tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post7970650108291109815..comments2024-03-19T22:10:49.383-04:00Comments on Gifted Challenges™: Why differentiated instruction fails gifted childrenGail Post, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01482577821092891593noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-25817287490604922222015-05-01T02:22:33.989-04:002015-05-01T02:22:33.989-04:00To SKIP LOVELADY :
I am a bit confused reading yo...To SKIP LOVELADY : <br />I am a bit confused reading your comment or perhaps I am not .i may have experienced the same during the opportunity I had to teacher. I am Seconday Teacher as well who has implemented differanted learning in my classrooms but could never imagine creating a lesson and managing an elementary grade classroom the same. I do not have 20 years of experience and agree that oh take experience and skill to implement this lesson technique . Due to the fact that our Public School system is control by Federal and State Funding , AND THAT FUNDING HAS DIRECTLY COME FROM OUR TAX DOLLARS, administration is forced to keep schools bringing up the scorces on revious testing when students already were 1-2 grade levels behind . Rather then funding the Top 2%!of the class that will change the world, earn 1+'degrees , ,make <br />money , then pay towards our ttax symptoms .<br />Rather then provide Free and Equal Education to un-document citizens/non-citizens- NON-TAX PAYER Who will NOT NE " protective citizens of the world " <br />The his has already f-Ed up my health care Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07442498977136185257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-76276669799386975772015-04-23T20:18:53.697-04:002015-04-23T20:18:53.697-04:00Anonymous, You have beautifully summarized the sad...Anonymous, You have beautifully summarized the sadly frequent classroom experiences - chronic boredom, disgust with school, the torture of group projects.It sounds like you have done a lot to help the situation as much as you can for your kids. I completely agree with your assessment, the need for socialization with like-minded peers, and the importance of other options in addition to acceleration. Good luck with your children and thanks for your comments.Gail Post, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01482577821092891593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-11276328002794087042015-04-23T10:55:35.808-04:002015-04-23T10:55:35.808-04:00"They eventually accept that classes will not..."They eventually accept that classes will not be challenging." - this pretty much sums up the educational experience for my two gifted children aged 16 and 14. But, it should be added that: <br /><br />-They will become complacent with needing to complete the "required" busy work. Spending hours on a projects that the teacher will write 100% on and not give comments because the work is more advanced than their peers. So there isn't ever any push from the teacher. Their bare minimum on an assignment is at least 50% more than their peers. They never are challenged to "go beyond".<br /><br />- They will be resigned to having to do ALL or most of the work when a group project is assigned. They cannot handle it when a slow learner contributes sub par work to a group project, especially if they will all receive the same grade, not based on individual contributions. "Why should my grade suffer if so and so doesn't care enough to do their work."<br /><br />- They will learn to resent the teacher asking them to help reteach concepts to other students. My son knows more than his Honors Algebra 2 teacher, and works ahead with 100% understanding before the teacher even introduces the topic to the rest of the class. When asked what she could do for him, she said she could assign more work to challenge him, but then he is being singled out to do more than everyone else. <br /><br />- They will view school as a joke and a drudgery. They will throw themselves into other programs like MathCounts or Science Olympiad, just so that their desire for learning will be challenged.<br /><br />I have augmented my children's education by volunteering in their schools to create/run extra curricular programs for them and other interested students. I encourage the study of music and subjects that interest them on their own. I do not believe in homeschooling due to social issues - gifted kids need to get along with all types of people. Going to school is important for this, but there should be classes just for gifted kids, and school districts should be forced to accommodate a gifted student's educational needs in the social group that they are in and not only offer grade skipping as a solution. In my state, OH, gifted education falls under the special education umbrella, but is a non-funded mandate by the state. This means that gifted students are to be identified, but do not need to be served as a population. For a district of 3600 students k-12, we have one certified gifted teacher on staff. She teaches 4th and 5th ELA. But we have 2 intervention specialists PER GRADE from 1st -8th grades. <br /><br />I do not know what the solution is. I just wish it was better. In my experience, the school district says they differentiate, but in reality it is non-existent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-19246246484819913322015-04-22T10:30:41.361-04:002015-04-22T10:30:41.361-04:00Skip, Thank you so much for your detailed reply. Y...Skip, Thank you so much for your detailed reply. Your wealth of knowledge adds a great deal of perspective. You highlight how difficult this process is and how you have managed to accommodate it (which is something most skilled teachers have done for a long time). <br /><br />You highlight an overlooked point in the discussion - how struggling students also may fail to get their needs met in a large heterogeneous classroom. Not only is it incredibly hard for a teacher to manage this, but how demoralizing it must be for students who are well below grade level to feel they are the WORST in the class on a daily basis. How hard it must be for them to see students breeze through and grasp material much more easily. How shaming and discouraging this is. Administrators may think being in a heterogeneous classroom will "encourage" them to do a better job, but for those who truly struggle, it is a harsh sentence.Gail Post, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01482577821092891593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-63710959969575711572015-04-22T10:18:52.498-04:002015-04-22T10:18:52.498-04:00I am finishing my 20th year teaching high school s...I am finishing my 20th year teaching high school science. My district (3 comprehensive, and 2 alternative high schools, with just over 3500 students total) during my career thus far has only offered one option in science for our state's 2 year graduation requirement in science. All students must take and pass 2 years of Integrated Science. Consequently I have 20 years experience teaching lower division students in heterogeneous classrooms. Only one factor is used to build sections: gender