Monday, July 9, 2012

Session 4 - Question 2

What was most insightful to you during the reading of this book? Give pages.

44 comments:

  1. In the book I really like the tips sheets found in many of the chapters. I also liked the student reponses/examples were very helpful. On page 167 Developing Resiliency- it discussed how to be a good friend, teaching your child to give good feedback and it had a scenario along with dialog. This book gives good insights along with examples that make it a good tool/resource. On page 188 Diffusing Anger- not only is this a good tool for students but also parents. The tips sheets are a quite reminder on how to deal with emotions in a practical and simple way.

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    1. In response to Stacey L on July 13
      I liked the student responses/examples, too. Instead of just presenting theory, the child-parent/teacher scenarios put the theory into action. It was especially effective when the initial parent-child dialogue was presented and then followed up with and compared to the new dialogue using the coaching strategies.

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    2. I agree with StaceyL 's post of July 13th that the tips on diffusing anger offers helpful information for students and parents. And what I like best is yes, Fonseca "keeps it simple" which I like.

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    3. I agree with THealey and StaceyL about how Fonseca presents the information in a simple manner. This book is an easy read and parents who are short on time can really appreciate this. Very useful book, indeed!

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    4. In response to StaceyL:
      This book is very user friendly. Fonseca puts big ideas into simple formats. Once again, the Tip Sheets and Checklists are very helpful!

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  2. Most helpful information:
    • Classroom management: Classroom Meeting (p.73), Classroom Inventory (p.80), Unique Personality Issues Checklist (p.112)
    • Techniques for helping students cope: Learning to Relax (p.90), Mirror Technique (p.99), Proof (p.109)
    • Student Guidance: Good Coaching (p.137), Active Listening (p.127), Conflict Resolution Skills (p.143)
    Other important insights:
    • Gifted children are intense in all aspects of their lives. (p.37)
    • Gifted children often associate performance with intelligence. (p. 107)
    • Not all gifted students exhibit their intellect in overt ways (p.107)
    • Taking on the role of emotional coach means there is a shift from managing behavior to understanding and shaping the way in which the child reacts with his/her world. (p.197)
    Great list of websites and topical book resources (with current copyright dates!) at the end of the book.

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    1. In response to F Moore on July13, I really liked that the author included a valuable list of websites. I think they would be useful to share with parents, either during conferences or even open house. Now that I have finished the book, I think I will explore these sights for further ideas to use with my students this year. I also plan on using the classroom management ideas and holding routine class meetings. I would like for my kids, once trained in the routine, to lead the meetings.

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    2. In response to FMoore's post of July 13, I think you hit the nail on the head with all the bulleted points you listed. These are all topics that were covered in the book, and that we can all refer to. I also agree that the list of the end of the book is great!

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    3. In response to FMoore, I agree with her on: Taking on the role of emotional coach means there is a shift from managing behavior to understanding and shaping the way in which the child reacts with his/her world. (p.197)
      I didn't list that as one of my items, but looking back I agree this was very insightful and helpful.

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  3. In response to F Moore I agree with you regarding techniques for helping students cope- I have never used this with my students but it seems it could be helpful. I also think that page 37- children are intense in all aspects: this was good information that there are five major areas that gifted individuals view. You hit many good points with your response.

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    1. I agree with Stacey L and F Moore about helping students with coping skills. If we help students learn coping skills, they can chose what works best for them. Any strategies we teach that a student finds success with can be used throughout their lives.

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  4. One insight I had was the idea of teacher taking on the role of a coach in chapter 10, p. 125-137. Embedded in that approach is the concept of facilitated learning by supporting the children as they work to achieve their goals, but not doing the work for them. Another insight I had was the importance of debriefing after the child has experienced a crisis. I will try the behavior reflection tip sheet on p.101. I think sometimes in our hurried life, we don't do enough reflection and debriefing. I believe that if we take the time to do these things more with our students, they will be much better equipped to handle a wide variety of challenges in their life.

