Yesterday, as I finished my three days at the CAG Institute in Oceanside, California, it was refreshing to have my belief about educating children confirmed. I have always believed that using the GATE standards and strategies would be the perfect vehicle for instruction for all students. Using GATE strategies are a must for gifted students, but some may say, no way. By teaching this way, you may uncover some student's hidden gift or talent. I have always thought that all students come to us with some sort of gift or talent, it is our job as educators to teach in a way that unlocks or uncovers those hidden or not the norm type of treasures. What do I mean by GATE standards, I mean using the elements of DEPTH, COMPLEXITY, ACCELERATION, AND NOVELTY.
DEPTH - refers to approaching or studying something from the concrete to the abstract, from the known to the unknown - Major dimensions of depth - details, patterns, rules, language of the discipline, trends, ethics, big idea and unanswered questions. See chart below for descriptions for each.
COMPLEXITY - is about making relationships, connecting to the other disciplines, layering of knowledge, and viewing ideas from multiple perspectives. Major dimensions of complexity - multiple perspectives, across disciplines, and relating over time
NOVELTY is bringing in the new; natural talent. Using creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and logic should evoke "novel" ideas Think: What can I do to underscore talent? Try independent study. Give students choice in projects with parameters.
ACCELERATION - is speeding up the rate of learning and increasing the difficulty of materials for the academic task. This does not mean moving children into another grade level. It means you accelerating understanding; accelerate the students thinking related to... Try having students "Think Like A ________(choose the disciplinarian - engineer, environmentalist, geographer...)
Download the "traditional" depth and complexity prompts. I will follow in later blog entries with the new prompts to help children to dig deeper into their learning.
DEPTH - refers to approaching or studying something from the concrete to the abstract, from the known to the unknown - Major dimensions of depth - details, patterns, rules, language of the discipline, trends, ethics, big idea and unanswered questions. See chart below for descriptions for each.
COMPLEXITY - is about making relationships, connecting to the other disciplines, layering of knowledge, and viewing ideas from multiple perspectives. Major dimensions of complexity - multiple perspectives, across disciplines, and relating over time
NOVELTY is bringing in the new; natural talent. Using creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and logic should evoke "novel" ideas Think: What can I do to underscore talent? Try independent study. Give students choice in projects with parameters.
ACCELERATION - is speeding up the rate of learning and increasing the difficulty of materials for the academic task. This does not mean moving children into another grade level. It means you accelerating understanding; accelerate the students thinking related to... Try having students "Think Like A ________(choose the disciplinarian - engineer, environmentalist, geographer...)
Download the "traditional" depth and complexity prompts. I will follow in later blog entries with the new prompts to help children to dig deeper into their learning.
depthandcomplexityiconchart_1.pdf |