DYS Homeroom

  You can’t study the creative process very long without hearing about divergent thinking. What does it mean as a psychology term, and what does it mean for students who are gifted? How can we apply this knowledge to our projects? That's what we explored in this lesson.   Convergent and Divergent Thinking Defined:  - Convergent thinking is systematic and represents thinking in a straight line towards the "best" solution. When you are asked to fill in a blank on a test (or reduce something to a simple and obvious answer), you are using convergent thinking. - Divergent thinking, on the other hand, is open-ended, web-like, and thrives on making flexible connections. Both thinking styles are needed while creating, but it’s great to know which one you prefer along with the strengths and limitations of each. -It's also fun to look at and discuss the notebooks of prolific thinkers such as Thomas Edison and Leonardo DaVinci to get a sense of divergent thinking: https://www.op...

Thank you for a lovely class this week! We tackled a couple of psychology/history facts related to the creative process. Students seemed to enjoy this content quite a bit. They offered a lot of connections and came with many stories to share. The creative process has been around for as long as humans have. But it's only been observed scientifically for 100 years! "The Art of Thought" by Graham Wallas got it all started in 1926 when he formulated one of the first cohesive models of the creative process. Wallas noted a four-stage process, but a fifth stage (implementation) has been added.  We went over the definition of each of the following five stages with examples from our own lives and from history: 1. Preparation  -Sources of inspiration -Researching the problem -Prepping information and materials -Gathering resources 2. Incubation -Take your mind off the problem (do something else) -The unconscious mind wanders (Einstein called it “combinatory play”) -Marinating -Coul...

This week’s discussion centered around high expectations. Sometimes these high expectations come from the outside world and sometimes they come from inside ourselves. Oftentimes, high expectations have a profound impact on us and the people around us. People can have high expectations in different areas (character/behavior, measured accomplishments, etc.), making the issue all the more complicated. Perfectionism and unrealistic expectations are often addressed in literature written for people who happen to be gifted, but we also talked about when expectations don’t seem high enough and we want someone to set the bar higher. Either way, sometimes we have to learn how to handle what pops out of other people’s mouths and what pops into our own minds! It’s our choice where and when we wish to strive for perfection and where we wish to be ordinary. We used the story of gymnast Simone Biles as a talking point for exploring this issue. We also discussed John Grisham vs. Michael Crichton (one ...

  Guiding Question:  What Makes For a Healthier/Safer/More Stable Sense of Identity Than One’s Rare Abilities? The topic this week was being a “whole person” that exists as more than their gifts (even while living in a busy driven brain that seems to dominate). We talked about why a person’s true value and worth has nothing to do with their talents, intelligence, or personality traits. People are valuable simply for being themselves and existing. There are helpful and not so helpful things about the way anyone is wired.  “Giftedness is a trait that shapes people's lives, but you get to decide what defines you.” Here’s an exercise to try with the above sentiment: Finish the sentence “I am…” as many times as you can with personality traits that describe you (fun-loving, hardworking, etc.), roles (son, daughter), and anything else that comes to mind. Notice just how many valuable things you are to yourself and other people.  Optional Artistic Homework: Complete the “coa...

  This week we focused on effective routines and habits that lead to a pleasant experience while taking a variety of classes. We first discussed six popular study habits backed by research.  Connect your emotions and interests to the material. It’s easy to learn about something you are innately passionate about, and it’s easier to remember things when you’ve had strong emotional reactions. Ask yourself how and why this topic matters. Can you connect your passions to the material in some way? For example, if you love math but are studying oceans for a science class, can you think about relevant connections to pique your interest?  Vary content during an intense study session and take mini-breaks (like walks). Consider intense sessions of 20 minutes focused on a specific skill. As a guitar player this would look like 20 minutes practicing scales, 20 minutes practicing chord switches, 20 minutes playing through other people’s songs related to these micro-skills. For math, th...

This week we finished up students' "About Me" sharing and discussed the psychology of motivation. We started by examining two very different forms of motivation at work in our lives: Intrinsic motivation is defined as the doing of an activity for its inherent satisfaction rather than for some separable consequence . When intrinsically motivated, a person is moved to act for the fun or challenge entailed rather than because of external products, pressures, or rewards. Extrinsic motivation is being encouraged to do something because of outside (extrinsic) forces . Said motivation could be positive or negative, meaning they can be encouraged to do something to receive a benefit or praise or discouraged to do something out of fear of consequences. Then we discussed common ways willpower can be depleted throughout the day and how to create an optimal schedule built on self-awareness. What a person works on (and when) can impact their motivation. Therefore, it’s beneficial t...

  "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."  - Maya Angelou This week we discussed executive functioning skills and how these skills are different from mere intelligence. Taking “in” facts and remembering them is often a strength of learners who are gifted. However, acting on ideas or having “output” is a different set of skills.  Fundamental skills related to executive functioning: Metacognition Planning Organization Time Management Task Initiation Working Memory Attention Self-Control Perseverance Flexibility Day-to-day examples of executive functioning skills include: Taking notes Writing down assignments and ideas Organizing materials Prioritizing assignments Writing structured responses Having a study schedule Making a to-do list We talked about how we have to learn these skills by breaking them down and practicing them before they are needed for difficult classes or pursuits. If a class is easy, we may be tempted to by-bass t...