Presentation by: Yuko Keane, Jamie Morris, Lindsay Foster
Session: E | Time: 11:05AM – 11:45AM | Location: Room 202
At Brockton School, we have been involved in an action-research project looking at the development of inclusive gifted and enriched education. As there is a certain level of uncertainty or dispute about the best way forward with gifted education, we decided, as a school, to prioritize an inclusive approach to gifted and enriched education. As such, we are focusing on extending teachers’ pre-existing units and lessons by encouraging students to dig deeper into the curriculum through the lenses of critical and creative thinking.
We began the project by working in close collaboration with Grade 1, 3, 6, and 7 teachers as they implemented and reflected on the use of enrichment “toolkits” in their classrooms. These “toolkits” were based on Amy Burvall and Dan Ryder’s work on critical creativity in the classroom. As students explored the toolkits and engaged in enriched opportunities, they were encouraged to make their thinking visible using a number of projects and platforms, including vlogging on FlipGrid. To further support and stretch our learning as a group, members of the research team enrolled in Harvard’s “Project Zero: Visible Thinking: Building Understanding Through Critical and Creative Thinking” – an online professional development opportunity.
Our long-term goal is to thread gifted and enriched opportunities across the school to support and extend our students’ learning within the context of the already rigorous IB framework. The purpose of this roundtable is to present our findings and to engage in a discussion around how to best support our most able learners in the classroom setting.
Abstract: 552