Transcript - Cindy Sheets

Creating Quality
Curriculum
for
Gifted Learners
Cindy Sheets
ALPS 2011
[email protected]
816-525-7046
Access to Presentation
http://cindysheets.weebly.com
 Google Docs for ALM 2011
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Curriculum
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Components
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Gifted
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What makes curriculum good for life-long
learners?
Curriculum
 The
planned interaction of pupils
with instructional content,
materials, resources, and
processes for evaluating the
attainment of educational
objectives
What KIND of Curriculum is Best?

Content Based Curriculum
(Joyce Van-Tassel Baska)

Parallel Curriculum Model
(Carol Tomlinson et al.)

Concept-Based Curriculum
(H. Lynn Erickson)
Problem-Based Curriculum
 Multiple Menu Model

(Renzulli et al.)
Some Underlying Assumptions About Curriculum
.
complex and ambiguous issues and problems
move students from novice to expert
original work in the disciplines
embrace challenge in learning
prepare students for change
sense of themselves and their possibilities
be compelling and satisfying
enough to encourage students to
persist in developing their
capacities
(The Parallel Curriculum Model, Carol Tomlinson et al.)
“Teachers who are beginning to implement
concept-process
curriculum
models
are
discovering techniques to help students think
beyond the facts. With a student population that
has been trained to think more about facts than
ideas, the transition can be difficult. It takes
patience and perseverance on the part of the
teachers, but if they persist, students will begin
to understand that facts relate to bigger ideas.”
(H. Lynn Erickson, Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction)
What about Standards and
Objectives?
And those TESTS!
Questions to ask yourself . . .
What do you really mean when you say
“I’m teaching a unit on __________”?
 Why are you teaching a unit on ______?
 What is the “big idea” or important lesson
you want students to understand from this
topic or unit?
 What do you want students to know,
understand or be able to do?

Concept Based Curriculum ++
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Promotes greater depth of understanding
 Provides transferable learning
 Provides structure for students
 Promotes higher-level thinking
 Less emphasis on facts
 Motivation!
Designing Curriculum Starting
From the Big Idea
principles or concepts
essential questions
content to best convey
concepts
which process works best
What skills will students need?
What content or activities might be used to
demonstrate understandings?
What activities will help the students
“uncover” the “big idea?”
NAGC Curriculum Standards
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Newly revised – outcomes based
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Available on the NAGC website and in
written form as well
Structure of Knowledge
Theory
Principles
Generalizations
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Concepts
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Topic
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Teaching for Meaning and
Understanding
big ideas
 inquire, think at high levels, and solve
problems.
 apply knowledge and skills in meaningful
tasks within authentic contexts

Ten Components of a Comprehensive
Curriculum Unit*
• Content
• Grouping Strategies
• Assessment
• Products
• Introduction
• Resources
• Teaching Strategies
• Extension Activities
• Learning Activities
• Modification
* As outlined in “The Parallel Curriculum Model” by Tomlinson, et al., 2002
Does that Make it Gifted?

Is it differentiated?

Is it adapted, modified, or a replacement of general
education curricula?

Is the pace a match to gifted learners?

Are there opportunities to extend or go beyond the basic
unit or curriculum?

Are there opportunities to explore personal areas of
interest, or to highlight personal strength areas?

Does it demand sufficient depth and higher level thinking
– not based just on “factual” learning?
What About the Affective Domain?
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Creativity
Creative production
 Creative problem solving
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Understanding of Self
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Intrapersonal skills
Social Skills and Interactions

Intrapersonal skills
The Five Dimensions of the
Autonomous Learner Model
ORIENTATION
ALM
Using the Dimensions of ALM
to Design Differentiated Lessons

Content =
a
a representative topic based in
discipline

Process =
Autonomous Learner Model

Environment = ALM Program Standards
ALM Program Standards

Product =
Life-Long Learners
(Autonomous Learners)
Put the Horse before the Cart . .
Before you can differentiate
effectively:
You need to have quality core curriculum
 You must agree on the “big ideas” and
lessons students need to know,
understand, and be able to do
 You must understand the principles and
concepts at the heart of the learning you
expect from students

Middle School Examples

Middle School Curriculum planning
Principles
 Example

Curriculum Components/ALM
Use Dimensions of the ALM and Ten
elements of quality curriculum to develop
the structure of the curriculum unit


ALM and Curriculum Components
Examples
Endangered Species
 Westward Movement (Pioneers)
 Creative Writing
 Template

Two Units
Awake Curiosity!
Paleontology
Why Paleontology?
• Theories change over
time
•Inquiry science process
skills
• Understand the nature
of science
•Practice methodologies
and skills used in the
discipline
Why Puzzles?
• Science is a process of
putting together puzzle pieces
until the “big picture” becomes
more clear
Tyrannosaurus
Charles Knight
Make-a-Saurus
My Life with Raptors and
Other Dinosaurs
The Dinosaurs of
Waterhouse Hawkins
Bambiraptor – KU Museum of Natural History
From the Farmer’s Field to
the White House
More than fun with fruits and
vegetables
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A Unit for Fourth
graders
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Data collection and
analysis; graphing
Creative skills
Propaganda and
Persuasion
Tie in to election
year themes
What are we Learning?
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Surveys & questions
Demographics
Data collection
Organization
Graphs and Charts
Analysis, Evaluation
Research
Ad appeals
Creative production
Presentation skills
Creative language and
persuasion
Technology skills
Is that on the Test?
Resources and References
The Parallel Curriculum: A Design to Develop High Potential
and Challenge High-Ability Learners, Carol Tomlinson, et al,
Corwin Press, 2002
Understanding by Design, Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, ASCD
1998
Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction: Teaching Beyond
the Facts, by H. Lynn Erickson, Corwin Press, 2002
The Multiple Menu Model: A Practical Guide for Developing
Differentiated Curriculum, by Joseph Renzulli, Jann Leppien, and
Tom Hays, Creative Learning Press, 2000
Content-Based Curriculum for High Ability Learners, by Joyce
Van-Tassel Baska (with Catherine A. Little) 2002
The Autonomous Learner Model, by George Betts and Jolene
Kircher, Alps Publishing, 1999