Monday, June 30, 2014

Session IV - Question 2

Session IV - Question 2:  Would you recommend this book to colleagues?  Why or why not?

17 comments:

  1. L. Howard

    I would recommend this book to colleagues. The writer shares an honest reflection about the deficits we have in the area of educating our gifted students. It helped me realize the negative impact that some of the national reform efforts of recent years have had on our gifted students. In our attempts to make sure that all students can acquire minimum skills, we often ignore this group of learners who can excel far beyond the minimum. The book also includes many resources we can use in the different subject areas that provide a variety of strategies to use with our gifted students. I plan to use some of the websites that are mentioned for my Language Arts and Social Studies classes. After reading this book, I am more committed to differentiating instruction with my students and providing what they need to excel at high levels.

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    1. In response to travelingbug on July 17th,

      I agree that I would recommend this book. I also was enlightened to the impact that the national reform efforts had on our GT programs and students. This book, indeed, does include many useful resources that we could use, regardless of subject area.

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    2. In response to Hannah B on July 17th- I was also enlightened by the impact that the national reform efforts on GT programs. I do believe that GT students are getting neglected on the funding as they continue to worry about standardized testing.

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  2. I would recommend this book to colleagues. I thought it was well-written and well-researched and offered material that is useful to an educator of gifted middle school students. It sheds light onto not only the needs of gifted middle school students and how to understand these students, but how to develop the best learning environments and how to implement effective strategies into your lessons to help them stay engaged. This book also provides an abundance of resources and references for readers to go to for further information. It has given me ideas that I am excited to implement this next year.

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    1. L. Howard in response to Hannah on July 17

      I think the book balances theory with practical strategies to use with gifted students. While some of the strategies were ones I have learned through attending in district training, there were other strategies that I have not heard of or tried yet. I think some of the resources that this book tells about could be added to our district curriculum. That way, even more of our students could benefit.

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    2. In reply to Travelingbug's response of July 23rd, I applaud the idea that many of the strategies and resources listed in this book, should be added to our district curriculum! I will also add I feel every administrator should read this book to have a better understanding of GT students, their parents, and most especially the GT teacher's daily challenges.

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    3. In response to HannahB on July 17

      I was happy to hear about some of the strategies that I had not heard of before. I agree that the book was easy to read which helps. Sometimes these professional development books are difficult to keep my attention, but this one was written well enough to do so. I like the great amount of resources that are available through this book and will also be looking into which of these strategies will best suit my classroom for next year.

      Ryan Harvey

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    4. I agree with Hannah B that this book was well written and researched. I agree that this book not only shared how to meet the needs of the gifted learner but also how to understand them as well. I also liked how the book had an abundant amount of resources for the gifted teacher.

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    5. I agree that this needs to be read by administrators, as well because their support is necessary to implement some of the strategies and needed reforms. (PV)

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  3. I would definitely & highly recommend this book to anyone teaching, counseling, or parenting the gifted learner. It is organized in such a way that you can refer back quickly to an issue or strategy that you want to review or use. I found the research well documented and very user friendly whether you are in education or not. This book addresses the issues for the gifted as people, as students, as growing citizens, and shows what the outside obstacles may be in education from state, local, and federal entities. It is a direct and precise primer for teaching the gifted. This should be one of those pedagogical “bibles” along with Harry Wong’s First Days of School for all teachers.

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  4. I would recommend this book to colleagues as it pretty easy reading and a good review. There are many reference pages and website that are accessible.

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  5. I have done a few of these online GT refresher courses and I found this book to be better than the others that we have studied. I felt like this book was written well, and I liked all of the graphic organizers to display data. I felt like there were great resources and that the book did a good job referencing other sources of information for us to explore each topic. I learned some new things, and was happy to read about some of the things going on around the country with regard to Gt education.

    Ryan Harvey

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    1. In response to Ryan's comment on July 28, I too have done many book studies and I found this one to be better especially in relation to citing other schools/educators around the United States. Using actual accounts to prove points really makes it possible to then implement into my own classroom.

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  6. I definitely would recommend this book to others. I was really excited to have a book study that was specific to middle school learners. I feel so often that when I read GT books their emphasis is either on the early learner stage or the high level of high school. This book helped discuss how the emotional level of the student affected their level of learning. I also like how this book gave a lot of sources that were specific to middle school learners.

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  7. I think I would recommend this book to other colleagues. It proved to be a very friendly read even with all the statistics and reference citing. The author was able to write the information in a very direct way that did not talk down to the reader or cause the reader to self-doubt all the previous teaching methods they have been using. The author also used diagrams, real examples, and useful websites throughout the book in order to clarify her point or give additional needed resources. A book that not only teaches but also helps the instructor implement portions that are highly effective for Gifted Students in the middle school.

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  8. Yes, I would recommend this book to others. It raises awareness about the plight of GT kids and the need for reform. This is indeed a great resource.

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  9. I would recommend this book to EVERY administrator that works with GT kids. There are many recommendations that she makes that principals need to hear. How often do our GT kids get overlooked because, "They're smart, they will get it"?

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