The desire for fulfilment. The urge for a challenge. The yearning for more out of life. These are common emotions, familiar to most professionals who, at one stage or another, found themselves trapped in an unsatisfying job that failed to feed their appetite. Now imagine this feeling as a child: Day in, day out, at the same desk, begrudgingly carrying out the same mundane tasks that dramatically neglect to pose a challenge. As others around you struggle, you sit patiently waiting for the class to catch up, desperately scanning the four walls of the room for some form of stimulation,…
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Why Our Gifted Children Need More Support
What Drives Us? The Surprising Secret to Building Student Motivation
During a recent discussion on The Dropout Epidemic: What We Can Do to Keep Students in School, Steven A. Levy raised the question of motivation. Pointing out Dan Pink’s research on the The Puzzle of Motivation, he unveiled an ideal framework on which to understand and apply these theories to education, driving students to continue learning, constructing their own individual paths to success. Pink outlines how our current system operates in opposition to what actually drives us to succeed, dulling thinking, and blocking creativity. He places an emphasis on three essential factors that he suggests lead to better performance and…
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The Do’s and Don’ts of Differentiating Instruction
#1. Do Get to Know your Students First Knowing your students is the first step to differentiating your teaching. With a better understanding of your students’ strengths and weaknesses, you can ask the following questions: What do they need? How do they learn best? How can I challenge them in the right way? What would help them succeed? Although finding this out can prove a challenge, by taking the time to analyze each student’s learning, testing out different methods, and incorporating technology to help manage the task, you’ll soon find you know more than you think. #2. Don’t Take on…
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You Cannot Teach a Child You do Not Know
“Children learn at their own pace. It’s inconvenient. It’s terribly inconvenient.” Renowned educationist, Ted Sizer, made this comment, among other thought-provoking statements during his speech at the Australian National Schools Network entitled “I cannot teach a child I do not know.” Sizer goes on to express the need for teacher collaboration on a daily basis to get to know students, the importance of teamwork and flexibility, and why we need to stop categorizing children by their ages. Years on, a similar conversation is still thriving as ‘personalization’ again takes center stage, and we continue to ask if it’s possible to…
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The 4 Biggest Features of Personalized Learning Environments
A recent study on personalized learning carried out by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation identified 4 key elements that formed the most effective personalized learning practices. The study which involved 23 public charter schools, 5,000 students, and 2 years of implementation discovered extensive benefits of personalized learning including significant increases in student achievement, and more positive working and learning environments. The impressive results were found to hover directly around 4 key ingredients, which proved to deliver the best personalized learning solutions. #1. Learner Profiles Within the personalized learning environment, emphasis is placed on understanding each and every student. Learner…
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Competency-Based Education: From Grades to Mastery
Competency-based education is nothing new. Dating back to the 1990’s, postsecondary institutions have been integrating CBE as a means of measuring learning as opposed to measuring time. A more robust, self-paced method of assessment, “CBE shifts the focus from grades to learning, emphasizing frequent, meaningful feedback that empowers students to take more responsibility for learning than in conventional models” (Educause, 2014). Advancements in technology have since brought a new focus on CBE, as an ideal solution for the assessment of learning in both K-12 and higher education. Grades to Mastery With extensive units to cover and a hectic curriculum to…
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