"Far Beyond Our Imaginations": Gifted Students Excel in NAGC Award-Winning Course

Wendy Conklin earned her MA in Gifted Education from Northeastern Illinois University. She has taught elementary and middle school grades and currently teaches online courses for CTD's Gifted LearningLinks Enrichment. In addition, she works as a freelance author writing curriculum for Teacher Created Materials, Pieces of Learning, and Scholastic.

The Lord of the Rings class you developed and taught recently won an NAGC curriculum award. Can you explain what the award is for?

The award is given to recognize authors of outstanding curriculum for gifted students. The curriculum should be organized to allow gifted learners to move at their own rates, to provide in-depth experiences, to offer exposure to new knowledge areas, and to make interdisciplinary connections.

Why did you want to teach a course on Lord of the Rings? What made you think it could work online?

First of all, the story teaches so many great lessons about life, and gifted kids enjoy grappling with tough concepts. The recent Lord of the Rings movies have made Tolkien's book popular among the young audience, so I thought it would be a great way to get kids to read the book. The movies are great, but the book is always better.

Second, I thought a book discussion would work great online. I designed this curriculum to include discussion questions, which we talk about online, and also their choice of an activity, which they can email to me.

Can you provide an illustration that would give us a glimpse into what the class experience was like for the students?

I designed an activity sheet for each week that contained the reading assignment, discussion questions, and a list of activities from which they could choose one to complete. Each week I posted the discussion questions online. I thought it was important for students to know what I would be asking so that they would be thinking about the questions as they read. These discussion questions did not have a yes or no answer. They were designed to be open-ended so that students could enhance and expand their creativity. These questions made students think deeply and sometimes they saw things I over looked.

For example, here are two questions that I asked in The Fellowship of the Ring course along with two student answers:

Q: How can courage be found in unlikely places? What did Gildor mean by this comment?

Student Answer: Because even in the dark and dreary places, you can still find hope. Like the fact that Frodo knows what will happen to Middle Earth if he doesn't succeed. He finds courage to go through any kind of danger to keep that from happening.

Q: What if you were in Sam's, Merry's or Pippin's shoes? How would you feel about going with Frodo on his journey into the unknown?

Student Answer: Hobbits don't wear shoes, but if I were in their place, I would be scared, especially since I didn't know that much about what was going on.

I planned the activities to have a creative outcome while taking learning styles into account. For example, some students created an Elven language and then translated it. Others reported on a battle as a war correspondent for Orc TV. And still others created a miniature model of Treebeard using twigs and other craft items.

How did you tailor or develop the course specifically for gifted kids?

I asked many open-ended questions. Most students are accustomed to the one right answer. At first, many of the students were afraid to type what they thought. After a few weeks students began to see that I wanted them to think deeper, not to find an answer in the text. I wanted them to be creative and use those higher thinking skills. Gifted kids enjoy making their own choices, so I also allowed students to choose an activity to complete each week.

What is the biggest challenge with teaching online? How is the class interaction different in this format? Does your role change with this format?

The biggest challenge for some students is the typing. Many of them don't know a keyboard well enough or they simply can't type fast enough. For these students, parents usually step in and type for them. That way the parents can see what we are discussing and they can also see how their child is progressing. It becomes a great family event.

Students in this class were typically very talkative. They enjoyed making small talk amongst themselves and getting to know each other. Some even emailed throughout the week.

My role in this format is definitely one of a facilitator. Rarely did I give my opinion, but I did throw out different ideas and sometimes used Socratic dialogue to get to the bottom of a question. Students had to think about what they were saying and decide if it really made sense.

It is harder to get to know them in an online format than in a traditional classroom setting. I don't see them face to face everyday. I have to rely on communicating through email and the discussion board, and I keep notes on each student in an excel file. I see their abilities and what they enjoy by the assignments they choose.

What do you enjoy about teaching online?

I enjoy teaching online because it is “virtually” a stress-free environment. We complete our work within a week and then meet to talk about it. I've gained just as much insight into the book as the students have through the discussions. I also love being amazed each week at what these students are capable of doing. When gifted students are just given a chance to be creative in a safe environment, they excel far beyond our imaginations.