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    1. To travelingbug July 15
      I forgot to mention the importance of debriefing after a crisis! That certainly was one of the best parts of the book for me and one that I will carry with me into the new school year. Once again, something that I already do with students, but it is nice to be reminded through reading this book.

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    2. @Melanie- I too liked the section on debriefing after a crisis. My tendency has always been if something worked to diffuse a crisis, I just try it again without knowing why it worked. Usually it would not work the next time. Debriefing would definitely help give some insight to the cause of the issue as well as how to resolve it.

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  5. In response to travelingbug, posted on July 15
    I agree with your emphasis on the importance of debriefing after a crisis. In any problem-solving model, reflection is the last, but most vital of the steps. Asking the questions: what worked, what didn't, and how are you going to change what didn't work for a better outcome next time is key to changing an end result. With the increased number of learners in classrooms these days, it gets harder and harder to have that one-on-one time so desperately needed to address reflection and debriefing with individual students.

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    1. I agree with FMoore's posting on July 15th, that a discusion/debriefing is essential after a crisis or problem has arisen. Reflection opens opportunities for communication, understanding, analysis, and develops a healthy working rapor with your student.

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  6. Right from the beginning of the book, page 37, we know gifted kids are “intense.” Fonseca has offered a number of great tip sheets. This book is all about interpreting the gifted child’s behavior and it offers key suggestions for understanding and working with the students successfully.
    Fonseca lists some great websites and other resources but I must say this book offers great resources alone with the many tip sheets. Tip sheet on page 115 is especially helpful in allowing teachers and parents to see how to create an educational plan for a student who is struggling. Learning to relax from page 90 was great for our perfectionists. Beginning on page 106, the author speaks about the extroverted and introverted gifted child and supporting them with the appropriate environment. I like the checklist on page 84. This checklist offers observations of a home that sets the foundation for optimal conditions for a child to be nurtured. This, along with, tip sheet on page 115 is very good in allowing teachers and parents to see how to create an educational plan for a student who is struggling. Working and communicating with the student is obviously key, but working and communicating with the parents can help us, the coaches, effectively help our students cope with behavioral issues in the classroom and help parents cope with their child’s needs at home. On pages 108-109 the Proof strategy was an excellent way for students to analyze themselves and their abilities. A great reflection piece. Being an effective coach from Chapter 10 was informative. On pages 129-132 the author emphasizes the importance of facilitating learning. That is our job as a good coach!

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    1. In response to THealey's post of July 16, I also found the section on perfectionism very helpful. I am glad that the author included tips for helping children to relax. Sometimes we are in such a hurry to cover and teach this and that, and the classroom can get very active, that it is nice to remember to take a moment to debrief and relax things a bit. Glad you liked the book!

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    2. In response to THealey & PKassir:
      Yes, we do need to address how to deal with perfectionism.
      PKassir: This sentence really made me think:
      "Sometimes we are in such a hurry to cover and teach this and that, and the classroom can get very active, that it is nice to remember to take a moment to debrief and relax things a bit."
      I need to remember this when my class gets going this fall.

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  7. For me the student scenarios throughout the book were the most helpful. The scenarios helped me to see how different G.T. students and their needs are. I cannot just put them into one group which is what we normally do. The tips also helped me get some idea how the G.T. student feels. Although they can be brilliant, they can also have the same issues as all students. The intensity of their thinking, while great in most academic settings, can be difficult in their emotional maturity. They may seem very bright but inside they are still just young kids.

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    1. To Larua Boyd July 16
      The student scenarios really spoke to me as well. You're right, GT students can have very mature thought processes but they are still young kids and are emotionally immature. The strategies in this book will certainly be helpful for us as teachers.

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    2. In response TO Laura Boyd, I agree with you..I loved reading the student scenarios. They really gave me insight into what the students were thinking/feeling/needing. Each student is different and will react differently so if i keep the feelings from the scenarios in mind, it should help me with dealing with all my different students in the future.