balance. Although my colleagues and I have always used differentiated instruction in our core heterogeneous program, it most certainly is not every day/every lesson. Only someone with no teaching experience would propose such a thing.....especially at the secondary level. I have 149 students this school year (2014-15). Here is a brief description of reality (for the last 20 years): When I run a differentiated project I can manage 3 levels of differentiation. These are projects that have parity with respect to final product and content. The pathway to success and finishing the project is designed with 3 levels of difficulty. I have always assigned the 3 levels in the moment. A student assigned to the easiest pathway in October may well find themselves in assigned the hardest pathway in March, and vise versa. In between these projects the curriculum and assessments is so varied that I am fully satisfied that I am doing my best to meet all students needs by the end of 180 days of instruction. But.....for all 20 years I have openly reported that in my mixed ability classes the one group that gets the least education are the kids whose skills and prior knowledge are significantly below grade level. Like others, my experience is that I am able to serve the gifted kids just fine (it's only 9-10th grade folks - plenty of AP and Honors options for these kids in 11-12th grade). And I always see C+/B- kids get motivated my being around and working with A students. But my F/D kids need something more doable for them. And yet I work in a district that defines meeting the needs of the kids who are significantly below grade level in their own course as restricting their future options (College). So be it. In the mean time these kids are the most unhappy, unmotivated, and saddest kids I teach.Skip Loveladyhttp://redwood.org/loveladynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-2325699109150281222015-04-18T16:01:58.245-04:002015-04-18T16:01:58.245-04:00Anonymous,
I am not sure about your question. I a...Anonymous,<br /><br />I am not sure about your question. I am a psychologist, not a teacher. I have made that clear throughout my blog. I speak my opinion based on what I have witnessed in my psychology practice, as an advocate, and through a thorough overview of the literature. Is there something you are trying to say? Gail Post, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01482577821092891593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-13853850646803466112015-04-18T13:53:34.111-04:002015-04-18T13:53:34.111-04:00I am curious....what training/coursework do you ha...I am curious....what training/coursework do you have in gifted education?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-52913101479988777272015-04-17T08:53:10.667-04:002015-04-17T08:53:10.667-04:00Thanks, anonymous. You raise a good point about wh...Thanks, anonymous. You raise a good point about why a lot of parents choose homeschooling. Gifted children are left out of the differentiated instruction equation because they seem to need the least from the teacher - and then they don't get the education they need. Good luck with your children.Gail Post, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01482577821092891593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-46287702626771985282015-04-17T08:50:02.646-04:002015-04-17T08:50:02.646-04:00Thanks for your comments. It's a reminder that...Thanks for your comments. It's a reminder that parents of gifted children are also quite attuned to their child's teacher's needs.Gail Post, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01482577821092891593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-86140048910357714512015-04-16T23:07:27.286-04:002015-04-16T23:07:27.286-04:00I agree... the frustrating thing is, knowing the d...I agree... the frustrating thing is, knowing the differentiation could work if schools were willing to do more flexible grouping, and also use volunteers more readily to help with such efforts. In my child's school, several parents were willing to help teachers do this but we were told no... there is no way a teacher with 25 kids or more per class can take the time to really differentiate. There are ways to make it work, but alas, the test scores and school grades don't seem to be affected by meeting gifted kids' needs, so it just goes on. This is why I am homeschooling now... hoping one day to find a school that can work for my children's needs. I am differentiating for two kids right now and that is keeping me busy enough. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-79043517433662747922015-04-16T22:01:16.022-04:002015-04-16T22:01:16.022-04:00Completely agree with this. I have seen teachers b...Completely agree with this. I have seen teachers become so frustrated and feel pressured to do differentiated instruction, but it never works. Thanks for pointing this out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-51784318251327211392015-04-16T14:22:36.219-04:002015-04-16T14:22:36.219-04:00Thank you, Celi. It is so important to hear feedba...Thank you, Celi. It is so important to hear feedback like yours from a "real" teacher who has been in the trenches and has seen how difficult it is to actually carry out this concept in a typical classroom. Most administrators don't listen to teachers and dismiss their negative feedback as "whining," when they really are telling it like it is. So appreciate your very useful feedback. Gail Post, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01482577821092891593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6702344196398061245.post-41267832373116578262015-04-16T10:39:25.372-04:002015-04-16T10:39:25.372-04:00As a former public school teacher, I can only reca...As a former public school teacher, I can only recall one year in my career where differentiation was adequately, not optimally, successful. That year, because of a university research study being conducted at our school to gather data on smaller class size, I had just 10 students in my Kindergarten class one year. One student needed acceleration into first grade reading and math, yet lagged way behind in small motor skills especially writing. Even with just 10 students and a teacher's aid, it was still difficult to manage having one student working on different material than the other students. Unfortunately, the differentiation was not continued for this student his following year in 1st grade.<br /><br />Differentiation is, as you said, a "code" word meant to make us all feel good about the education our children are receiving. It can mean simply giving a Kindergartener a "fat" pencil because his grip is not secure enough for a regular pencil, or it can be as involved as teaching a 5 year old first grade subjects while he is in Kindergarten. And having to differentiate at any degree for several students in a class of 20+ children is just next to impossible.<br /><br />Thanks, Gail, for parsing through the facts and information on differentiation and putting together an excellent article!Celi Trépanier https://www.blogger.com/profile/03574778816194151069noreply@blogger.com