So the day came! The one where it was MY turn to lead the class in discussion, and boy, did we get an opportunity.
The topic: Giftedness
The style: Debate.. but what else?
It is without question the most controversial of exceptionalities. Everyone has their own opinion on it. Me personally? I think we should treat gifted students the same way I think we should treat all students; celebrate, and use their abilities, and push them to the limits on the this things they find most difficult.
But maybe thats just me.
Mainly, I liked that our topic and style blended so well together (not to mention doing debates with gifted students is a great idea... higher thinking!)
Overall I liked the debate as a teaching style. I obviously would have liked to do it in my own classroom, give the students some time to research their own points (so that they had ownership over them), but I think it worked well.
For sure my favourite aspect was the four mini-debates, giving everyone a chance. In class, we were able to do it because we had the three of us and Prof. Sandhu, but I'm unsure how I could make that work when I'm the only one in the room.
EA's? Peer helpers? Student teachers? Resource?
I guess I don't have to worry about it to much yet. Cross that bridge when I get there!
Maybe have students that display leadership capabilities run some of the debates and have them show proficiency on the topic in a different way (ie a report or a presentation board).
ReplyDeleteAs for gifted students, I agree that every student should be pushed and encouraged to match their abilities. However my only concern is that testing for gifted students is still too close to an IQ test with many biases. I'd be willing to encourage these students still, but the need for an IEP for most gifted students for me isn't as important as some of the other IEP's on a day to day basis