Organization and Focus

STANDARDS-BASED CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION

Local, state and national standards underlie most curricular and instructional planning today. Many national standards (like those set by the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics) lay the foundation for high levels of learning in schools. When written clearly, state standards may lead teachers to design meaningful lessons and units. Educators must also take into account local guidelines as they create learning opportunities for their students.

Dr. Solow guides teachers and specialists in applying new instructional models and strategies to their planning while incorporating the various standards. She does not allow standards to constrain teachers’ creativity and personal styles when they design their classroom activities. Rather, she demonstrates ways for educators to adjust and fine-tune standards to meet their own planning desires. Gifted education and strategies like differentiation may incorporate standards readily.

FACULTY IN-SERVICES, WORKSHOPS AND STUDY GROUPS

Different forms of staff development triangulate teacher and administrator training. During broad faculty in-services, Dr. Solow may introduce a new system of interacting with students or focus more pointedly on specific teaching methods. Workshops are the prime venue for encouraging teachers to try innovative strategies because the staff gets the chance to play with ideas and activities themselves. Small study groups invite the deeper examination of teaching and learning. The participants’ input steers topic choices and areas of concentration. Dr. Solow responds to the needs of the participants and with them, determines the group’s direction and goals.

TEACHER OBSERVATION AND COLLABORATIVE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

For school administrators who welcome an outside perspective, Dr. Solow offers collaborative curriculum development with teachers and specialists. She introduces educators to fresh concepts and then collaborates in instructional design until they have practiced enough to feel self-confident. Sometimes, teachers volunteer to get Dr. Solow’s individualized attention by participating in pilot groups to be the first to undertake new approaches in the classroom. The pilot group members write their own lessons and units, invite Dr. Solow to observe, receive constructive feedback, and then self-assess their performance. What might they change next time? What worked successfully? What new ideas occurred to them as they were teaching? Answering those questions forthrightly produces better teaching based on reflection and self-analysis.

Sample Topics

DIFFERENTIATION

Differentiation of instruction means that a teacher’s goal is to provide meaningful work to all students at appropriate levels of challenge. A teacher first assesses the abilities, background knowledge and motivation that a student has and tries to match that profile to the type of class activity, homework and projects s/he assigns.

Differentiation may address a student’s level of interest in the topic, knowledge and experience in the subject area, and preferences in learning styles. For any given lesson, the teacher may differentiate content (what students learn), process (how they make sense of the information), and product (a tangible outcome which demonstrates that the student can apply the central principles and/or concepts to other situations).

Differentiation means that students are given equal opportunities to be involved with engaging work, even when they are not performing the exact same task at any given classroom moment. Only by considering students’ prior knowledge, readiness, interest level, and learner profile may teachers design truly effective lessons for their diverse classroom populations. Cultural differences, learning difficulties, preferred rate of work, and type of environment are among the elements a discerning teacher must consider before planning a successful lesson/unit.

INQUIRY

In Developing More Curious Minds (ASCD, 2003), John Barrell writes, “No wonder that Samuel Johnson, writing in The Rambler (1751) notes, ‘Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.’ Our minds thrive upon the process of inquiry – our striving to find and figure out what seems strange, unusual or novel” (p. 13).

Inquiry is a process of learning about the world through our own questions, the motivating thoughts that drive us to seek answers. Students must learn how to ask good questions, how to research answers and then formulate new, more sophisticated questions so that they may investigate any issues that intrigue them throughout their lives. Rather than simply being told what information they must absorb to grasp a subject, students need to search for their answers by examining their own process of learning about things that interest them.

Whether a teacher uses lessons that provide guided inquiry or allows students a more open-ended approach to exploration, the ultimate goal is to prepare students to become more self-reliant and independent thinkers. By following what puzzles them, students find their own, natural motivation for learning.

BACKWARD DESIGN/ UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN

A system developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, “Understanding by Design” reminds all educators that to teach clearly one must begin with a lucid idea of what is really worth knowing. In our society, where the rate of information proliferates exponentially, teachers cannot possibly “cover” topics comprehensively, as if there were a set of unchanging facts and ideas in any particular discipline. Instead, teachers must learn how to choose those big ideas and salient concepts/facts that are at the core of their lessons. By “uncovering” key ideas in a field, students will know how to determine their learning priorities in other subjects as well.

At the heart of this design method are three basic steps: 1/ identifying desired results (i.e., what should the student know, understand and be able to do at the end of a lesson/unit), 2/ determining acceptable evidence (i.e., choosing authentic assessment methods that will indicate that real understanding has occurred), and 3/ planning learning experiences (i.e., deciding what activities will best help students make their own, personal sense out of the subject). Before planning, a teacher must know what s/he wants students to understand by the end of the session. By writing an “essential/ enduring understanding,” a statement of the most important idea(s) to prove, teachers provide direction both for themselves and for their students. Once teachers know where they are headed, students feel more satisfied following their lead.

