Flexible Friday

On Friday, the ASPIRE 5 scholars were presented with the opportunity to create their own schedule.  After math class in the morning, we gave everyone a passport that contained assignments and tasks for language arts, social studies, science, and social/emotional time.  Tasks with stars beside them were required, as they were items we had been working on throughout the week and needed to be finished.  We challenged the students to choose one new assignment from each category, and to record their start and stop time for everything they worked on.  We conducted passport checks several times throughout the day to monitor their progress, and to make sure they were working on a variety of tasks.  At the end of the day, scholars reflected on their experience, and what they had accomplished.  

I believe this was a very successful way to organize our day.  First, the scholars were remarkably productive.  They worked very hard and with purpose for the entire day.  Many of them even voluntarily gave up some of their their recess time to come inside and work.  Next, it provided the teachers with some very valuable time to meet individually with students to finalize their digital goal-setting notebook, and to facilitate various projects throughout the day.  The feedback we received from the students was extremely positive.  They enjoyed the freedom to choose their work, and when they wanted to complete it.  

As GCISD continues to move in the direction of individual learning plans, this kind of flexible scheduling is part of a larger vision we have for our ASPIRE 5 students.  As we break from the traditional constraints of a typical classroom, students will be presented with opportunities to advance at their own pace, and dive into the curriculum with more depth and complexity than ever before.  Research shows that gifted students thrive in environments that provide various forms of acceleration and flexible scheduling (Feldhusen; 2003; Shiever & Maker, 2003; Renzulli & Reis, 2003; Clasen & Clasen, 2003), and we are committed to doing whatever it takes to meet their needs.  For now, it was a great day to try something new, and we commended the scholars for their positive attitudes and willingness to work outside of their comfort zone.  We learned many ways that we could make this kind of day even more successful, so stay tuned as we continue to grow throughout the year!