How to Motivate Gifted Students
Transcript of How to Motivate Gifted Students
Gifted Students: Motivational Ideas
The Future Belongs to the Learners
NOTThe Learned
ByAlan Haskvitz, classroom teacher
• National Teachers Hall of Fame
• Named 100 Most Important Educators in World
• USA Today All American Educator
• Reader’s Digest Hero in Education
• NCSS Middle Level Teacher of the Year
• NCSS National Exemplary Program
• Learning Magazine Professional Best American Teacher Award
• Cherry International Great Teacher Award
• George Washington Freedom Foundation Award
• State/National Awards in economics, technology, environment, agriculture, economics, art, service learning, journalism, English, history, photography, creative writing, civics
• Featured on NPR, CNN, Time, Newsweek, and USA Today
• Featured in several textbooks, national television, books
Never been observed by State or Federal or District official
My articles
https://carfamily.wordpress.com/category/teaching/
http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/author/alan-haskvitz/
Gifted education
http://www.teachers.net/gazette/AUG08/haskvitz/
Definition of Underachievement
• Underachievement is a behavior and thus can change over time.
• Underachievement is content and situation specific.
• Gifted children who do not succeed in school are often successful in outside activities.
• Underachievement is in the eyes of the beholder.
What, Me Worry?
• Highly gifted kids will often adopt a pattern of avoidance of hard work when they have never learned to work hard.
• Many gifted kids haven't had to work very hard to do well, but that starts to change as they get older.
• They may have gotten away with avoiding things they don't do well.
• Another thing to consider is that many gifted kids, particularly the verbally gifted, would rather argue a point instead of using facts.
Intrinsic RewardsExtrinsic Rewards result in a “What’s in it for me” attitude.
Intrinsic Rewards result in the building of self-esteem
Rewards need to promote long term behavior change. They do not need to be related to achievement.
Not all gifted are the same
Ideas that work Put away that rubics cube. Why? Only one goal.
Short term. What is the learning involved?
Cover material in more depth
Do less
Use a variety of methods
Appeal to their negative nature
Get them on your side.
Motivation can be related to methodsAlter the curriculum, but don’t change the objective
Accept different proofs of knowledge
You need to realize that good words can be “bad words”
Fear of success
Always value talking to student and asking opinions
Gifted students in most cases are good test takers have the ability to remember things more quickly, but they aren't gifted in the sense that they have a gift. What they have is a different way of learning, and even that may reflect only one part of the curriculum such as music, or math.
They can more easily retrieve data.
SoApply
LearningSolve ProblemsDo Something
Push Outside Comfort Zones
Dealing with ProblemsUse indirect approach
If you see a student having a problem, visit other students before and after your visit.
Use Lost Scout Approach
How did they get lost?
Achievement is Not Motivation
It's important to remember that while you may get a student to do homework it may not be motivating to the child.
They need to learn where the material is leading. They need to see the path.
Make it MeaningfulTeach them speed reading
Teach them how to write by showing them the structure writers use. End First
Give them the answer and they produce the question
Relate to their life
Make it “fun”
Competition>Turn it to your advantage
>Importance of team work
>Help others be better
>Avoid “The Best”It Teaches Avoidance
Learn by DoingSet Baselines
Prove that you know this
How would you teach this to others
Use variety of intelligences/methods
CalendarDon’t underestimate value of large calendar andTimeline(what they learned)
Learning Timeline
Today I learned
Motivating as they look backANDHelps them organize their thoughtsANDEnables them to see direction
Create own learning aids1. Use cards (discard)2. Use Cornell note taking3. Invent secret note taking system4. Write their own textbookhttp://www.bookemon.com/read-book/198980
Getting Them Organized
Battle Plan for the Day
Three Transfers
Linking
Use Linking
Make connections across curriculum
Ongoing
Large sheet of paper
Daily upgrades
Reflections
Teachers should be an
examplePublish, Research, be Active
It is motivating for students to be proud of their teacher
Don’tDon't put up student
examples
Don’t isolate students
Don’t compare their work
Don’t judge creativity
QuotesAny gifted child can potentially get in real trouble because of the way they are handled.Itzhak Perlman
Genius without education is like silver in the mine. – Benjamin Franklin
Each time we steal a student's struggle, we steal the opportunity for them to build self-confidence. They must learn to do hard things to feel good about themselves. – Sylvia Rimm
You can never hold a person down without staying down with him. – Booker T. Washington
High Interest Siteshttps://www.awesomestories.com/
https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/PEOPLE-and-ANIMALS-in-MEDIEVAL-EUROPE-Animals-as-Defendants
The first recorded trial - in 824 - took place when moles did something wrong in the Valley of Aosta (near today's Italian-Swiss border). Found guilty, the offending moles were excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
E. P. Evans, in his 1906 book entitled The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals, tells us that judging animals extends back in time to ancient Greece. Even inanimate objects - such as a fallen pillar - could become a criminal defendant. The point of the cases was to investigate how terrible events had come about.
