1. The Art of Communication: Instructional Strategies for Gifted Learners

2. Differentiation Why differentiate?
Student focused – adjust teaching style to ensure that every child in the classroom reaches the destination/goals.
Response to student readiness – small group, centers
Response to student interests – passions, strengths, culturally relevant
Response to student learning profile – learning style, culture, gender

3. Ways to Differentiate Content – what the student needs to learn
Process – - the way the content is learned (activities students engage in to master content)
Product – outcomes of the instruction (using multiple forms of
communication).

4. Teacher Attitude Be flexible - Be able to adjust
the curriculum or presentation of
information.
See it as a journey – it is a
process…take it one step at a time.
Practice – collaboration with other
teachers
“They may continue to teach to the middle of the class, missing the learners at either extreme of the normal curve—believing that the top will get the information anyway and the struggling learners may take too long to learn it.”

5. The Art of Communication

6. Paideia Greek word for the holistic upbringing of a child
Developed in the early 1980s by Mortimer Adler
Active learning through Socratic Seminar
Seminars: achieve a deeper understanding about the ideas and values in a text.
Socrates – didactic learning – finding meaning in texts and about the world through the art of communication

7. Socratic Seminar How To: Choose an interesting and relevant text
“The Lady or the Tiger” by Frank Stockton
Teach the students formal seminar rules
Practice annotating literature and writing open-ended questions.
Show students how to communicate their ideas effectively

8. Let’s Practice
Read the short passage from an article on Nature vs Nurture.
Come up with an open ended question: What has more effect on your personality: genes or environment?
Engage in discussion.

9. Nature vs Nurture
One of the oldest arguments in the history of psychology is the Nature vs Nurture debate. Each of these sides have good points that it's really hard to decide whether a person's development is predisposed in his DNA, or a majority of it is influenced by this life experiences and his environment. As of now, we know that both nature and nurture play important roles in human development, but we have not known yet whether we are developed majorly because of nature or due to nurture.

10. Grading James – off topic Kate – on phone
Text as support
Argued against
DNA
Kate – on phone
Did not come prepared.
Lily – pointed out genetic composition as a factor
Used text as support

11. Rubric
Participant offers enough solid analysis, without prompting, to move the conversation forward.
Participant, through his or her comments, demonstrates a deep knowledge of the text and the question.
Participant has come to the seminar prepared, with notes and a marked/annotated text . 
Participant uses quotes or specific details from the text to support his or her ideas.
Participant offers clarification and/or follow-up that extends the conversation.  
Score: ___________ out of 25 = __________________

12. Speed Dating
Creates a learning environment that is active and collaborative.
Preparation: read the text and come in with notes and questions
Set up and Discussion:
Students are in pairs and are given a certain amount of time to discuss content
One set of students remain in seats, while the others rotate.
Students take notes on what they have learned from each individual and decide if they want to “date” the student.

13. Let’s practice Arrange yourself in pairs.
Here is your topic: Trump for President
You have two minutes.
Switch partners.
An important piece of this activity is reflection: What did I learn from this activity?

14. Graffiti Boards
An artistic representation of the thought process, ideas, and patterns that students understand while learning a concept.
Connection through art: “What is on your mind?”

15. Let’s Practice Your topic: the Future
Write, draw, or doodle anything that is on your mind.
Remember: Reflection is a very important component to graffiti boards. A journal entry is an effective tool.

16. Question Tests
Testing technique: Quest – using questions to gauge student knowledge.
Instead of answering questions, students generate questions that show their understanding of a text or a unit of study.
In this capacity, they act as the teacher and create a test.

17. Rubric for Grading

18. Let’s try it: Topic: Differentiation
Using the rubric as a guide, create questions that show your understanding of the topic.
Let’s share – In your group, what questions were most effective at showing understanding of the topic?

19. R.A.F.T Writing Role of the Writer – Who are you?
A writing strategy that helps
students understand their role as a
writer.
Helps students focus on audience.
Role of the Writer – Who are you?
Audience – To whom are you writing?
Format – In what format are you writing?
Topic: What are you writing about?

20. Raft Rubric

21. Let’s try it Role Audience Format Topic Big Bad Wolf Three Little Pigs
Rap
Why can’t we be friends?
Old Man/Lady
Class of students
Persuasive essay
If I knew then what I know now.
Historian
TV Audience
editorial
History will repeat itself.
Therapist
Peer group
brochure
Love is a battlefield.

22. Questions?
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