The School-wide Enrichment Model:

Focus on Talent Development

You Can Make This Approach Work at Your School!

By Mary Alice Osborne, Upper School Librarian ACST

“The principal goal of education is to create men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.”

—Jean Piaget—

Do you know a student who:•Has a passionate interest in a subject that may have lasted for many years

•Enjoys the process of learning, not just getting it done

•Has an advanced sense of fairness and justice

•Has an advanced vocabulary

•Has an outstanding memory

•Is very intense, and gets totally absorbed in activities and thoughts

•Catches on quickly, then resists doing work or works in a careless manner

•Has a sophisticated sense of humor, may be witty or sarcastic

•Sees connections between apparently unconnected ideas and activities

•Has a great imagination, daydreamer

•Has Standardized test scores which are significantly higher than class grades

•Sets high expectation for themselves

Why didn’t these individuals fit into the regular school system?

How can we explain these gifted

behaviors?

Theory of Multiple Intelligences

•Linguistic

•Musical

•Logical-mathematical

•Spatial

•Bodily-kinesthetic

•Intrapersonal

•Interpersonal

•Naturalistic

As educators, what can we do to meet the

needs of Gifted and Talented students?

The Spark Program

The Gifted and Talented / Talent Development program I developed is called “The Spark.” The program's purpose is to ignite interests and enthusiasm in students, creating a lifelong passion for learning. I coordinated Spark projects, researched and found resources, selected participants, scheduled programs, and oversaw volunteers.

What is “The Spark”?

 “The Spark Program” is a student Talent Development Program, which is modeled after the School-wide Enrichment Model (SEM) developed by Joe Renzulli and Sally Reis at the University of Connecticut. SEM is a research-based model for Gifted and Talented Instruction that works to meet the needs of all students by nurturing and developing gifted behaviors. SEM has been successfully used for over twenty five years in thousands of classrooms around the world. The program provides a variety of opportunities, resources, and activities to “Spark” interests and develop Gifted and Talented behaviors in WRVS students.

Philosophy of “The Spark” Talent Development Program:

•Develops the skills of higher order thinking and creative problem solving

•Cultivates the habits of mind for lifelong learning

•Takes into account diverse talents and multiple forms of intelligence

•Encourages and nurtures these talents and intelligences

•Provides a variety of learning experiences, as no single model or activity can meet the needs of our most able learners.

What is the Schoolwide

Enrichment Model?

“A Practical System for Identifying Gifted and Talented Students,” by J. Renzulli, The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented University of Connecticut

•Above Average Ability

•High levels of abstract thinking, verbal and numerical reasoning, spatial relations, memory and word fluency

•Task Commitment

•Capacity for high levels of interest, enthusiasm, fascination, and involvement in a particular problem or area of study

•Creativity

•Fluency, flexibility, originality of thought

•Openness to experience

•Curious, speculative, mentally playful

•Sensitive to detail, aesthetic characteristics of ideas and things

Schoolhouse Giftedness

Schoolhouse giftedness might also be called test-taking or lesson-learning giftedness. It is the kind most easily measured by IQ or other cognitive ability tests, and for this reason it is also the type most often used for selecting students for entrance into special programs.

Creative-Productive Giftedness

Describes those aspects of human activity where premium is placed on the development of original material and/or products that are purposely designed to have an impact upon one or more target audiences.

What can we do to provide enrichment opportunities for a diverse population of students with multiple intelligences?

Components of the School Wide Enrichment Model:

•Triad Model

•Type I Enrichment

•Type II Enrichment

•Type III Enrichment

•Enrichment Clusters

•Curriculum Modifications

•Differentiation

•Curriculum Compacting

“The Triad Model” by J. Renzulli, DirectorThe National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented University of Connecticut

What are the problems with using this approach?

•Not enough time in the classroom

•No place for extra activities

•No resources

•No expertise in the student’s area of interest

Here’s what I did to solve them:•Not enough time in the classroom?

•Curriculum Compacting

•No place for extra activities?

•Use the Library and Tech Lab

•No resources?

•Ask your librarian

•No expertise in the student’s area of interest?

•Find mentors in the community

Type I Activities:

• Are group enrichment activities

• Introduce students to “Big Ideas”

• Provide the “Spark” to ignite a student’s interest in a certain subject

• Provide opportunities for Type II and Type III Activities

• Expose young people to subjects and ideas not usually offered in the regular classroom

Author Joseph Citro visited Waits River

Computer Controlled Microscope in the Library

The Garden Club visited Long Wind Organic Tomato Farm

Author / Illustrator Gail Gibbons spoke with

students about how she creates her books.

Peace Train, a musical group from South Africa performed at our school

A “debriefing” in which teachers question students to see if they are intensely interested in the subject follows these activities. Students will self-identify for further enrichment activities as they reflect upon the Type I. They may express interest in pursuing the subject in a more sophisticated and in-depth way.

Type II Activities

•Are Process and Methodological Skills

•Are “How-To” lessons on specific skills relating to certain topics such as:

•Library, reference skills

•Writing skills

•Oral presentation skills

•Creative thinking, problem solving skills

•Technology skills

•May be used for whole classes or for students who want to pursue a “Type III Investigation”

•May be taught in an “Enrichment Cluster”

Enrichment clusters revolve around major disciplines, interdisciplinary themes, or cross-disciplinary topics. A theatrical/television production group, for example, might include actors, writers, technical specialists, and costume designers. The clusters deal with how-to knowledge, thinking skills, and interpersonal relations that apply in the real world. Student work is directed toward producing a product or service. Instead of lesson plans or unit plans, three key questions guide learning:

•What do people with an interest in this area—for example, filmmaking—do?

•What knowledge, materials, and other resources do we need to authentically complete activities in this area?

•In what ways can we use the product or service to affect the intended audience?

Growing flower and vegetable seedlings in the

library using grow labs

The Crime Scene Detective Group doing research for their project

Fingerprinting at the

State Police

The Chess Club met

during lunch

Model Railroading

Cosmetology

Gymnastics

Odyssey of the Mind Competition

Legos Mindstorm Robotics

Photography

Type III Investigations and Projects:

•Are individualized, real-world and in-depth projects for small groups or independent students who have specific interests, talents, or gifts.

•Involve students in thinking, feeling and doing like a practicing professional

•Are dynamic and unplanned by the teacher

•Produce useful products and are produced for an authentic audience

•Are a real-life solution to a problem and may bring about change

•Are ungraded by the teacher, and are self-evaluated using checklists and evaluation forms

•May be provided by mentors and volunteers

A Waits River Times reporter

Editors Shea and Amber facilitate a Waits River Times meeting

Hi Mary Alice!   

Wow, Tunisia sounds so cool, especially those shipwreck things!   I miss you, and WRVS too.  I went to Open House, and when I went into the library, I almost started crying!   But Thetford is a really nice school, and I'm doing well--we just got progress reports back and I'm getting all A's, as per usual, but I have to actually work for them, which is nice. I entered a poetry contest, back in July, and I'm a semi-finalist, and I'm going to be published in a book!!!  The poem (the full version; I had to cut some out) is at the bottom, if you have time and want to read it. That article I did on Elizabeth MacDonald (did you hear what happened to her? It's so sad--she's in a nursing home and they auctioned off all her stuff, even though she has no idea :( ) is going to be put in the Topsham Town History II book!    It's hard to imagine that I was reluctant about doing the interview in the first place! (being so shy and all--I've opened up a lot more now!) I can't wait to hear more from you, whether by personal message or a group email! 

AMBER