"Just About Anything is Possible in
Mrs. Bigney's Room"

Getting students to embrace the possibilities is what we do as teachers.  This is the goal of the Gifted Program at the DuBois Area Middle School.  The middle school Pupil Enrichment Program (PEP) is designed to meet the needs of gifted and high achieving students sixth through eighth grade in the DuBois Area School District.  The program is an ungraded enrichment program where checklists, observations, and rubrics provide student assessment.  A hands-on approach to teaching, while incorporating activities that are challenging and stimulating, best describes the instructional climate of the classroom.  The current program provides enrichment experiences in language arts, creativity, science, and math.  All activities utilize technology and are created to be open ended.  Students are encouraged to reach their full potential educationally, as well as emotionally, through diverse approaches to instruction. Sixth graders start
every class with a short excerpt from Daily Reflections for Highly Effective Teens.  Seventh and eighth graders begin their day with a short excerpt from Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Teens.  PEP students meet in small groups (four to ten students) for one instructional period (forty minutes) a week. Students also have the option to return to the PEP room during their study
halls to work on projects, independent studies, relax, or just visit.

The classroom is a visually stimulating, busy room.  As you enter the room, there are three small desks where students are featured. Each week students have the opportunity to showcase their talents and interests by bringing articles for display showing their interests and achievements (pictures, trophies, mementos, stuffed animals, etc.).  One corner of the room features a flight simulator where students take flying lessons.  Moving around the room, a table with four laptops and two printers is placed in
front of a bulletin board with an assortment of visual mind benders, a list of student records for various challenges, and articles featuring students mentioned in the local newspaper.  A puppet stage settles into one corner of the room and a table filled with a variety of three-dimensional manipulative puzzles occupies the center of the room.  The front of the room serves as a resource center with two Internet connected computers, a printer, and a scanner.  Two beanbag chairs with tape players, headsets, and relaxation tapes complete the relaxed, but challenging atmosphere of the PEP classroom.

Students receive training in robotics, programming, pneumatics,
laser technology, solar energy, the physics of motion, digital photography, PowerPoint, Adobe PhotoShop, CAD, puppetry, computer technology, and the operation of our judicial system.  Students learn to use graphing
calculators; hand held GPS units, laptop computers, scanners, digital cameras, 35-mm cameras, printers, and the Internet.
Robotics is one of our major units.  Sixth graders create robotic machines (washing machines, merry go rounds, conveyor belts, stop lights, etc.) using Legos that they interface to the computer and program using Logo (the language used to operate robots).  Seventh graders use Robotix to create computerized robots that can bowl, remote control robots that play pool, and battery operated robotic sumo wrestlers.  Eighth graders build
three-foot tall remote control robots that enter our robot Olympics.  Before entering, each robot must have a completed application and biography.

Lasers capture the students' curiosity.  The basic laser technology taught in sixth grade is built upon in seventh grade where students build robotic contraptions to present basic laser light shows choreographed to popular music.  Students are then challenged in eighth grade to prepare and present laser light shows using patriotic music incorporated with Power Point for Veterans' Day programs in the community and surrounding schools and school districts.

Another exciting unit is "Fairy Tales on Trial."  After a visit from
a local attorney, sixth graders take on the roles of judge, defense lawyer, prosecuting attorney, bailiff, witness, defendant, and jury as they prepare for a trial to defend a fairy tale character.  Last year Peter Rabbit was arrested for trespassing and theft.  After a lengthy trial, Peter was found guilty and placed under house arrest in the custody of his mother and ordered to do community service of helping Mr. McGregor replant his garden.  Jack of "Jack and the Beanstalk" was on trial for murder and theft but he was found incompetent.  His lawyer's plea was that anyone that would trade a cow for a handful of beans was insane.  Students, while role-playing, experience the fundamentals of debate and the operation of our judicial system.

Students are involved in the community in several activities.  Last
year with the help of a grant and a local business, students built a
computer from the motherboard up then donated the computer to the local senior center and spent an hour every Friday visiting the center to help the seniors become Internet savvy.  Students enjoyed the interaction with the seniors so much they decided to do a fundraiser to earn enough money to build computers for a computer lab at the Senior Center.  Their goal was achieved and students will begin their computer classes for seniors in the spring. 

Students present puppet shows to elementary students dealing with conflict resolution, drugs and alcohol, and "Stranger Danger."  Sixth graders choose community themes (parks, bridges, churches, schools, industry, etc.) for their photography unit.  Photos are mounted and displayed at Open House.

After basic instruction in the use of graphing calculators (sixth
graders) and GPS units (eighth graders), PEP students become mentors for their peers.  Together we instruct all sixth graders in the use of graphing calculators and all eighth grade earth space science students in the history and basic operation of the GPS.

Every instructional period ends with students being given a "Thought Provoker" to ponder until our next class.  Students are enthusiastically involved in all of the activities and units.  As one student said, "just about anything is possible in Mrs. Bigney's room."

        by Betty Bigney
         2002 Finalist