some thoughts

I have almost completed my research on G&T and on co-operative learning. My g&T research as I have already written about focused on how can teachers effectively teach students who are advanced in one or more areas of the curriculum we teach while at the same time teaching those who are adequately served by the content and teach those who are having difficulty grasping concepts. It seems that within an inclusive classroom the best and most logical option is to have a curriculum model that is easily differentiated; this is what has attracted me to the Integrated curriculum model.

In researching co-operative learning I have found that within this model differentiation is possible and that in fact using the co-operative learning model may in fact also be a useful teaching method for G&T students.

It is important to note that flexibility really is the key to teaching in inclusive classrooms and that obstructions, which at this stage I can only guess at, could be school and government policies and guidelines. But most likely school management and ethos. So flexibility not just within curriculum delivery will most likely be needed but also flexibility in colleague and management relations will be needed too.

An optimistic view

From: Bryant, Le. (2007). Emerging trends in social software for education. ...'the fundamental pattern of learning and innovation using social tools- FIND - REMIX - SHARE - seems ideally suited to the way most young people like to discover and make sense of the world around them, which is reason enough for an optimistic view of their likely impact.'

blogs and literacy

From: Bryant, Lee. (2007) Emerging trends in social software for education. www.becta.org.uk/research This growing body of evidence suggests that blogs can be a key tool in developing literacy and writing confidence. Mark Ahlness, of Seattle’s Arbor Heights Elementary School, told the Seattle Times: “Never in 25 years of teaching have I seen a more powerful motivator for writing than blogs. And that’s because of the audience. Writing is not just taped on the refrigerator and then put in the recycle bin. It’s out there for the world to see. Kids realize other people are reading what they write. (p.11)