Mr. Barnes' Classroom
Reaching Higher
Welcome!
Learning Styles
Visual
Visual learners grasp content more easily when engaged with information in pictures, videos, diagrams, etc. These learners love to draw, use mind maps, see models, use graphic organizers, and work in color. They appreciate their teachers using language like "imagine that..." or "picture this in your mind."
Auditory
Auditory learners gain the most from a learning environment that encourages talking, music, singing, and listening. Auditory students prefer oral instructions over written. It may be counter-intuitive but our auditory learners also benefit greatly from silence.
Kinesthetic
Kinesthetic learners love having a physical outlet. They learn best when concepts are learned and demonstrated by moving and doing. These students love to role play, perform skits, dance, do hands-on projects, and enjoy having multiple places in the room to learn.
A Cognitive Conundrum
Instructional Strategies
Differentiation
Assessment
Curriculum Compacting
Method: Compacting is the practice of ensuring that all students are challenged at their own level and safeguards against spending time on skills students have already mastered. All students are given the opportunity to prove mastery of learning objectives before the objectives are presented and learned in the classroom. This is usually in the form of a pretest. If students score 85% or higher on the pretest, they are provided enrichment opportunities to autonomously explore those learning objectives in more depth and complexity. If students score 85% or higher but still show a deficiency in a specific area, they are required to do all whole-group activities and assignments pertaining to that particular content area but are invited to explore in depth the other areas of proven strength.
Example: A math test assesses rounding, ordering, and comparing whole numbers. Amber scores 85%, accurately completing all ordering and comparing questions but missed 2 of the 4 questions on rounding. Amber would be required to complete the whole-group activities and assignments associated with rounding but would be excused from the regular activities and assignments for ordering and comparing. As you can see, compacting provides every student with a uniquely personalized game plan for learning, allowing them the flexibility to be challenged as they develop new skills and concepts.
Learning Contracts
When students show mastery of forthcoming learning objectives on a pretest, they enter a personalized learning contract. The contract ensures the students are held accountable for work they conduct independently. This document contains 3 vital components: The specific objectives students have mastered, an up-to-date log that specifies what activities they are engaging in, and the rules associated with extension activities. The learning contract assists students in being organized and responsible with their learning.
Extension Menus
Once students enter a learning contract, they are given an Extension Menu. This menu provides a list of engaging and creative learning options for students to choose from. These activities are based on the higher levels of Benjamin Bloom’s Learning Taxonomy (analysis, evaluation, & synthesis). These engaging activities are designed to be open ended and encourage creative thinking and problem solving skills. The menu also includes a “Student Choice” option, ensuring that students are not limited in any way. Personal endeavors are always encouraged but must get approval from me, the teacher, before proceeding.
Depth & Complexity
Sandra Kaplan, associate professor of learning and instruction at the University of Southern California, encourages educators to guide gifted students through ideas in greater depth and complexity. Ian Byrd, a gifted & talented education specialist and one of my personal heroes, describes it in this way:
"[The depth and complexity tools] are essential elements one needs to master a subject. For example, chemists need to understand the language of a chemist, the different points of view of in chemistry, the rules that govern chemistry, the ethical decisions chemists face, etc. Likewise, a master of chess would be an expert in the language of chess, the patterns of chess games, the rules to follow, and the way the game has changed over time."
"When students think using these tools, they learn to approach subjects from the point of view of an expert. In doing so, they will understand concepts in a deeper and more complex way." (http://www.byrdseed.com/introducing-depth-and-complexity/)
As a class, we participate regularly in activities that allow us to explore the following mediums of depth and complexity:
Rules
Trends
Patterns
Language
Big Ideas
Questions
Details
Ethics
Points of View
Over Time
Across Disciplines
Exploring information from these flexible perspectives allows every student to be analytical at their own individual levels. This exercise also presents a unique paradigm shift for gifted students as it causes them to interact with concepts in a whole new way. As gifted students gain confidence with the depth and complexity icons, they show a progressively more profound understanding of ideas.
Independent Investigation Method
This is an activity that teaches students the essential steps to successful research; from choosing a subject to presenting a finished product. Gifted students often crave opportunities to be set free to explore a subject they are passionate or curious about and this process does just that in an organized manner. The program has clear guidelines and goals for students to help them as they learn new abilities in research.
Tiered Spelling
A pretest is given on Monday for a prescribed list of grade level words. Students who score 85% or higher are invited to create their own list of words to study for that week. Students use expository texts to find their new words, which provides more challenging words and encourages learning across disciplines. In this way, students who score high on the pretest still have a list that will stretch them to new heights.
Quantum Learning
The Great Friday Afternoon Event
The Great Friday Afternoon Event, or GFAE as it is known in our classroom, is an activity that, I hope, inspires creativity and challenges all students to discover new things and gain confidence in front of an audience. Each week, a group of students is assigned one of four tasks: poems, declamations, play, or science in the media. Students collect their materials throughout the week and present them to the class on Friday afternoon. They get quite good at presenting from the podium!
STAR
Pursuit of Progress
Yours,
Mr. Daniel Barnes
Contact Me
Email: dabarnes@lcsd2.org
Website: http://lcsd2osmond.sharpschool.net
Phone: 307.885.9457