "You did very well on your math addition fluency! You've showed growth in knowing your addition facts quickly."
I need to as an educator remind myself that giftedness isn't just something that happens; it requires students have something to do with developing their giftedness.
Chapter 5: Addressing Issues of Perfectionism
Ouch this chapter!!!! I must admit that I am a perfectionist in the classroom. I don't feel like I can start a new day unless everything is perfect. Time and time again I am reminded that this doesn't work with 6 and 7 year olds. As the book states, perfectionism provides the gifted child (or teacher) with an excuse for not performing.
In class this comes into play many times with my gifted students during group or partner activities. If the activity cannot be put together to their standards they would just assume quit than to work it out and complete the assignment. I think this type of perfectionism is most prevalent in my first grade classroom-the my way or no way thinking. I also see attributes of perfectionism when focusing on mistakes-work will be turned in with holes from erasers or hidden inside their desk for fear of it not being good enough work.
Even at age 6, perfectionism in some students is already a concern and has to be addressed. In the chapter Greenspon proposes a four step process for creating an environment of acceptance for students in hopes to address perfectionism.
The first step involves empathy. The counselor and student work to understand the motivational forces behind the perfectionism. The second phase is encouragement and giving compliments that are meaningful and authentic and involve personal instead of performance qualities. The third step is self reflection and helping students develop and deeper understanding of what mistakes mean to them and how they perceive that others view them. The final step involves dialogue and talking together about what mistakes mean, what people's expectations are, and why being less than perfect can be frightening.
Cool ideas: 1. teachers modeling and debugging mistakes-going back to the growth mindset thinking-that we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. 2. Swiss cheese-starting small and having small successes-not basing everything on a giant project. 3. Creative visualizing-making a picture of it before it happens-talking through what might and might not happen to prepare more for bigger events and changes that are out of the ordinary. 4. Finding a non competitive, creative outlet to enjoy and relax, free of worry or stress.
"Everyone has the potential to become smarter than they are now."-Carol Dweck
This quote begins chapter 4. Thank goodness we do have the potential to become smarter than we are now. As an adult this is true with every new life experience. I dare say as a teenager when I was smarter than my parents, doesn't compare to the smarts I have now as a parent!!
This is also shown in the mainstream classroom. Too many times we just leave the "gifted" kids alone-they are already "smart" when in reality this is a disservice to them as learners as well. Throughout the chapter the idea of Carol Dweck's growth mindset is spoken of. In professional development this past year this has been a buzz word. While we all know that pushing kids and stretching their thinking is of utmost importance, the problem lies in how we do this. The idea of a growth mindset, challenges the notion that gifted kids are smart and you can't teach an old dog new tricks-the fixed mindset idea. Instead, using a growth mindset abilities are malleable and "practice makes perfect". Moving away from the fixed mindset thinking allows children, especially gifted students the chance to attempt challenging tasks and persevere through difficulties. This helps to improve upon existing and new skills for the child. Growth mindset is a scary idea even for adults because along the way you will have to encounter failure in order to reach your potential. Failure is a word that teachers don't readily use and encourage. This becomes more about the experience than the outcome!
In the section about increasing self efficacy and promoting effort, it addresses the idea of feedback. We have had many training's on providing feedback and the amount of feedback that should be given and where it should be, but a factor I feel is missing in giving feedback is how it should be given. We are people pleasers by nature as educators and we want all children to succeed. In society we believe that any effort at all deserves praise (feedback), hence the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality. In the piece of the chapter I love how it structures feedback as 1)recognition of the skill and 2)attribution of its development to the student. For instance instead of saying "Good Work" (guilty ALL the time) you should re frame with something like "You did very well on your math addition fluency! You've showed growth in knowing your addition facts quickly."
I need to as an educator remind myself that giftedness isn't just something that happens; it requires students have something to do with developing their giftedness.