Gifted Education

PROGRAM PLANNING AND EVALUATION

What are some of the critical elements that should be present in a school’s gifted education program? How well do educators know their specific population of talented and gifted students? What will indicate that the gifted program is effective?

Careful planning must precede the implementation of gifted options or services in any school division. Dr. Solow works with regular classroom teachers, specialists in math, science, language arts, etc., and gifted resource coordinators to pre-assess the needs for acceleration, expansion or enrichment of their student population’s learning. Depending on the cultural diversity of the area, the division’s general and gifted education philosophies, the available resources (including teachers, equipment, and materials), and the programming desires of the relevant participants, Dr. Solow guides personnel in the creation of a responsive and innovative gifted program.

To be accountable to parents, students, and administration, the gifted staff must be able to demonstrate that their choices of gifted curriculum and delivery models really work. How is the gifted curriculum linked to the regular classroom? If the gifted studies are independent of general education, then what lasting understandings will the students derive? Is the school staff supervising students’ education closely enough to ensure that there are not significant gaps in the children’s knowledge? Dr. Solow explores the answers to these questions with those who are responsible for forming the division’s gifted education plan.

Evaluation of the program can be measured in numerous ways. Teachers can self-evaluate or be assessed based on relevant criteria. Students may comment about their satisfaction with the gifted services at their schools. Parents may contribute their perspectives about the effectiveness of the gifted program as well. In addition, certain authentic assessments may be used to determine how deeply the students have understood the more complex concepts and big ideas that they have encountered.

UNDERSTANDING GIFTED/TALENTED CHILDREN

Sometimes, gifted/talented children’s behavior pushes teachers to the limits of their patience. To help teachers understand their more common characteristics, Dr. Solow provides lectures, discussions, and workshops for faculty, K-12. Staff members get the chance to vent about behavior that ruffles their feathers in a setting where they will also get solid advice about dealing with those problems. At times, it is the curriculum that bores the students and causes them to act out. At other points, the teacher’s style may make the student uncomfortable and unwilling to participate positively. When children have dual exceptionalities (e.g., gifted/learning disabled), they may also have trouble adjusting to classroom demands if they are not given the proper support.

Teachers must bear in mind that gifted children have certain heightened emotional responses that may partially account for their behavior in school. By learning about the academic, social and emotional frameworks from which gifted students often act, educators can become more effective in resolving potential conflicts.

Naturally, many gifted students have very positive behaviors. To ensure that they continue to be productive in school, teachers should know what learning approaches work best for them.

COORDINATION WITH SCHOOL SPECIALISTS (e.g., SPECIAL EDUCATION)

The best innovations occur when gifted coordinators invite specialists to join the process of devising alternative paths for advanced or twice exceptional students. Dr. Solow coordinates the efforts of these experts so that their work combines smoothly to the benefit of the children. Bringing the best knowledge from each specialist to the table, Dr. Solow encourages meaningful collaborations from all parties while adding her own, professional perspective to the mix.

Parents of Gifted/High Ability Children

HOW TO ESTABLISH AND RUN PARENT AND RESOURCE SUPPORT GROUPS

Having organized and run Guiding Gifted Children, a parent resource and support group, for almost seven years, Dr. Solow knows how to help schools promote parent contentment. By encouraging the creation of parent groups and by providing some constructive guidelines for their operation, schools will foster better parent-school relationships. Elements to consider in forming a group include: getting knowledgeable speakers to address important issues; providing workshops that allow parents to share their common concerns and seek solutions; writing and distributing a print or digital newsletter; creating parent primers or websites to inform the community about gifted education practices and programs; and ways for parents to support the school’s efforts and their children’s needs.

In national presentations, Dr. Solow has provided schools with both guidelines and specific program suggestions to help them establish parent groups in their divisions.

CREATING INFORMATIVE NEWSLETTERS AND WEBSITES

Dr. Solow assists either gifted staff and/or parents of gifted children in developing engaging, informational newsletters and websites. Celebrating students’ achievements, advertising outstanding program opportunities, and keeping people abreast of staff training, state requirements, and changes to the gifted program are a few of the subjects that designers may wish to include in their media products.

COMMUNITY COLLABORATION

"The Magical Measurement History Tour" is the mathematical exhibit that Dr. Solow and her colleague, Marie Beaurline, designed to encourage children’s inquisitiveness about the history and concepts of measurement. The Discovery Museum in Charlottesville mounted the creators’ exhibit and incorporated many of their ideas for exploration and differentiated questions in a packet made especially for teachers. Such a project is just one example of how communities and schools can collaborate to produce stimulating investigations of core concepts for all levels of learners.

Other community roles include acting as professional/academic/artisan mentors, speaking to classes about topics that are relevant to their work, facilitating science experiments or art appreciation, inspiring students to solve real-world problems, and funding special ventures that students develop. Dr. Solow advises schools about how best to use their community resources and create successful, collaborative relationships.

For more details on any of these services please contact Razel Solow at razelsolow@yahoo.com