Midway Elementary School of Science and Engineering Gifted and Talented Program

1. Midway Elementary School of Science and EngineeringGifted and Talented Program “Project Challenge Toolbox Talks”

2. Welcome to the Gifted and Talented Overview for 2010-2011 • Today you will learn: • Our program philosophy • The nature and needs of gifted students • The criteria used to identify students • The delivery method for the instructional program

3. Our Philosophy We are committed to providing gifted students with an educational program that recognizes their unique characteristics and needs. Differentiated instructional opportunities encourage hands-on exploration, research, and inquiry that will develop a “love of learning,” lead to a strong student work ethic and life-long desire for excellence and achievement.

4. A gifted person is someone who shows, or has the potential for showing, an exceptional level of performance in one or more areas of expression.

5. A definition of Gifted • Gifted and talented students are those who are identified as demonstrating high performance ability or potential in academic and/or artistic areas and therefore require an educational program beyond that normally provided by the general school program in order to achieve their potential. South Carolina Board of Education Regulation 43–220. • District Five serves identified grade 3-12 students in Academic and Intellectual Ability. • These students have the academic and/or intellectual potential to function at a high level in one or more academic areas.

6. GIFTED STUDENTS • Gifted students are the most heterogeneous of all homogeneous groups. Though they are gifted and the same age, they differ greatly in their interests, their need to know, their experiences, their styles of learning, and their readiness for new and different information.

7. A GIFTED STUDENT Attraction to the novel, complex, and mysterious Relationships Ways to cope with several ideas at once • The above characteristics are just a few of the traits that many gifted students exhibit in educational situations. • Students learn best when adults expect the best from them and they are challenged with material and instruction which meet their performance levels.

8. How are students identified?

9. Two Ways to be Identified

10. Dimension A: Aptitude IQ When qualifying on aptitude alone, the total or composite score must be used. This often identifies underachieving gifted students. 96th %

11. Dimension B: Achievement A student can be eligible for gifted services if he/she qualifies in two of the three dimensions. On the norm-referenced test (MAP), the reading and math concepts subtests are considered. On the state test (PASS), the math score and the English language arts reading scores are considered.

12. Dimension C: Performance A student can be eligible for gifted services if he/she qualifies in two of the three dimensions. For placement into grades 3–6, the state has developed a series of verbal and nonverbal performance tasks. In order to be eligible to take these tasks, a student must meet the performance standard in either Dimension A or B. A successful student can meet the performance standard in either the verbal or nonverbal tasks.

13. What Is Project STAR? • In South Carolina, Project STAR is part of Dimension C. These assessments are administered and reviewed if a student qualifies in Dimension A or B, but not both. • Cut scores are created for each elementary grade. VanTassel-Baska, Johnson, and Avery 2002.

14. What Is Project STAR? • The verbal section of STAR incorporates • Verbal Problem Solving, • Persuasive Writing, • Analogies, • Verbal Relationships, • Letter Puzzles, and • Verbal Reasoning. VanTassel-Baska, Johnson, and Avery 2002.

15. What Is Project STAR? • The non-verbal section of STAR incorporates • Arithmetic Problem Solving, • Number Concepts, • Logic, • Proportional Reasoning, • Patterns, • Number Theory, • Spatial Reasoning/Visualization, • Spatial Patterning, • Geometry, and • Transformations. VanTassel-Baska, Joyce, Dana Johnson, and Linda Avery. 2002. “Using Performance Tasks in the Identification of Economically Disadvantaged and Minority Gifted Learners: Findings From Project Star.” Gifted ChildQuarterly 46, no. 2:110-123.

16. ADDITIONAL SCREENING INFORMATION • Dimension C is not reviewed if a student does not qualify in another dimension. • Private testing may not be used to determine eligibility. • A nonverbal aptitude measure may not be used as a single criterion for identification.

17. IDENTIFICATION: Special Notes

18. Midway’s Program

19. Any Questions? Contact Information: Joy Farr Instructional Facilitator Midway Elementary School of Science and Engineering (864) 716-3800 joyfarr@anderson5.net Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have.Zig Ziglar

20. Bibliography Anderson School District Five. Project Challenge Webpage. Anderson SC:2010. Callahan, Carolyn M., et. al. 1995. “Instruments Used in the Identification of Gifted and Talented Students.” <http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/callhuns.html> National Excellence: A Case for Developing America’s Talent. 1993. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Passow, A.Harru., and Rose A.Rudnitski. 1993. “State Policies Regarding Education of the Gifted as Reflected in Legislation andRegulations.”< http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/passrudn.html> South Carolina Department of Education. South Carolina Gifted and Talented Best Practices Manual. Columbia, SC: 1999. VanTassel-Baska, Joyce. “The On-going Dilemma of Effective Identification Practices in Gifted Education.” <http://cfge.wm.edu/Publications/On-Going_Dilemma.htm> VanTassel-Baska, Joyce, Dana Johnson, and Linda Avery. 2002. “Using Performance Tasks in the Identification of Economically Disadvantaged and Minority Gifted Learners: Findings From Project STAR.” Gifted Child Quarterly 46, no. 2:110-123.