The Schoolwide Enrichment Model

Lampiran 5.14

THE MANAGEMENT PLAN

The Management Plan has been designed to take account two concepts, i.e. the role and methodology in any investigation. The role of the first hand inquirer (or practicing professional) does not engage in an investigative activity to fulfill curricular or educational objectives. Rather, his or her purpose is to solve an existing problem, to add to our present body of knowledge, or to create an artistic product that is a new contribution to his or her field. These persons may draw upon existing knowledge (i.e. use reference materials) but their purpose is not simply to rewrite or summarize information that is already known. And of course, it goes without saying that these persons do not engage in investigative activities to hand in to a teacher or display on a bulletin board. What then, are the purpose of the first-hand inquirer? He or she pursues a real problem in order to have an impact upon a relatively well-defined target audience. The type of impact and the audiences differ from one field to another, in some cases the audiences are very specific; however, the general purpose of most real world inquirers remain the same. The local historian does research about his or her home town in order to inform other local enthusiasts about a common interest or perhaps to influence the general public to help preserve old building. The writer of childrens stories takes pen in hand so that he or she can bring some enjoyment into the lives of children. And the ecologist studies air pollution in order to persuade city councils or legislators to pass laws that will result in a cleaner environment. In this case the general public may also be an audience because they exert influence on public officials. Similarly, the news media may be an audience because it assists in conveying the message to the target audience. The second major distinction between the student-as-lesson-learner and the first-hand inquirer is based on methodology. As has been indicated earlier, much of the activity that gifted students and their teachers describe as research is frequently little more than a ritualistic reporting process. The reason for this sad but undeniable reality is that most of the time spent by students on so-called research projects is filled by looking up information that has already been gathered, summarized and interpreted by others. In order words, we seldom encourage youngsters to engage in the purposeful acquisition of raw data. One of the ways that we can help students to appreciate the difference between reporting and investigating is to provide them with information about the appropriate methodological techniques of various fields of study. Almost every field has a relatively well-defined set of procedures that investigators follow in order to pursue the problems specific to this field, and in most cases this how-to-do-it information is described in one or more methodology books. Providing a youngster with the right tools or investigative skills will open the door to real investigative activity as opposed to mere reporting.

SM/BPM/03

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The Schoolwide Enrichment Model

Lampiran 5.14

The General Area of Study

The student must first identify the General Area Of Study in which he or she would like to do advanced work. This may be derived from analyzing interest or abilities or through some other ways.

The Specific Area of Study

The next step is to focus in upon a particular problem within the general area. Discussion or series of discussion with the advisor or mentor would help. The student(s) and the advisor should attempt to answer the three questions listed in the box because all subsequent activities will reflect the degree of clarity with which the problem is focused and stated.

Intended Audiences and Intended Product(s) and Outlets

These are intended to help steer the student toward thinking about the final form that his/her investigation will take and about the audiences potentially concerned with the results. The Audiences and Outlets boxes are perhaps the key to differentiating between orientation of normal student reportage and that of first-hand inquiry.

Getting Started and Methodological Resources

Teacher must work closely with student to complete the boxes. The Getting Started box should list the early steps necessary for beginning an investigation and the types of information that will be needed to pursue the study, at least in the initial stages. The two boxes are intended to provide a running account of the procedures and resources that will be used throughout the duration of an investigative activity. A mushrooming effect often takes place as student and teacher become more familiar with the resources in a given area of study and as the greater variety of resources, in turn, enable them to advance the level of sophistication that is brought to bear upon a particular problem. Furthermore the information in the boxes can serve as a checklist for determining whether the student is heading in the right direction, and this can also serve the purpose of setting target dates for progress reports. Whenever space does not permit the recording of necessary information, the reverse side of the Management Plan can be used and additional pages can be appended.

SM/BPM/03

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