The Art of Communication:
Instructional Strategies for
Gifted Learners
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
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).
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.”
The Art of Communication
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
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
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.
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.
Grading
Lily – pointed
out genetic
composition
as a factor
Used text as
support
Rubric
•
•
•
•
•
Participant offers enough solid analysis, without prompting, to move the
conversation forward.
1
2
3
4
5
Participant, through his or her comments, demonstrates a deep knowledge of the
text and the question.
1
2
3
4
5
Participant has come to the seminar prepared, with notes and
a marked/annotated text .
1
2
3
4
5
Participant uses quotes or specific details from the text to support his or her ideas.
1
2
3
4
5
Participant offers clarification and/or follow-up that extends the conversation.
1
2
3
4
5
Score: ___________ out of 25 = __________________
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.
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?
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?”
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.
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.
Rubric for Grading
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?
R.A.F.T Writing
• 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?
Raft Rubric
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.
Questions?
• If you would like more information, please
contact me at: cworley3@gmail.com