SEM:

Improvement

Advantages

 

Using Schoolwide Enrichment Model as a plan for School Improvement

The programming model that has been advocated since the early 1970's has always argued for a behavioral definition of giftedness and a greater emphasis on applying gifted program know-how to larger segments of the school population. 
The model is currently being used in hundreds of school districts across the US including major urban areas such as New York City, Detroit, St. Paul, San Antonio and Fort Worth. The present reform initiatives in general education have created a more receptive atmosphere for more flexible approaches that challenge all students. The SEM has been organized so that it blends into school improvement activities that are currently taking place throughout the world. A graphic representation of the model is presented in the figure below.

School Structures

The Regular Curriculum

Application of the SEM influences the regular curriculum in three ways. First, the challenge level of required material is differentiated through processes such as curriculum compacting, textbook content modification procedures, and group jumping strategies. Second, the systematic content intensification procedures used to replace eliminated content with selected, in-depth learning experiences increases the challenge level by introducing the broad underlying principles of a discipline. Third, types of enrichment recommended in SEM are integrated selectively into regular curriculum activities.

Enrichment Clusters

Enrichment clusters are non-graded groups of students who share common interests and come together during specially designated time blocks to pursue these interests. The main rationale for participation in one or more clusters is that students and teachers want to be there. Community resource persons, parents and other students are also invited to organize enrichment clusters. The model for learning used with the enrichment clusters is based on an inductive approach to the pursuit of real world problems rather than traditional, didactic modes of teaching. This approach is called "enrichment learning and teaching."

The Continuum of Special Services

Although the enrichment clusters and the SEM based modifications of the regular curriculum provide as broad range of services to meet individual needs, a program for total talent development still requires supplementary services that challenge young people who are capable of working at the highest levels of their special interests areas. These services which cannot ordinarily be provided in enrichment clusters or the regular curriculum, typically include: individual or small group counseling, direct assistance in the facilitation of advanced level work, arrangements involving mentorship with faculty members or community persons, and connections between students, their families and out of school persons, resources and agencies.

Service Delivery Components

The Total Talent Portfolio

Our approach to targeting learning characteristics uses both traditional and performance based assessment to compile information about three dimensions of the learner- abilities, interests and learning styles. This information, which focuses on strengths rather than deficits, is compiled in a folder called the Total Talent Portfolio (TTP) and used to make decisions about talent development opportunities in regular classes, enrichment clusters, and in the continuum of special services.

Curriculum Modification Techniques

The second service delivery component of the SEM is a series of curriculum modification techniques that are designed to: (1) adjust levels of required learning so that all students are challenged, (2) increase the number of in-depth learning experiences, and (3) introduce various types of enrichment into regular curricular experiences. The procedures used to carry out curriculum modification are numerous, including: curriculum compacting, textbook analysis and surgical removal of repetitious material from textbooks, and a planned approach for introducing greater depth into regular curricular material.

Enrichment Learning and Teaching

The third service delivery component of the SEM is enrichment learning and teaching. Enrichment learning and teaching is based on the ideas of a small but influential number of philosophers, theorists and researchers. The best way to define this concept is in terms of the following four principles:


Each learner is unique, and therefore, all learning experiences must be examined in ways that take into account the abilities, interests, and learning styles of the individual. 
Learning is more effective when students enjoy what they are doing, and therefore, learning experiences should be constructed and assessed with as much concern for enjoyment as for other goals. 
Learning is more meaningful and enjoyable when content( i.e. knowledge) and process (i.e. thinking skills, methods of inquiry) are learned within the context of a real and present problem. 
Enrichment edge and thinking skill acquisition that is gained through formal instruction with applications of knowledge and skills resulting from a student's own construction of meaning. 
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