Chapter 5: Addressing Issues of Perfectionism
Ouch this chapter!!!! I must admit that I am a perfectionist in the classroom. I don't feel like I can start a new day unless everything is perfect. Time and time again I am reminded that this doesn't work with 6 and 7 year olds. As the book states, perfectionism provides the gifted child (or teacher) with an excuse for not performing.
In class this comes into play many times with my gifted students during group or partner activities. If the activity cannot be put together to their standards they would just assume quit than to work it out and complete the assignment. I think this type of perfectionism is most prevalent in my first grade classroom-the my way or no way thinking. I also see attributes of perfectionism when focusing on mistakes-work will be turned in with holes from erasers or hidden inside their desk for fear of it not being good enough work.
Even at age 6, perfectionism in some students is already a concern and has to be addressed. In the chapter Greenspon proposes a four step process for creating an environment of acceptance for students in hopes to address perfectionism.
The first step involves empathy. The counselor and student work to understand the motivational forces behind the perfectionism. The second phase is encouragement and giving compliments that are meaningful and authentic and involve personal instead of performance qualities. The third step is self reflection and helping students develop and deeper understanding of what mistakes mean to them and how they perceive that others view them. The final step involves dialogue and talking together about what mistakes mean, what people's expectations are, and why being less than perfect can be frightening.
Cool ideas: 1. teachers modeling and debugging mistakes-going back to the growth mindset thinking-that we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. 2. Swiss cheese-starting small and having small successes-not basing everything on a giant project. 3. Creative visualizing-making a picture of it before it happens-talking through what might and might not happen to prepare more for bigger events and changes that are out of the ordinary. 4. Finding a non competitive, creative outlet to enjoy and relax, free of worry or stress.
Friday, June 2, 2017
Summer book study: The Underachieving Gifted Child
Chapter 1: Introduction
First off, I was excited to start this book study, not only as a teacher but as a parent of a gifted child as well. Underachieving can and is one of the most frustrating traits in and out of the classroom. Even in a 1st grade classroom there is evidence of underachievement. I was drawn to the sentence speaking of flow and how parents and teachers can help young people become more engaged to help with flow experiences. YES, YES, and YES! This is a constant struggle to find ways to engage and help little learners flow in their learning experiences. I am hoping through this study to find ways to achieve this flow to use with all children in my classroom and the one living in my home!!
Chapter 2: What is Underachievement?
When we were first asked this question to start off this online dialogue-I will be honest..I googled the word underachievement. My own gut definition was to just say lazy! Obviously there is so much more than that to the word! The quote to start the chapter struck me, "We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself." -Lloyd Alexander
I just love this-its the deeper meaning, the quest and not the result, maybe even the failure along the way. This also is why maybe many students are underachievers. It's the hard part-the uncomfortable part, the part not known that makes you stretch beyond what you already know. This chapter was hard for me to wrap my brain around with lots of statistics so this quote was the one thing that really struck me and helps me understand more what underachievement is and can be.
Chapter 3: Characteristics of Underachievers
This is the chapter that as I read I thought of my own child. I could find him multiple times within the Table 1 chart of underachieving character traits. I could also add student names as well. Then as I kept reading I had to step back and realize that one characteristic my child or students possess doesn't necessarily mean they are underachievers. This chapter was a realistic breakdown of factors that may contribute to underachievement. **On a side note, when my husband walked past this book lying on the kitchen table, he asked if I was reading to understand our child more!! He may also need to join the book study!!**
First off, I was excited to start this book study, not only as a teacher but as a parent of a gifted child as well. Underachieving can and is one of the most frustrating traits in and out of the classroom. Even in a 1st grade classroom there is evidence of underachievement. I was drawn to the sentence speaking of flow and how parents and teachers can help young people become more engaged to help with flow experiences. YES, YES, and YES! This is a constant struggle to find ways to engage and help little learners flow in their learning experiences. I am hoping through this study to find ways to achieve this flow to use with all children in my classroom and the one living in my home!!
