GREAT THINKING THURSDAY
For Klein ISD Educators of Gifted/Advanced Learners
February 6, 2020
Klein Collins AP Research Student Mentors
The Seminar students were in the preliminary stages of their team presentation. There were five groups in total, and five research students in AP Capstone Research. The research students mentored the seminar students based on the topics and disciplines they were most familiar with. The research students critiqued and shared previous experiences from the Seminar course they were in the prior year. They clarified the structural components of their course work by suggesting new ideas that Seminar students might have missed in their rough draft discussions.
Throughout the Research students mentoring, the Seminar students were exposed to new methods of thinking, analysis, and idea synthesis. Additionally, the Research students realized that they had the capacity to provide vivid insight and guidance towards the required tasks and assignments of AP Capstone Seminar.
In the future, the Research students can aid with the individual components of Seminar. Specifically, implement strategies for the AP Seminar students to follow when they take their AP exams in the Spring.
No matter what career the students choose to pursue, collaborations and experiences in group work is vital. The collaborative experiences provide the Seminar students with a mentoring opportunity to look forward to when they take AP Research next year.
Texas State Plan for Gifted: Opportunities are provided for students to pursue areas of interest in selected disciplines through guided and independent research.
John Spencer Returns to Klein ISD!
Advanced Academics is excited to announce that we are bringing renowned author and educator, John Spencer, back to Klein ISD! John will be joining us for a full day of professional development on Saturday, March 21, 2020.
John is the author of the book LAUNCH which details Design Thinking and how to implement this cycle into the classroom. We have taken this cycle and incorporate it into our research milestones in order to help students design more meaningful products for their GT research. He also authored the book Empower which focuses on student owned learning.
While visiting Klein, John will be presenting professional learning on two topics: PBL for ALL, and Expower. Here is what John says about each topic:
Empower: What Happens When Students Own the Learning?
Student choice is about more than just a menu option. It’s about student ownership. This includes ownership of the processes, the assessment, the strategies, and the metacognition. But how do we make this happen? How do we fit this into our standards and our curriculum map? This workshop will help you to incorporate student ownership into your class.
Project-Based Learning for All
PBL can seem daunting when you have time constraints, standards, and a curriculum map. Often, the push for better test scores and “basic skills” means certain students fail to have access to these projects. However, PBL can work for all students and in this workshop, I lay out the blueprint for making this a reality.
All GT teachers are welcome to join us for this amazing day of learning! You will earn 6 hours of GT Update credit for the 19-20 school year. If you have already earned your update credit or you are a new to GT teacher, your hours will still count towards your PD hours for the year. We look forward to seeing you there!
Klein ISD is hosting this course for the Houston Area Coop, so sign up through EventBrite at the following link: John Spencer PL
Spring 2020: GT Professional Learning Playlist
Texas State Plan for Gifted: Opportunities for professional learning in the area of gifted/talented education are provided on a regular basis, and information on them is disseminated to professionals in the district.
Haude Students have 2020 Vision!
Shared by Jessica Jasper
Advanced Academics Program Coordinator
Haude students have been working hard to provide clues to you regarding their topics of research this year. What are they currently working on? A little bit of everything from all different perspectives!
Haude students want to challenge you! Can you figure out these students’ topic of research from their clues?
This disease affects your hearing and vision, causes hyper-activity and has no cure. What am I?
I am on a computer, sometimes you type me, sometimes you drag me. My friend is binary but I’m not binary. I help create, but I do not move. What am I?
What do you call a cat who gives computers instructions?
My coral reef is Blue. I am like an Amusement park. Creepy, I think not. Do not make me Kick You out. A lot of floweRs like this Dimension. Great fun you will have, Excitement awaits. To A spa you shall go. Wait and see who I Am at the GT Expo. Yay! can’t wait to see you!
The start of the word start. The beginning of the end. The first of the 2 middle letters of gunwhale. The first of something sweet and creamy. The end of the run and fun. Plus the stopper of fig, wig and jig.
These Haude students are excited to share what they have been working on at District GT Research Expo: 2020 Vision: InSIGHTful Investigations March 26 & 27!
Texas State Plan for Gifted: Opportunities are provided for students to pursue areas of interest in selected disciplines through guided and independent research.
CALLING ALL HS GIFTED LEARNERS: RESEARCH EXPO VISION2020!
NASA Design Challenges
Advanced Academics Program Coordinator
Students love engaging with novel content, especially when it comes to creating and collaborating to solve a problem. Did you know that NASA has some design challenges that you can use in the classroom to get students to develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills? Check out their YouTube channel which has videos to introduce the challenges from previous years that may be great to use with your students. To learn more about the design process, register for the Spring GT Update professional learning where John Spencer (author of LAUNCH: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student) will share the LAUNCH cycle for student research and innovation in the classroom.
Also from NASA’s YouTube channel you can find STEMonstrations which are recorded at the International Space Station and address a variety of topics from engineering design to spacewalk safety. Your space-loving students will really enjoy the real-world application of STEM addressed by an astronaut!
Source: The Kid Should See This