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    3. In response to Laura Boyd,
      It has been my experience that I forget that just because they are performing higher than their peers, it doesn't mean they are able to solve their personal things without me. I want them to be just as mature about handling their emotional issues as they are about handling their schoolwork! :)

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    4. In response to Laura Boyd's post, I think it is as unrealistic to expect GT students to act like adults who they are on-level with intellectually or creatively as to expect a tall two-year-old to have the physical coordination and self-discipline as a five-year-old of the same height. In the twenty-six years my children attended SBISD schools, I complained only twice. Once was when my GT son was sent to high school for his math class to save a teaching unit at the middle school. I didn't want him embarrassed by being the smallest and in a uniform in a room of tenth graders, and I didn't want him to think that he was Big Man on campus because he was going to high school before his peers. He started school an hour before his middle-school classmates and missed his elective three days a week. SBISD continues this practice with its GT students. I think it is no more appropriate than it would be to send our SPED students to the elementary school because they are functioning on a kindergarten level.

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  8. I especially liked all the tip sheets throughout the book. They are very helpful not just for parents, but also for teachers. I also liked all the Notes to Teachers sections because of the informative, yet brief manner of presenting information. I think this book is a book that I will recommend to my students' parents often because of the very practical parenting advice and the way in which gifted issues such as perfectionism are covered. I also liked the section on being a child's coach. I thought it raised very good points for parents and teachers to remember in helping a child to develop his or her gifts and potential. I liked the emphasis on nurturing the child. The resource section in the end is very useful, and I will certainly return there for parent advice.

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    1. In response to PKassir on July 17, I agree that the tip sheets are very helpful and that this book would be a good resource to recommend to parents. The tips are easy to incorporate into a classroom, but could also be used at home. This will help create a clear understanding of expectations for the student, because expectations would be the same, or at least similar at home and at school.

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  9. There were quite a few things about this book that I liked.
    *Page 109, the worksheet about How do you know---where the student works through if they are good at something or not and they find evidence to prove their position.
    *Chapter 13 dealing with internal and external behaviors. It made me more aware that I don’t always take the time that is necessary to find out what the “problem” may be when a student is being internal.
    *Tip sheet 5 on page 99 about getting the most out of debriefing, and this is something that carries over to any conversation with a child about behavior---not to get emotional about it, or let something hit your “mad button”. As soon as the child/student knows that your switch has been flipped, then the conversation is going to turn into a battle of wills, which provides no positive teaching opportunities.

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  10. For me, the most insightful part was seeing the gifted child as "Unique". It really isn't enough just to think of them as a really smart kid. They are wired differently, and face challenges in a unique way. this is especially true if they have other challenges besides their giftedness.

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    1. @Susan 7/20...I agree. For years many parents have been frustrated with teachers lack of understanding of this point. I think this book brings to light an important reality, and an strategic method to approach it.

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  11. I think just the different dialogue boxes and their analysis as well as the tip sheets. I also enjoyed the Note For Teachers sections. I truly feel that I've gotten into the minds of my students just a little bit.

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  12. Tip Sheet #3 Developing An Emotional Language
    This was talked about in the book to help avoid explosions.
    This was insightful to me, because it allows the teacher and child to be able to communicate between just the two of them. I like this idea for the classroom, because the child and the teacher only know what is going on, and the other students hopefully won’t be interrupted as they work. These two can work through it together to prevent the explosion.

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  13. I feel like chapter 5 (pages 55-61) was the most insightful to me. It is sad and frustrating that there are gifted students not being challenged in school because they have a learning disability that was diagnosed before the giftedness. Also, the fact, on page 17, that at least 5% of gifted children fail or drop out of school is disheartening. We, as educators, need to make sure our gifted students are being challenged and that their needs are being met every day. We also need to make sure that we are not overlooking the possibility that a student may be gifted.

