CHALLENGE LAB

WHAT CHALLENGE LAB IS:  

A pull-out program where G/T students learn the research process and problem solving skills while exploring problem-based learning units.  

The Challenge Lab provides an additional tier of service to identified elementary Gifted and Talented children. Students go to the Challenge Lab for 90 to 120 minutes a week to receive curriculum and instruction designed to provide additional challenge and opportunity to pursue topics of interest.  After students are tested and identified, participation is voluntary.

Challenge Lab instruction is based on the Texas Performance Standards Project (State G/T) curriculum and Project Based Learning, which is an extended inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks specifically designed for gifted and talented students.    

Activities in the Lab are designed to cause students to think in more in-depth and complex ways. Challenge Lab teachers use Sandra Kaplan’s model of Depth and Complexity and her icons for each element to engage students in assimilating new information, making connections, and digging for deeper understandings. The focus of instruction in K-2 is on helping students acquire and build independent study and research skills.  At grades 3-5, students engage in project-based learning where they research and explore real-world problems and challenges.

WHO:   

• Yolanda Hamilton, Challenge Lab GT Facilitator
• BISD G/T identified students

WHAT ARE THIS YEAR'S LEARNING UNITS:  

• Do Your Part For Art! (Kinder)
• It's A Family Affair & The Ripple Effect: The Study of Water  (1st & 2nd)
• Bridges & Pursuit of Happiness (3rd-5th)

WHEN:  

During students' daily Intervention time M-Th for 90-120 minutes/wk

WHERE: 

In the Challenge Lab classroom