This is my paper in EPSY 5740 on Differentiation
Differentiation Curriculum and Social
Emotional Needs of the Gifted
Introduction
My interest is in the differentiation strategy for the gifted
students with social and emotional needs, in particular I want to understand
what parents can do to support the differentiation process in the schools. I
will divide the writing into 5 subjects.
- An introduction to Social and
Emotional of the Gifted
- An overview of an article of
“The Millennium Curriculum: Confronting the Issues and Proposing Solutions”
by Tim O’Brien.
- An overview of an article of
“Fostering Autonomous Learners through Levels of Differentiation” by
George Betts.
- An overview of an article of
“Differentiation: Lessons from Master Teachers” by Jennifer Carolan and
Abigail Guinn.
- Conclusion and recommendation.
- An introduction to Social and
Emotional of the Gifted
James T. Webb in his article of “Nurturing Social-Emotional
Development of Gifted Children”, showed some characteristics of the gifted
children which may create problems. These are two examples; firstly, since the
gifted can thinks critically and evaluates others, they may interrupt or
criticize others openly, whilst the peers may consider it as an offensive act. Secondly, the gifted boys are very sensitive
emotionally, therefore, they are easily moved by heart-touching stories, and
especially movies. I had a personal
experience with a gifted boy and his friend who watched a movie together. The film depicted the struggle and the hard
life of a young boy from a poor family in pursuing his education. The gifted boy was touched and cried while
watching. However, his friend, an
ordinary boy, was bored. It was not the
only time he cried while watching movie. He is emotionally sensitive and easily moved. Not all gifted
students have social and emotional problems however Miraca U.M.Gross Phd
wrote showed to us that studies for children who are exceptionally (IQ160-179)
or profoundly (IQ 180+) gifted have the problems. Gross idea was published in
one major book on the issue: The Social and Emotional Development of Gifted
Children What Do We Know? (p-19)
James Webb suggested that exogenous problems usually become
the origin of social and emotional problems of the gifted. Gifted students with
social emotional problems may have difficulty managing their own emotion and
managing relationship with others. They should have an opportunity to be
trained in mastering interpersonal skill within the school curriculum and also
in their own family.
- An overview of an article of
“The millennium curriculum: Confronting the issues and proposing
solutions” by Tim O’Brien.
Tim O’Brien worked for Center for the Study of Special
Education, Westminster College, Oxford and the article appeared in Support for
Learning Vol.13 No.4 in 1998, 2 years before we reached the millennium. O’Brien
argued that the curriculum had a very important role. He stated that “Pupils
develop their perception of the world through the questions that the curriculum
asks them and the meaning they construct from the answers that they can, or
cannot, provide” (p-147). He wrote that curriculum should be based on learning
needs, not learning difficulties and he proposed a strategy to serve learning
needs, he argued that the curriculum must emphasize individuality as well as recognizing
and valuing commonality. Below is the
figure to understand learning need.
He
wrote that curriculum should respond to needs that relate to every child’s
personhood, firstly they are the needs that are common to all, secondly needs
that relate to their membership of group, gender, race, culture, disability and
family and lastly it should be able to serve the individual needs or needs that
other pupils do not have because they are unique to a specific person. This
model leads us to his further idea of ICP or Individual Curriculum Plan. He
argued that the success of ICP depends on the collaboration of the teacher, the
learning assistant, members of the support services, the parents and, of vital
importance, the child.
O’Brien
briefly and clearly explained the importance of curriculum and how it should be
developed to serve an individual need of students. His figure of
common-distinct and individual is powerful to explain the need for
differentiated curriculum. However there are two things that I cannot find in
his writing. Firstly how the idea will be operated in day to day school activities;
he did not write about the challenges of the operational level. Secondly,
O’Brien did not discuss the human competency that will make things happen, they
are the people who provide assistance, facilitation and support to the
students: the teacher, the learning assistant, members of the support services
and the parents.
The O’Brien idea of
“individualization” curriculum is in line with the idea of differentiated
instruction in mixed-ability classrooms.
Differentiation is the main strategy to serve “individual” needs of gifted
children. National
Research Council (1990) showed to us that the meaning making process in
influenced by the understandings, interests, beliefs, how the student learns
best, and the student’s attitudes about self and school.
- An overview of an article of
“Fostering Autonomous Learners through Levels of Differentiation” by
George Betts.
George Betts, Ed.D., is professor of special education in the area of
gifted and talented education at the University of
Northern Colorado. He experienced his sixth 3-year term on the executive board
of the National Association for Gifted Children. In his article in Roeper
Review, Summer 2004, Vol 26, No.4, page 190-191 he stated that “A major goal
of the education of the gifted and talented is the development of the student
as an independent, self-directed life-long learner” (p-190). He argued that this is a complex task and it
needs support, trust, respect, and facilitations of educators, parents and
mentors. He figured out the Three Levels of Curriculum and Instruction as
follows:
Level one
represents basic knowledge and skill for all students. He stressed that social
and emotional development of the gifted was limited at the level one. Level two
is Teacher Differentiated Curriculum. In this level modifications are made, learning
styles and characteristics are acknowledged, instruction is advanced and the
concept of differentiation is integrated. However Betts found out that not all
gifted students can reach success within the level 2. He stated that “Many gifted learners are successful while others have
not found the right fit” (p-191). Those who are not successful show that they
need a further modification of curriculum based on interests, abilities, and
characteristics. He argued that this group of gifted students needs the
"total" learner, including in-depth involvement in the affective
domains. Betts pointed out that at Level Three it is essential to address
emotional and social development, as well as cognitive development.
