We are happy to announce that Prof. Joe Renzulli and his colleagues at the University of Connecticut have granted our network access to the results of their work of over four decades in the field of Talent Development and Pedagogy of Gifted Education.
The Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) is “both an enrichment program used with academically gifted and talented students and as a magnet theme/enrichment approach for all students. The theme of the SEM is to develop the strengths and talents of all students”.
According to Joe Renzulli “schools should be the places for talent development”. This theoretically established program enriches the regular curricular work of schools, focusing on Creative and Productive Giftedness, but giving opportunities to all students through their Comprehensive Strength Assessment
Process.
As they developed their Enrichment Triad Model they created a comprehensive system for the education of talented students that covers a wide range of aspects and issues of the pedagogy of gifted education and in the meantime they also developed and made accessible an Easy Access Toolkit for educators.
There are seven videos to watch and seven articles to read on the topics mentioned in the videos. All the materials you can find on the SEM page are free to download and use.
There are seven videos to watch available here:
There are several articles you can read on the topics mentioned in the videos. Lets see a short summary on them:
The articles:
General Background:
Renzulli, J.S. (2012): Reexamining the Role of Gifted Education and Talent Development for the 21 st Century: A Four-part Theoretical Approach (Gifted Child Quarterly, 56(3) 150-159.)
The article sets the goals of gifted education as a pursuit “to maximize young people’s opportunities for self-fulfilment and increase society’s reservoir of creative problem solvers and producers of knowledge” and gives a general background to his findings exploring the sub-theories of the Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness, the Enrichment Triad Model, Operation Houndstooth, and Executive Functions.
Comprehensive Strength Assessment:
Renzulli, J.S. (2016): The Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness: A Developmental Model for Promoting
Creative Productivity. In S. M. Reis (Ed.). Reflections On Gifted Education (pp. 173-192). Waco, TX:
Prufrock Press
In the article the author draws our attention to two types of giftedness that need differentiated provisions: the high-achieving students and creative productive giftedness, and states that both these types have given mankind “people who have changed the world in both large and small ways”. It provides a description of the major theoretical issues underlying various conceptions of giftedness as well as a new dimension of the overall theory, followed by an identification plan for students to get access to special programs.
The Enrichment Triad Model:
Chapter 8: The Enrichment Triad Model: A Guide for Developing Defensible Programs For The Gifted And Talented by Joseph S. Renzulli
This chapter is an updated version of his original work on the Enrichment Triad Model, serving as an overview rather than a practical guide. The goals of the Triad model are to:
(1) expose students to various topics and areas of interest,
(2) teach them how to integrate advanced skills, content and problem solving methodology, and
(3) to provide students the opportunities to apply them. It is based on the ways of natural learning, and it is designed to promote the interaction among the enrichment types. It is the pedagogical core for the organizational structure of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model.
Curriculum Compacting:
Reis, S. M. & Renzulli, J. S. (2005) Curriculum Compacting: A Systematic Procedure for Modifying the Curriculum for Above Average Ability Students. The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, The University of Connecticut.
The article offers an easy-to-implement instructional technique for modifying the curriculum for above average ability students, giving the chance to teachers to differentiate in their mixed-ability classroom work in any curricular area and at any grade level. The procedure consists of defining the goals, documenting on the different outcomes of different students, and providing replacement strategies for a more challenging and productive use of a student’s time.
Enrichment Clusters:
Reis, S. M. & Renzulli, J. S. (2005) Enrichment Clusters: A Practical Approach For Developing
Investigative Learning Skills. The University of Connecticut.
Enrichment clusters are one component of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) that is designed to create a time and a place within the school schedule when the application of knowledge and investigative learning strategies are the major focus of students’ work. It provides an example in which students investigate a real-life problem and work together on a specified topic which gives them opportunity to apply the knowledge they have gained thus enriching the curricular work through the school year.
An infusion-based approach
Renzulli J. S. & Waicunas, N. (2016) An Infusion-Based Approach to Enriching the Standards-Driven Curriculum. In S. M. Reis (Ed.). Reflections On Gifted Education (pp. 173-192). Waco, TX: Prufrock Press
The article provides an example of how enrichment works in practice in the form of highly engaging activities related to particular topics within a school project month. The article enlists Type I, II, and III enrichment activities demonstrating how the structure of enrichment clusters can be built up within the context of the required curriculum in a primary school. The goals of the teachers were to minimize boredom and to improve achievement and creative productivity by infusing the Three E-s (Enjoyment, Engagement and Enthusiasm for Learning) into the school context.
A technology based program
Renzulli, J. S. & Reis, S. M. (2007). A Technology Based Program That Matches Enrichment Resources With Student Strengths. In International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, Vol. 2, No 3.
The article introduces a comprehensive program called The Renzulli Learning System to promote advanced level learning, creative productivity and high levels of student engagement focusing the application of knowledge rather than the mere acquisition and information storage. It uses the Enrichment Triad Model and the Strength Based Learning Theory. This program uses the internet to help teachers and students find engaging enrichment activities matching the students’ strengths, interests and
learning styles, and it also has a project management system to track and evaluate the achievement of the students.
If you are interested in more details, or want us to send the original article please contact
fuszekcs@gmail.con or directly Prof. Joseph Renzulli: joseph.renzulli@uconn.edu and they will be happy to send you the articles you are interested in.
