If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you

 ATYP has adopted a new slogan this year, “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you,” a quote attributed to CoreBarreFit co-founder Fred DeVito. Many of you may be wondering what appropriate challenge is, and how ATYP works to create an environment where appropriate challenge is the norm that changes the way students learn and think.

When I think of a challenging curriculum, I think of Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. This theory, which is generally accepted by education professionals, asserts that learners have three zones: The Comfort Zone, what they already know or can learn easily on their own; The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), what they can learn with assistance, either with the guided scaffolding from knowledgeable instructors or with technology and tools; and The Impossible Zone, what is currently beyond their understanding (some refer to this as the Anxiety Zone, since it may make learners uncomfortable to wade into an area where they are not ready to go).

Gifted learners already have a larger than normal Comfort Zone, and many can teach themselves easily (it’s why ATYP students do so well on the ACT or SAT – they have already taught themselves a lot). Our goal is to widen that Zone of Proximal Development, to provide just the right level of growth and challenge so that they continue to expand their knowledge base. For some students, that line between the ZPD and Anxiety is blurry, and many students have to work to overcome the discomfort of being in what is unfamiliar territory, especially for gifted learners who rarely encounter material they don’t understand and who also frequently struggle with the internalized expectation that they should already know everything. And be perfect at it.

Teaching for High Potential, a publication of the National Association for Gifted Children, has a great article this month (August 24) on “The Art of Optimally Challenging Students.” Nancy Hertzog asks, “What are the conditions needed in our classrooms to invite children to go further? How do we scaffold students’ learning?” She recommends four components in an optimally challenging approach:

1.       Strong and positive relationships with and among students and teachers. This is at the core of ATYP’s philosophy. Our instructors want students to be able to express themselves, debate amongst each other, and learn how to question everything. You may find it very different from your traditional classroom.

2.       Introduce tools and materials that provide clearer conceptual frameworks and greater depth of understanding. We do this in ways that might seem basic – using college-level textbooks in our English classes, for example – and ways that may seem foreign, like the “Building Thinking Classrooms” approach that Ms. Koch uses in her geometry and precalculus classes. All of our tools and materials are chosen with research and intentionality.

3.       Encourage autonomy to “figure it out.” As we discuss every year at orientation, this can be tricky. Because yes, a student’s first step should be to try to “figure out” what they don’t know. Think it through. Give it your best shot. Be brave, and okay with making the occasional mistake. And then, if you still don’t understand a question or an assignment, reach out to a friend, your grader/tutor, or your teacher. It’s perfectly okay if it takes you a while to get a handle on where your line is for “I think I’ve got this” and “Help!”

4.       Plan for small- and large-group discussions. No one learns in a vacuum here. What you believe and understand about English, math, and computer science will be tested. You will keep some of what you know, you will add to it…and you might let some of it go. But you will all be on the journey together, and much of it will revolve around discussing literature and exploring math as a group. And the joy of finding groups of like-ability peers is another foundation of ATYP.

How will this challenge change you? Over the course of the year, you might see the creation of new executive function skills. You might make new friends. You may discover a new author, a favorite theorem, or unexpected coding skills. Hopefully you will also find new confidence in your abilities and an understanding of how leaving your comfort zone and taking on something difficult can lead to new rewards.

Until next time,

Ms. Nan