GT+Weekly+Teaching+Strategy+Independent+Study

=  = =GT Weekly Teaching Strategy: INDEPENDENT STUDY =

An independent study is a student-directed research process that is facilitated by a teacher. Students engage in the process similar to a practicing professional. The focus of problems and issues related to the study are real-world and go beyond the regular scope and sequence of the classroom. There are many resources available to assist in this process. The following information is based on the, //Independent Study Program written by Susan K. Johnson and Kathryn Lee Johnson.//

10 Reasons to Use an Independent Study with Gifted Students
1. Teaches an independent process for creating new knowledge. 2. Provides opportunities for authentic investigations of real-world problems that are beyond the traditional classroom curriculum. 3. Promotes deeper and more complex thinking. 4. Advances knowledge in selected areas of interest. 5. Supports self-paced learning. 6. Increases opportunities for working with practicing professionals who share the students’ interest. 7. Stimulates the development of professional products. 8. Encourages students’ self-reflections and self-evaluations. 9. Differentiates instruction based on individual interests, learning preferences, and content complexity. 10. Leads to lifelong learning and responsible involvement.

Susan K. Johnson and Kathryn Lee Johnson outline 9 parts in this process.
1. **Introduce the independent study**. Make sure students understand the expectations, requirements, and timeline of the independent study 2. **Select a topic**. Assist students in evaluating and focusing their topic into something specific. 3. Organize the topic. A topic can be organized by //description, comparison, cause and effect, and problem and solution.// 4. **Ask questions**. Help students pose effective study questions that //encourage more than one possible answer, require plenty of time to study, have resources available to gather information, are useful or beneficial.// 5. **Use a study method**. The types of study that can be used are //factual (collecting facts), descriptive (describing something with numbers and facts), historical (analyzing the past), developmental (observing changes), case (observing a person, animal, group, system, or thing closely), correlation (relating one thing with another using numbers), action (examining an improvement that is made to solve a problem), experimental (conducting an experiment and examining results).// 6. **Collect information**. Encourage students to use a wide variety of sources. 7. **Develop a product and/or a performance**. Students can use their creativity to develop a product that meets their learning needs and styles. 8. **Present**. Students can present through an //oral report, demonstration, performance, display, and electronic display//. 9. **Evaluate**. A //self, teacher and audience// evaluation is recommended.

**Tips for managing independent studies:**
• Give students checklists and rubrics for each portion of the study process. • Help students create a timeline and calendar for each part of the study. • Use learning contracts and behavioral expectation contracts. • Set up regular meeting times with the student. Make sure they mark those times in their calendar. • Set the tone of a differentiated classroom with your whole class so students understand that it is OK for people to work on different projects at different times.