Modern Classrooms for Advanced Learners

When I first started teaching in DC Public Schools, I spent much of my time helping struggling learners catch up.  My students (like most students nationwide) had not yet reached proficiency in grade-level skills, and so I had to fill in prerequisite knowledge while also teaching my courses' assigned standards.  Every one of my students was capable of learning at a high level, but may had serious gaps in their understanding and skills.  Truly filling those gaps was a challenge that consumed me.

At the same time, I had students in every class who were already at or above proficiency.  I dreaded neglecting these students, or boring them, or failing to push them towards their full potential.  Yet challenging my advanced learners while nurturing the rest of my classes felt impossible.

Thus, my Modern Classroom was born.  Blended, self-paced, mastery-based instruction let me give behind-pace learners the scaffolds they needed, while freeing my high flyers to soar.  They didn't have to wait for me or their peers anymore!  They -- and, for that matter, every other student -- could now advance as far and as fast as their hearts desired.

To keep these ahead-of-pace learners motivated, I:

★ Designed open-ended, aspire-to-do projects.  Once students know the basics of something, they can explore the really interesting stuff!  Extension activities can be simple -- "connect what we're learning to current events," or "design a Google Site that explains this concept in an engaging way" -- yet rich.  The more open-ended, the easier for me to plan ... and the more creative and impressive students' work often turned out to be.

★ Delegated additional responsibility and opportunity.  I let students who'd finished my units become my teaching assistants, and empowered them to support their peers.  They worked one-on-one with classmates, or gave mini-lessons at the board, or made their own instructional videos.  There was little more satisfying, for me, than seeing my students teach and learn from one another.

★ Gave lots of positive reinforcement.  Students who were ahead often asked: "do I really have to do all this extra stuff?"  They knew, ultimately, that they didn't. So I tried my best to encourage their extra efforts, to emphasize the joys of learning, and to celebrate students who extended themselves.  It wasn't always enough, but I think it made a difference.

Did these strategies always work out perfectly?  Of course not!!  There were too many hiccups along the way to count: open-ended projects that fell flat, teaching assistants who let their peers copy answers, and advanced learners who slacked off at times.  That was all part of learning -- for my students and for me.  In the end, however, I knew that my classroom was a place where advanced learners always had appropriately challenging things to do.

So, the next time you think of differentiation, I encourage you not just to think about scaffolding for the students who are behind, but to consider what learning adventures you can create for those who are ahead.  After all, every student deserves a responsive education!  I hope that some part of what I've written here can help you provide it.