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  14. I can honestly say that there isn’t one part of this book that I didn’t find useful. It is difficult to pick out what was the most interesting to me, but here is a short list.
    Most insightful items:
    • Tip sheets, worksheets and checklists provided throughout the book
    • Gifted students experiencing depression and anxiety (pg 22) The purpose of the mirror technique (pg 98-100)
    • Creating a nurturing environment (pg 79)
    • Holding a classroom meeting (pg 73)
    • Gifted extroverts and introverts (pg 103-105)
    • Communication roadblocks (pg 128-129)
    • Conflict resolution skills (pg 143)
    • Personality traits (pg 106)
    • What makes a good coach? (pg 137)

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  15. The tips sheets and and worksheets helped me take summarize the steps from the scenarios. Worksheet 8 on page 101. This is fabulous for dealing with all emotional situations with students. Reflection is one of the most powerful tools for learning.
    I think the most powerful idea however was the notion that 'smart' children need guidance, strategies for life skills. Since I have a family member who is gifted,I already have had to deal with this. For those who have been 'blessed' to have the non explosive gifted student, I think this explains some of the behavior they have seen but did not associate with giftedness.

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  16. I think I gleaned most from the improved questions in the scenarios in chapter 13. Reading the analysis of the conversations and then the New Dialogue Using Coaching Strategies was helpful. "You seem frustrated. What's going on?" asks for information without correcting or criticizing the student. I plan to use that simple tag line.

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  17. I liked the student scenarios that followed Andrew, Emily and Meredith throughout the book (pages: 30, 32, 34, 40, 41, 43, 46,...) really helped. It gave examples of behaviors that the book was talking about. These examples helped to understand how these children reacted to different situations.

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  18. I've said this before, but I love the Tip Sheets and Checklists throughout the book. It's such a great thing to show your students, parents, and even yourself. I especially liked Tip Sheet 20: Helping Children Deal With Stress (Page 183). GT kids seem to stress over being perfect, thinking they need to please everyone, etc. Having parents and kids work together on this can make a huge difference in the classroom.

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    1. In response to BChristopherson,
      I liked the tip sheets too! I have some marked that I know I'll be able to use with parents, because they are things that pop up every year with some of the different students I teach. That is one nice thing about staying in a grade level for consecutive years, you get to identify similar "problems" that occur with that age group, and now we have some additional tools to help the parents.

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  19. The real world scenarios with concrete issues and solutions were the best part of this book. There were many times that I felt like the book was talking about either myself or a student I have had. One of my favorites was Tip Sheet 13 on p. 133. Trying to sugar-coat a negative situation doesn't help a child. Even though this tip sheet was aimed at parents, I feel like it is helpful for teachers as well, to remember to "fully commit to the growth process, understanding that there will be setbacks." As long as we work together and create opportunities for a student to grow in a safe place, they will exceed expectations creating a much happier classroom.

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  20. Most insightful was:
    Personality Traits and Giftedness page 45-Extroversion and Introversion was well defined and highlighted with examples of students behaviors.

    Dual Diagnoses page 59-Notes to the teacher identified the unique problem to education, specifically how the disability can take precedence and drive the educaitonal programming for the child.

    Notes to the teacher page 106- this was a profound point to me that not all gifted kids demonstrate their intellect in overt ways and how the teacher must develop lessons that enable both extroverted and introverted learners to grow.

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  21. I liked the Tip sheets and parent-child dialogue. Pages 142-143 had good information on resolving conflict that I think would be helpful for all teachers. A lot of it seems to dovetail nicely with Love and Logic ideas.

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  22. Most helpful to me was the students scenarios. This gave me much more insight into what my g/t students are thinking/feeling. You cannot put yourself in your students shoes but the scenarios helped me to "feel" for what they are going through. Hopefully during the coming year, I will remember some of the things the students were experiencing while I am dealing with my g/t students.

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  23. I found Chapter 8 ebook pages 316-348 to be the most helpful. We tend to think that all gifted kids are extroverted when in fact many are introverted. I will now be more aware of the needs of the different personality types in my classroom and try to plan a broad range of lessons to reach both types of students.

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  24. Chapter 5 Twice Blessed and the Notes to the Teacher on page 109. These sections made me more aware of the complexity and multifaceted nature of exceptionalities, and the importance of addressing the needs of both exceptionalities in the twice exceptional.

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