Independent Study Projects

Differentiation for the Gifted Mind

It is hard to believe that we are already in Trimester III.  I am so proud of all of the student learning that has been going on in my classroom so far.  As we head into the final few months of the school year, students in my class are excitingly working on their independent study projects.  As you may already know, I teach a self-contained gifted and talented (GATE) classroom. At the end of each school year, my school hosts a GATA Gala where student show off what they have been learning independently.  Sometimes called a passion project, or genius hour, an independent study project gives students the opportunity to autonomously learn about something that interests them and showcase what they have learned in different ways.  This is a great way to meet the needs of gifted students.

"What makes a child gifted and talented may not always be good grades in school, but a different way of looking at the world and learning." ~Chuck Grassley

How to Get Started

1.   Chose a Topic of Study- You will need to help students identify their topic for their projects.  This year the theme for our GATE Gala will be learning about different countries.  Each grade (3rd-6th) has a different continent that students will choose a country to study from.  My students have chosen countries from Europe. In past years, we had students choose a significant historical figure to research.  While my school has a theme for our end of the year celebration, you do not have to limit students project to a specific area of study.  It is important for students to want to learn about their topics. When I first announced to my classroom that we would be focusing on countries this year, I had several students tell me they already knew which country they wanted to learn about.  For other students choosing a topic of study can be difficult. You might want to start by having students think about what they wonder about the world, what subjects they like, and how they like to showcase their learning. I always have students clear their topics with me before starting their research.  

2.   Student Contract- After students have picked a topic, I have them sign a contract that will help guide their learning.  Included in the contract is their topic of study, type of thinking skill, which Depth and Complexity icons they will use to guide their learning (minimum of 3), keys to learning, resources they are going to use, and how they are going to present the information they learned in a final product.  Students will work on their projects both at home and in class. I give students about 45 minutes to one hour a week in my class to work on their projects. As we get closer to our gala, I will give students more time in class for their projects.

3.   Conferences with Students Often- I make sure to check in with students each week to see how their projects are coming along.  We discuss what information they have found interesting so far, what do they still want to find out, and what keywords they might use to find more information.  Often students don’t know exactly how to find what they are looking for on the internet so I will help them with finding keywords to aid in their search.

4.   Parent Involvement-  In addition to student contract, I also send home a parent contract before we start.  This way parents know that they will need to help their students with making sure they have access to information and time to work on their projects at home.

I continue to be amazed by the level of dedication my students have towards this project. I can't wait to see how everything turns out in May. I will update you will the process soon.

 "Develop a passion for learning.  If you do, you will never cease to grow."

~Anthony J. D’Angelo

Learning and teaching with grace,

Alina