Awesome Stories is the best source of material for motivating gifted students based on content and diversity.
Recommended Reading
Environmental, Familial, and Personal Factors That Affect the Self-Actualization of Highly Gifted Adults: Case StudiesDoctoral DissertationIntroduction and Literature Review,
Deborah L. Ruf, Ph.D.
Number one way to reach gifted students:
EMPOWER THEMCharacteristics of gifted children predispose them to existential distress. Because brighter people are able to envision the possibilities of how things might be, they tend to be idealists. However, they are simultaneously able to see that the world falls short of their ideals. Unfortunately, these visionaries also recognize that their ability to make changes in the world is very limited. Dabrowski’s Theory and Existential Depression in Gifted Children
Haskvitz's Student Accomplishments
Selected for Bright Idea Award by Harvard
Represented the United States in International Technology competition in Rome
Worked with Joy Hakim on her book, The Story of Us
Selected best from 20,000 entries and they testified at the United Nations on the importance of environmental education.
Students' work was selected the best from 12,000 entries earned an all expense paid trip to Washington DC to meet the President.
The National Wildlife Federation selected program as best from 9000 entries for students involvement in political action and the environment.
Student’s integrated work in agriculture was chosen as one of the top 12 in the nation and was shared on national television.
Students’ research was published in the National Middle School Newsletter.
Students passed state environmental legislation.
Students Piloted the Close-Up Foundations National Community Service Program.
Graffiti campaign reduced graffiti by 90 percent in the community.
Students' work was the centerpiece for the County of Los Angeles summit called by the Los Angeles Registrar of Voters and lead to rewriting of county and state voting forms.
Students' class work has earned trips them to the United Nations, Washington DC, Tampa, CNN in Atlanta, Sea World, and Disneyland in national competitions.
Students won five congressional writing competitions and over 20 essay and speech contests.
Students were finalist City of the Future engineering competition for industrial creativity.
Students’ work selected by Oregon Trail and California Oregon Trail group for their sites.
Students' work on environmental friendly driving techniques featured on DMV website.
Differences
• Bright child• Knows the answers • Interested• Pays attention• Works hard• Answers questions• Enjoys same-age
children
• Gifted child• Asks the questions• Extremely curious• Gets involved
physically and mentally
• Plays around; still gets good test scores
• Questions the answers
• Prefers adults or older peers
Differences Part Two
• Bright Child• Learns easily• Listens well• Self-satisfied• Learns with ease • 6-8 repetitions for
mastery• Understands ideas• Enjoys peers• Grasps the meaning• Completes
assignments
• Gifted Child• Good at guessing• Bored -- already
knew the answers• Shows strong
feelings and opinions• Highly critical of self
(perfectionist)• Is
mentally/physically involved
• Has wild, silly ideas• Discusses in detail;
elaborates• Beyond the group• 1-2 repetitions for
mastery
Differences Part 3
• Bright Child• Completes
assignments• Is receptive • Copies accurately• Enjoys school• Absorbs information• Technician• Good memorizer• Enjoys straight-
forward,• Sequential
presentation• Is alert
• Gifted Child• Constructs
abstractions• Initiates projects• Is intense• Creates a new design• Enjoys learning• Manipulates
information• Inventor• Good guesser• Thrives on
complexity• Is keenly observant
References How Do I Know if My Child is Giftedhttp://www.tagfam.org/whoisgifted.html
Differences in Gifted, High AchieversJanice Szabos, Challenge, 1989, Good Apple, Inc., Issue 34 Poor Teacher Training: End of Gifted Teachinghttp://www.teachers.net/gazette/AUG08/haskvitz/ Making a Difference: Motivating GiftedStudents Who Are Not AchievingDel Siegle D. Betsy McCoach Motivating Gifted Studenhttp://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10648.aspx
Helping Gifted Student
https://carfamily.wordpress.com/2007/02/23/how-to-help-the-gifted-student/
Preventing Cheating
Marylou Kelly Streznewski in her book Gifted Grown Ups: The Mixed Blessings of Extraordinary Potential, gifted people may make up as much as 20 percent of the prison population.
http://school.familyeducation.com/gifted-education/criminology/40932.html#ixzz1nzHxglDk
I asked Mom if I was a gifted child. She said they certainly wouldn't have PAID for me. – Calvin (Calvin & Hobbes)
Satire Videoshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr5kWOdkHYA
Have a sense of humor
Have a sense of humor