And we've always felt it's our duty to find a key to unlock learning for each child. As the father of three, he is acutely aware of how different children can be. This was a chance to expand our approaches to learning, in a data-driven way. For the teaching staff, the grant meant not only extensive professional development, but also outreach for ideas far beyond Fidalgo Island. Based on the theories of psychologist J.P. Guilford, the model essentially helps students learn how to learn.
Teachers identify students' strengths and weaknesses and map their individual learning styles.
Then, if a student has trouble understanding a concept, the teacher can tailor a lesson, using strengths to overcome weaknesses. The idea is, all children are gifted. This gave us a tool to solve problems. They tested new teaching approaches by coaching one another in the classroom. Some of the Fidalgo teachers eventually traveled to China and Japan to present workshops on intelligence training.