Transcript Implementation of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model

Interest, Talent and
Academic Rigor:
A Model for FACS as the Cornerstone of the
Curriculum
The Enrichment Triad Model
Developed in 1976 by Dr. Joseph Renzulli
(U. Conn)
 Originally designed as a model for the
education of gifted and talented students
 Since its original implementation in
schools around Connecticut, several
researchers (including Renzulli) began to
wonder if the model would be equally
beneficial to the general student
population.
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The Enrichment Triad Model
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Now implemented in schools all over the
United States and around the world, the
ETM has been proven to:
◦ Increase creative-productivity
◦ Improve self efficacy
◦ Increased post-secondary education plans of
students
ETM in one FACS classroom
Guiding Questions:
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What do people with an interest in this area (for
example, film making) do?
What kind of products do they create and/or
what services do they provide?
What knowledge, materials, and other resources
do they provide?
What methods do they use to carry out their
work?
How, and with whom, do they communicate the
results of their work?
In what ways can we use the product or service
to affect the intended audience?
Language of
the
Discipline
Doctors and nurses learn
suturing
Forensic scientists
extract human DNA
Culinary artists create food
art
Fashion designers
design and sketch
Engineers learn circuit design
Type III Projects
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provide opportunities for applying interests, knowledge,
creative ideas and task commitment to a self-selected
problem or area of study,
acquire advanced level understanding of the knowledge
(content) and methodology (process) that are used within
particular disciplines, artistic areas of expression and
interdisciplinary studies,
develop authentic products that are primarily directed
toward bringing about a desired impact upon a specified
audience,
develop self-directed learning skills in the areas of planning,
organization, resource utilization, time management, decision
making, and self-evaluation,
develop task commitment, self-confidence, and feelings of
creative accomplishment.
Lunch & Learns…
For two years, 7th grade students have spent 5th and
6th period (a total of about 50 minutes) in special
sessions with experts in their field.
 Guests to date include:
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Cornell’s Biofuels Department
Binghamton University’s Art Gallery
A professional Architect
A cardiac nurse
The Binghamton Zoo
SUNY at Cortland – Sports Management
Cornell University’s Fabrics & Textile Program
Binghamton University – Engineering Research
BAE – Engine Controls
After School Activities
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Lectures on relevant topics to students areas of interest.
High School teachers visit and share special interests and
areas of expertise with students (fencing, reptiles, starfish
dissections, photography and publishing books!)
Community Members – PTS President “hires” culinary arts
students to manage sale of baked goods. Health & Wellness
committee “hires” Sports & Exercise students to explore
possibility of intramural sports in the middle school.
Students have begun organizing “documentary night” in their
area of expertise.
Students have planned after school clubs for students with
particular interest in their Academy (Creative Writing Club,
Flag Football, Fitness/Running Club, Creative Joy Art Club).
You’re thinking, “Lovely… but what
about…”
State tests
 Common Core
 SLOs
 Budget
 Burn out
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Constructivist Learning
This model is student-centered.
 It allows the teacher to be the facilitator
of learning (not the imparter of
knowledge).
 Helps create contextual learning
experiences.
 Allows the learner to apply knowledge.
 Is an interactive process motivated by
creation of disequilibrium for the learner.
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Cognitive Engagement
Allows students to make authentic
choices and regulate their own learning.
 Allows students to immerse themselves
in a task.
 Encourages mindful discovery and
observation.
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21st Century Skills
This model promotes critical thinking,
problem solving, global awareness and
collaboration.
 It is problem and project based.
 It engaged students in authentic problem
solving.
 It assists students in becoming college and
career ready.
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Student Performance:
◦ Academy models have been proven to increase
student’s ability :
 to plan a task and consider alternatives
 to monitor one's understanding and the need for additional
information
 to notice patterns, relationships, and discrepancies
 to generate reasonable arguments and explanations
 to draw comparisons and analogies to other problems
 to transform factual information in to usable knowledge
 to fluently access relevant knowledge and selectively extract
meaning from information
 to predict outcomes
 to apportion time, money, and resources
 to communicate effectively in different genres and formats
 to apply knowledge and problem solving strategies to
real world problems
And then other teachers
started to notice…
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So, we designed Career Academies and
clustered students with similar interests
into groups:
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Engineering & Technology
Human Performance & Nutritional Science
Applied Design
Social Science
Medicine
In Social Studies this year…
Students will be studying the election
through the eyes of their own specialty.
(Mental health care for Psychology,
Education reform for future Educators,
green energy for engineers and so on…)
 Groups of students will be expected to
endorse one candidate over another
based on proposed policies related to
his/her career interest.
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In Math this year…
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Students will be studying statistics
through the lens of their own specialty.
◦ For example, XX% of students from poverty
graduate high school (for future teachers) or
XX% of the United States energy is gathered
from solar energy (for future engineers) or
XX% of the children living in the United
States do not have access to adequate
nutrition (for future culinary artists or
nutritionists).
In ELA this year…
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Students will be writing their first major
research paper on a topic related to their
career discipline:
◦ For example, a future psychologist might
write a paper on trauma in childhood and a
future architect might write a paper on the
design of the Empire State Building.
In Science this year…
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Students are looking at global warming
and environmentalism through their
career lens.