Chapter 2: What is Underachievement?
When we were first asked this question to start off this online dialogue-I will be honest..I googled the word underachievement. My own gut definition was to just say lazy! Obviously there is so much more than that to the word! The quote to start the chapter struck me, "We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself." -Lloyd Alexander
I just love this-its the deeper meaning, the quest and not the result, maybe even the failure along the way. This also is why maybe many students are underachievers. It's the hard part-the uncomfortable part, the part not known that makes you stretch beyond what you already know. This chapter was hard for me to wrap my brain around with lots of statistics so this quote was the one thing that really struck me and helps me understand more what underachievement is and can be.
Chapter 3: Characteristics of Underachievers
This is the chapter that as I read I thought of my own child. I could find him multiple times within the Table 1 chart of underachieving character traits. I could also add student names as well. Then as I kept reading I had to step back and realize that one characteristic my child or students possess doesn't necessarily mean they are underachievers. This chapter was a realistic breakdown of factors that may contribute to underachievement. **On a side note, when my husband walked past this book lying on the kitchen table, he asked if I was reading to understand our child more!! He may also need to join the book study!!**
The Underachieving Gifted Child - Chapters 1-3
Chapter 1 - Introduction
How do I define giftedness? I think this is an important question to ask myself as I continue this book study. The GT kids I have worked with in my classroom are all different. This isn't a surprise to anyone since ALL kids are different, but I think it's an important thing to remember as we figure out how to reverse underachievement. It won't look the same for every kid.
As teachers, we know the students who are identified as gifted, but I believe there are those kiddos, who we need to keep in mind, who have not been identified. Using the five interrelated concepts of challenge, choice, interest, enjoyment, and personal meaning shouldn't be for the GT specialists' classroom only. It's important to make sure challenge, choice, interest, enjoyment, and personal meaning are intertwined into everything we do in the general education classroom for ALL learners.
Chapter 2 - What is Underachievement?
When I think about the underachievers I've worked with over the years, there is one specific student that comes to mind. He is brilliant and gifted in so many areas. He was and is hard to work with sometimes. He would argue about why he didn't need to do an assignment because he was beyond that specific concept. He would put other students down because he believed he was smarter than the rest. He was a difficult student to handle. He was the "defiant underachiever". (I'm jumping ahead to chapter 3...oops!) School was often pointless to him. He didn't work to his full potential...but, I wonder what I could've done differently to reach him. Ugh. It's difficult admitting that. Had I given him more of a challenge, more choices, something he was interested in, enjoyed, or had personal meaning to him, would I have helped reverse that?
Chapter 3 - Characteristics of Underachievers
This chapter was fascinating to me. I was surprised by how many different types of underachievers were listed. Especially after giving my simple definition on the Flipgrid of what I felt underachievement meant. As I read through the different types and their descriptions, I thought about the students that I've worked with that fit into each category. It's interesting that most of those kids fit into more than one of those descriptions. I feel that Passive Paul, Perfectionist Pearl, Rebellious Rebecca, Social Sally, and Academic Alice are all types I have worked with more than once. I'm hoping that we'll be able to dig deeper into the different types of underachievers and what we can do differently for each of them.
It was interesting to read about the four key influences of the underachiever. Gender, peers, family dynamics, poverty and the underserved populations are influences that we have to think about for every student, but to apply it to the gifted underachiever is important as we try to figure out how to best help these students.
It was mentioned more than once that 7th grade is critical for boys while 8th-9th grade is critical for girls. As most of us in this group are elementary teachers, it's vital for us to identify our underachievers and do everything we can to make sure our kids go on to middle school working to their full potential.
One of the most important things said in this chapter was, "Students' attitudes toward school and the relationship they see between school and their future success and prosperity influence their academic achievement." We spend more time with our students than their parents do. I believe it's my responsibility to make sure my students believe that the hard work they do now will influence their future for the better.