There are
three things very essential for the level 3, one it has an objective of
building up the spirit of independent and self-directed learning. Two, it
includes social and emotional development of students and three a mentor is
necessary. Betts ended his writing by explaining the three components of
Learner-Differentiated Curriculum and Instruction, they are: Explorations,
Investigations and In-Depth Studies.
Betts offered
a more detailed explanation than O’Brien, he showed a particular need of the
gifted with social and emotional problem and he proposed a solution. He did not
discuss to the specific all kind of social and emotional problems of the gifted
however he successfully pointed out a general solution.
As the social
and emotional problems of gifted students is more for children who are
exceptionally (IQ160-179) or profoundly (IQ 180+) gifted, the challenge for
gifted specialist is to prepare a readiness differentiation which will cover
the Level Three of Betts’s idea. In this Level Three it is essential to include
the social and emotional development as well as cognitive development.
- An overview of an article of
“Differentiation: Lessons from Master Teachers” by Jennifer Carolan and
Abigail Guinn.
This article
wrote by Jennifer Carolan and Abigail Guinn offered a different perspective.
They showed differentiation in operational levels, it is not merely theory but
it has various examples. The article was published in Educational
Leadership, in February 2007, Volume 6, Number 5. Carolan and Guinn started their
writing with a positive attitude to diversity. Many people think that
differentiation is a remedy for the problems caused by the diversity of
students however the authors of the article stated: “Diversity is a gold mine. It offers all members of a
diverse group multiple ideas, perspectives, and solutions to problems. Teachers
can nurture this diversity early on by maximizing the potential of each student
in their classrooms, including students who come to the class with defined
disabilities. And practicing differentiated instruction, matching teaching to
the needs of each learner, is an ideal way to help diversity thrive” (p-44)
Both authors from fall 2005 to spring 2006, observed teachers' classes in two middle schools in a high-performing
district near San Francisco, California. They witnessed students with
disabilities ranging from ADHD to severe hearing loss and physical disabilities
were mainstreamed into regular education classrooms in
these schools. They
also found out in a class room a student with ADD worked on a content-relevant
analytic exercise in the class library, free of distractions. And a student
with Asperger syndrome designed a computer-based interactive graphic of King Zoser's
step pyramid that allowed the user to climb the pyramid, with text on each step
highlighting the pyramid's importance.
The key to the
strategy of master teachers in these two middle schools is differentiation but
it is not a “usual” differentiation. According to the authors these expert
teachers created what Noddings has called a “caring classroom”—an environment
that is safe, democratic, diverse, and inclusive (Noddings, 1984). They showed
that affective components in differentiation are important and it can become a
key success factor, but they have often been overlooked. The authors wrote down
that each of the teachers they studied in these outstanding schools considered
the social and emotional aspects of the classroom environment essential to differentiation.
This article described
success stories of differentiation by creating a “caring class room”, it does
not show the detailed strategy how to practise a “caring class room” and there
is no information on how the five outstanding teachers in the two schools are
trained. However this article echoes a hope for many gifted students with
social and emotional problems.
- Conclusion and reflections
I have five conclusions:
Firstly, practicing differentiation
is practicing respect to individual differences. The idea of ICP (Individual
Curriculum Plan) is a solution that all the stakeholders of education must consider.
Secondly, ICP should have an aim to build up autonomous learners. It is not
only a process, but also a way to direct students to be an independent learner.
Thirdly, there is a group of gifted students with social and emotional problems
which need a differentiation program that is sensitive and responsive to their
specific needs. Fourthly, the goal of ICP cannot be reached without a collaboration
of the school, parents, students, gifted specialist and the government. Fifthly,
the mentor should not only provide technical support but also affective
support.
My reflections
One, differentiation is not a negotiated
strategy in education to build up education for all in the 21st century. The
need is so obvious and without differentiation the gifted students will be left
behind. Two, we should include social and emotional aspects in the
differentiation strategy. If we do not do this homework we will leave a group
of the gifted with social and emotional problems without solution. Three, we
need to have a model of differentiation that is sensitive and supportive to the
needs of the gifted with social and emotional problems. Four, as a parent I need
a “parenting curriculum” how to help gifted children with social and emotional
problem. Five, we need to train teachers and parents to be sensitive
to the problems of a certain group of gifted students with social and emotional
needs and understand various basic solution to help them.
References:
Betts, G. (2004), Fostering autonomous learners through levels of
differentiation, Roeper
Review Summer 2004,
26, 190-191. Retrieved from http://www.lwhiting.info/414/Blog/Entries/2010/1/31_Supplemental_Articles_files/Fostering%20Autonomous%20Learners%20Through%20Levels%20of%20Differentiation%20.pdf
Carolan, J, & Guinn,A, (2007), Differentiation:
Lessons from master teachers, Educational Leadership, 64(5),
Retrieved from
http://s163884253.onlinehome.us/__oneclick_uploads/2008/12/differention.pdf
Neihart,
M, (Ed), Reis, S (Ed), Robinson, N (Ed), Moon,
S (Ed), (2002), Social
and Emotional Development of Gifted Children: What Do We Know?, The National
Association for Gifted Children,Prufock Press, Texas.
Tomlinson, A, (2005, )How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed Ability
Classrooms (2nd Edition), Perason Education, New Jersey.
O’Brien, T,
(1998), The millennium curriculum: Confronting the issues
and proposing solutions, 13 (4), p
147-152, Retrieved from
http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/Magda/My%20Research%20Library/Curriculum%20and%20Instruction/curriculum%20issue-article.pdf
Webb, J, (1994), Nurturing social-emotional
development of gifted children,
ERIC EC Digest #E527, Retrieved
from http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/eric/e527.html
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