◦ For example, a future doctor might ask what
the impact of global warming might be on
human health. An animal scientist might
wonder about animal extinction. An engineer
might explore current inventions to combat
these problems and a fashion designer might
design a shirt to promote an environmental
campaign.
In Health class this year…
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Students examine tobacco through the
lens of their chosen career discipline…
A future fashion designer
creates a ‘cigarette’ fashion
in which to read her
speech on the dangers of
tobacco use.
Future architect, Aaron:
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I did get frustrated a lot. I mean… A LOT because of all the hard work it
was. The measurements we had to get it just right and it was very difficult
but we finally got it done and laid it all down and I thought…I’m taking a
lot of pride in what we’ve done because it looks very nice. And as this
went on…it did change me as a person because if we just started it and I
didn’t actually learn anything I would have just laid it down. I wouldn’t have
paid attention to it. I would have just wanted to get it done. You
know…it was really fun. I really do want to be an architect still, when I
grow older and my plans are to graduate from Cornell University. I really
want to go to Cornell and do architecture. I want to build and design
buildings that go into nature…where you don’t bulldoze down trees. And I
got that inspiration from an article that I read about someone who made
these spheres. Three spheres…and it’s a hotel. I really like nature and I
don’t want to destroy the trees that everyone is taking down. I want to
save the environment. I don’t wanna tear more trees down because that’s
what is giving us oxygen. And I don’t want to add on to more of
everything. I want to contribute to nature.
What are students gaining?
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In addition to the exploration of a specific
career interest and the 21st Century Skills
that are required for this type of learning,
students are gaining a set of skills that are
critical to future success for themselves
and for our society.
In today’s careers, wisdom is required if we hope
to create a socially and environmentally just and
equitable world.
 The careers of the 21st Century require not only
an understanding of self, but the application of
intelligence to complex problems that will require
responsibility, ethics, teamwork and collaboration.
 In a world of isolationism and disconnectedness,
we can no longer afford workers who engage in
selfish, self-centered, socially irresponsible or
social destructive behavior.
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Family
Fun
Making career decisions
Hands-on and technical skills
Love/passion/absorption
Global concerns/empathy for all living things
Hard work
Transformative change
Post-high school plans
Influence of teachers
Classroom environment
Understanding of career choice
Independence
Collaboration/relationships
Desire to know more/become an expert
Lifestyle
Reading and writing
Destiny
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I believe that the exploration of careers (when done in a
meaningful way) gives students the opportunity to become
truly college and career ready by giving them a set of
valuable skills and allowing them to understand their
options.
It also gives a critically important opportunity for
exploration of self, community and relationships.
Students gained an understanding of the value of their
relationships and interconnectedness with other people.
Students gained an understanding of how their unique
talents could be used to make the world a better place.
Students gained an appreciation for the joy associated
with hard work. They learned what it felt like to be in a
state of “flow”.
Social Studies teacher’s initial
thoughts:
“The kids are so much more responsible
for their own learning. In addition, when I
sat in on lunch and learns or judged
projects, I was able to talk to the kids about
them, therefore strengthening bonds
between the students and myself. Hearing
students debate about who to vote for,
based on actual candidate’s policies was so
rewarding. The learning is deeper and
richer. ”
Initial thoughts of the health
teacher:
“This was such a better learning experience for not
only the kids, but for me as well. My students
taught me things that I didn’t know! On a daily
basis, my students gathered information about what
they were interested in…which made them more
motivated to complete the project and do it well.
In addition, they learned more about the Health
topics that I introduced in class. I feel as a whole
my students learned more by doing these
independent research projects then they would
have with a traditional project or worksheet in my
class. And, I’ll be honest. This model is saving me
from feeling burnt out and discouraged by
education.”
Initial thoughts of the ELA teacher:
“As the year progressed, I noticed how stressed, burnt
out, and disengaged my students were becoming
because of benchmark assessments, test preparation,
and state standards that needed to be met. I then
reevaluated my original thoughts on the career path
activity idea only to discover I could not have been
more wrong about it being just another thing I had to
do. Once I began to really ponder the idea of getting
students more excited about their futures, I uncovered
the value of Career Academies. Not only do my
students need the opportunity to explore their futures,
but they need to have the chance to do so in a
structured and meaningful way. That is why I decided to
go ahead and plan a unit based on this great idea.”
Initial thoughts of the math teacher:
“I would like the students to take time to discover how
much math will be used in their college major should
they decide to attend college after high school and in
whatever career they choose. Since 7th grade math
focuses on the basics of many different areas of math, I
would like the students to learn how 7th grade math
will be crucial to their success in high school and
college math. I have found that my students are more
invested in my curriculum when they can actually see
the importance or use of a topic in math class. There
have been times this year where I have incorporated
examples that relate to different career academies. My
students have been more engaged in math class on
these days.”
Initial thoughts of the science
teacher:
“Students were actively involved with their learning
during the duration of the investigation. Students who
frequently struggle and need assistance and supervision
were independently researching and utilizing the laptops
in the classroom to express their learning. It was
thrilling to witness students shine; student who
normally have difficulty learning and expressing
themselves in a more traditional classroom setting,
overwhelmed the instructor with the level at which
they worked independently. Students were eager to
start working every day and enjoyed showing their
presentation to their peers. The freedom students felt
from having choice in their learning, is still noticeable
and carries into classroom instruction and projects.”
And if you’d like to speak with me
further…
Send me an email: [email protected]