Learning Curves

“I’m bored…”  It’s the dreaded phrase met with sighs and desperate searches for something, anything, to keep kids occupied. But what if boredom isn’t a problem to solve but a gift?

In today’s fast-paced, tech-filled world, giving children the space to be bored can spark creativity, imagination, and meaningful play. This blog explores why boredom might be just what growing minds need.

The ICM was designed to “respond to gifted learners’ characteristics of precocity, intensity, and complexity.” If you’ve met our students, you know that they can be intense, complex and precocious learners. ICM is not a textbook or a boxed curriculum, rather it is a method for thinking about learning and designing experiences to reflect real world practices. 

Described as the “air traffic control system” of the brain, executive functioning skills are the mental capabilities needed for humans to successfully function in the world, enabling people to acquire and process knowledge, solve problems, manage self-regulation, and successfully and efficiently accomplish tasks.

 We make connections every day, and so should our children. One of the most effective ways to make those connections and integrate new ideas into our brains is to use large, overarching concepts and connect new ideas to them. A large, overarching idea is sometimes called a “Big Idea” which includes a set of Essential Questions.  

Differentiation is, in fact, an excellent tool for meeting the needs of all learners, but in order to know exactly what the term differentiation means, we need a common understanding of what differentiation actually is.

SAA students are often accelerated and taught to dig deeply into topics. Imagine your child learning skills that are one, two, even three years ahead of the national norm. 

The testing culture has been built up around high-stakes tests that “prove” what students know. The reality is that students need to learn information, integrate it into their understanding of their world, and apply it in real-world situations. 

Everywhere you look, you will find lists of characteristics of gifted learners, but you still may not be sure about what the label “gifted” means. 

In this Learning Curves, we will break down a variety of myths surrounding giftedness.

We’re excited to connect with you and provide valuable resources to help navigate the unique journey of gifted education.