3.1.13 Effective Strategies for Increasing Choice and Voice of Gifted Learners

Student choice and voice define many of the practices in personalizing learning. What are exemplars of these concepts in classroom implementation? How must they be defined and framed to represent authentic learning for gifted learners? This session shares strategies,identified by a Javits Project, which exemplify choice and voice for gifted learners.

Fredricks (2010) “essential elements” are used as a lens to determine levels of student engagement in self-selected, self-directed learning reflecting choice and voice in learning. Essential elements for increasing gifted students’ interest and passion in academics are cognitively complex tasks, posing and solving real problems, opportunities to incorporate outside interests, choice over the kind of activities they work on and how they will complete tasks.

Gifted students need to pursue unanswered questions, personal curiosities or passions. Problem-based learning and project-based learning provide frameworks for such explorations. Although similar, problem-based and project-based learning do differ. Distinctions must be made to reflect best practices in gifted education.

Commonalities: • Student centered learning. • Focus on open-ended tasks grounded in real life applications. • Emphasis on student independence and inquiry. • Teachers as facilitators. • Problem solving requiring critical reflection and analytical thinking. • Advances student prior knowledge on a topic or idea • Goal setting. • Hypothesis testing. • Delivers content and skills reflecting academic standards. • Authentic applications of content and skills.

Differences in Process:

Problem-based learning involves the student in defining a problem that is answered through their work. There is no predetermined outcome. However, specific steps are followed. (What would be the essential elements to include in a plan for the school garden?) The student investigates the problem using their prior knowledge as well as new knowledge built from research. The duration of the process is usually short term but depending on the scope of the investigation may be lengthy. The study itself may be the result of their work.

In project-based learning, the student defines the final result of their work prior to its start. (I want to design a plan for the school garden.) Students establish how to pursue the work. Students combine current knowledge with their research or experimentation results. The duration of the project may be several weeks or even months. Project-based learning results in a tangible product or performance.

Frameworks and criteria for designing complex and in-depth project-based and problem-based learning experiences which offer voice and choice to gifted learners are detailed.

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