General InformationClassroom Set Up
The ideal classroom is set up to encourage gifted students to engage with their environment and feel ownership of their learning. Teachers can support this through many ways. First, teachers should elicit student ideas and input on classroom set up and rules. Allowing students input on these two areas ensures that they understand the purpose behind the rules to which they are expected to adhere. When students are allowed to have a hand in establishing the rules and expectations of the classroom, they feel ownership and are more likely to follow, and encourage their classmates to follow the rules and expectations. Second, the classroom is structured, with “a specified set of procedures and expectations that everyone follows” (Meador, 2017). These procedures and expectations must be clearly communicated and easy to follow. This means the furniture and “stations” should be easy to identify and access for all students. Furniture should allow for students and the teacher to move between them without danger to either. Third, the classroom should be “well organized so that teachers and students can utilize the resources in the room quickly and efficiently” (Meador, 2017). Disorganized clutter keeps students and teachers alike from feeling comfortable in the learning environment. Likewise, when students cannot access what is needed for their learning or must spend time looking for the needed supplies, they lose out on important learning time. This also includes furniture that allows for easy grouping and ungrouping, technology that supports gifted learners, and items that help maximize creative thought. Finally, the classroom should reflect the learning and interests of the students. Teachers do this by carving out spaces on counters and walls to display student work, and student developed learning aids. This will further connect students to the classroom environment and give them a sense of ownership of the classroom, as well as to the learning process. |
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The Ideal Gifted Classroom Embraces Creativity
Gifted classrooms must embrace creativity to ensure that creativity and intellectual ability continue to develop together. Beghetto and Kaufman write that “failing to recognize this union can undermine the development of creative and academic potential” (2009). They explain further that the pursuit of knowledge has resulted in a great deal of “coded knowledge” that students spend most of their academic careers attaining. However, this pursuit of knowledge has diminished the creativity we all possess. The authors also pointed out that E.P. Torrence, famed researcher of creativity and motivation, “voiced his concern that the impoverished imaginations of many students resulted from the ‘concerted efforts’ of teachers and parents to eliminate creative and imaginative thinking at too early an age” (2009). To ensure that student’s creativity isn’t stifled further, the ideal gifted classroom will encourage creative endeavors and solutions to the problems the class studies. This is important because it also encourages students to rejoice in the idea of progress over perfection. The Ideal Gifted Classroom Pursues Progress over Perfection Teachers need to ensure that they establish an environment where progress is more important than perfection. Gifted and high-achieving students often suffer from a need to be perfect, and a desire to “get it right.” Rather than enjoying the process of learning and making mistakes gifted and high-achieving students typically focus only on what is needed to make an A. The ideal classroom for gifted students will reinforce that making mistakes is where they grow their understanding. Teachers can support this environment by establishing a supportive environment where gifted students feel comfortable stepping out of their comfort zones. Students who feel supported in their exploration of new endeavors can try new things without the fear of failure holding them back from achievement. One of the ways teachers reward progress in the gifted classroom is by using a process rubric. This type of rubric evaluates students on the process of learning and not the product. This helps to reinforce that the process of learning is more important than the product. Another way teachers support this idea is by encouraging students to reflect on their learning. Sources: Beghetto, R. A., & Kaufman, J. C. (2009). Intellectual Estuaries: Connecting Learning and Creativity in Programs of Advanced Academics. Journal of Advanced Academics, 20(2), 296–324. Bruce-Davis, M. N., & Chancey, J. M. (2012). Connecting Students to the Real World: Developing Gifted Behaviors Through Service Learning. Psychology in the Schools, 49(7), 716–723. Carroll, K. L. (2008). In their own voices. Gifted Child Today, 3(4), 36–43. Loveless, B. (n.d.). Guide on classroom design and layout. Classroom Design and Layout (Guide). Retrieved March 7, 2022, from https://www.educationcorner.com/classroom-design-layout.html Meador, D. (2017, November 11). How does your vision of the ideal classroom stack up to this list? ThoughtCo. Retrieved March 7, 2022, from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-you-will-find-in-the-ideal-classroom-3194710 Strip, C. A., & Hirsch, G. (n.d.). Helping Gifted Children SOAR: The Ideal Classroom. G.A.T.E. Resources. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://gateresources.blogspot.com/2008/10/helping-gifted-children-learn.html n.a. The learning environment. Education northwest. (n.d.). Retrieved March 7, 2022, from http://www.nwrel.org/msec/just_good/9/ch5.html |