Differentiation in The Creative Classroom
Many students are gifted, creative, and or exceptionally talented. How can teachers help them develop critical thinking and creativity. For the past few years, teachers have been encouraged to increase the academic "rigor"; however, the origin of the word comes from the latin word, "rigere". "Rigere" means "stiff" and unbending.
is that what children really need? consider some alternatives...
What about:
wonder - the desire and curiosity to know something
vigor - effort and enthusiasm
vitality - being strong and active, having power and energy for life
1. Compacting - allow students to move through the lesson at their own pace. Use pretests to see if they need the instruction. If they have mastered a topic, allow them to work on alternative choice activities.
2. Independent Studies - give students opportunities to pursue their interests for a little while each day. Encourage them to use creative thinking in the process of pursuing their interests.
3. Tracking Progress - provide opportunities for children to evaluate their own work. They can use a rubric to measure their products. Give them the ability to use charts and graphs to record and track their progress (for example-record their scores and times on fact tests).
4. Teamwork - establish routines where the students have the chance to interact, collaborate and work with like-minded peers. These can be long term projects or short thinking challenges.
5. Choice - give children the chance to make choices within a topic or unit of study. This can be accomplished through choice boards, brainstorming, and Bloom's Taxonomy Planning Grids.
2. Independent Studies - give students opportunities to pursue their interests for a little while each day. Encourage them to use creative thinking in the process of pursuing their interests.
3. Tracking Progress - provide opportunities for children to evaluate their own work. They can use a rubric to measure their products. Give them the ability to use charts and graphs to record and track their progress (for example-record their scores and times on fact tests).
4. Teamwork - establish routines where the students have the chance to interact, collaborate and work with like-minded peers. These can be long term projects or short thinking challenges.
5. Choice - give children the chance to make choices within a topic or unit of study. This can be accomplished through choice boards, brainstorming, and Bloom's Taxonomy Planning Grids.