Gifted and Talented Education Update

1. December 14, 2009 Gifted and Talented Education Update

2. Current Deerfield 109 Programming • 3rd grade- Reading and Math weekly pull-outs and enrichment • 4th grade- Daily replacement math (1 yr. acceleration); weekly reading pull-out • 5th grade- Daily replacement math (1 yr. acceleration); multiple day reading/writing pull-out • K-5 Push-in/co-teaching Reading, Writing, Math (as avail.) • MS- Seminar (LA/Reading block); 2 yr. Math Acceleration

3. Current Deerfield 109 Identification • Students  formally identified at the end of 2nd grade through a data collection process involving multiple measures. • Phase 1: Teacher recommendation, work samples, District assessments (F&P, Math curriculum measures-Bridges) • Phase 2: Above-level work samples; Above-level CogAT Testing • Phase 3: Formal identification using matrix compiling data from Phase 1 and Phase 2 • Grades 3-8- ID on-going through data collection and review

4. NAGC State of the States in Gifted Education (2008-09) Three Most Common Delivery Methods for Early/Upper Elementary and Middle School: • Regular classroom (differentiation) • Resource room (pull-out) • Cluster classroom (grouping strategy)

5. NAGC State of the States in Gifted Education (2008-09) Three Most Positive Forces on Gifted and Talented Education: • Differentiated instruction • Focus on needs in STEM • Professional development

6. Programming Information from Area Schools Three Most Common Delivery Methods for Area Schools: • Regular Classroom • Resource Room • Magnet/ self-contained

7. Programming Information from Area Schools -Regular Classroom • Staff involved: • Enrichment Teacher • Extended Learning Specialist • Enrichment Resource Team • Curriculum Enrichment Coordinator/Team • Differentiation Support Teacher

8. Programming Information from Area Schools – Resource Room (pull-out, acceleration, and/or enrichment) • Staff involved: • Gifted Resource Teacher • Gifted Education Teacher

9. Programming Information from Area Schools – Magnet/self-contained (grouping strategy) • Staff involved: • Classroom teacher with gifted training

10. Recommendations

11. Staffing Recommendation • Add 6 gifted specialists to staff • One per elementary • One per middle school • .5 Gifted specialist • .5 Mathematics/Science specialist • Continue to promote staff participation in new gifted training options • Gifted Education Seminar- currently being offered free  through an ISBE grant- 45 clock hours of face-to-face and online instruction. This replaces the Gifted Institute Levels I + II, which were previously used for Gifted Verification in the State of Illinois.

12. Programming Recommendations • Mathematics • Pull out programming to begin in grade 3. • Initial acceleration to occur in grade 3. • Second acceleration in grade 5. • Course sequence modification to include 2 year algebra sequence.

13. Programming Recommendations • Language Arts • Grades 3 – 5 emphasis changes to writing • Students provided with pull out programming in writing • No change to middle school LA programming.

14. Programming Recommendations • Science • Addition of science seminar classes at middle school • Coursework to begin 2010-11 school year. • Additional focus on STEM opportunities

15. Programming Recommendations • General Intellectual Programming • Monthly pull-out sessions • Community focused • Topical • Facilitated by Gifted Specialists • Developed during 2010 -11 school year • Implemented beginning with Fall, 2011

16. Programming Recommendations • Social Emotional Needs • Social Emotional Skills curriculum for all identified students in grades 3 – 8 • Skills delivered in grade level modules • Instruction provided by social work staff • Topics include: • What it means to be gifted. • Perfectionism • Friendship • Organization skills • Stress management • Other topics of specific interest to gifted students

17. Programming Recommendations • Differentiation • Continue focus on differentiation • Professional development for staff • Curriculum selection • Integration of technology • Support of literacy coach, math coach, library media coordinator, technology coach, etc.

18. Programming Recommendations • General services • Support for K – 8 staff in providing in-class differentiation • Individual Learning Plans developed and implemented for all identified students • Enrichment groups provided

19. Identification The State of Illinois and NAGC recommend that gifted education identification be based on at least three multiple measures of data.

20. Identification Recommendations • Additional Screening Tools • CogAT given to students in grades 2 & 5 • Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students • Intellectual Gifted Programming • Intelligence Test • Stanford Binet • WISC

21. Identification Process • CogAT Screening for all students (Grade 2 and Grade 5) • Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students • District assessments and student work samples

22. CogAT – Cognitive Abilities Test • Appraises level and pattern of cognitive development • Measures both general and specific reasoning abilities • Consists of three batteries: Verbal, Quantitative, Nonverbal • Each battery consists of two or three different reasoning tasks

23. CogAT – Cognitive Abilities Test • Primary Uses • to guide efforts to adapt instruction to needs and abilities of students; • to provide an alternative measure of cognitive development-gifted identification; • to identify students whose predicted levels of achievement are markedly discrepant from their observed levels of achievement

24. Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Children • Standardizes teacher professional judgment input • Calculates local norms • Assists in recognizing individual student strengths • Variety of included scales allows specific data to be collected for programming and differentiation

25. Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Children • Learning Characteristics • Creativity Characteristics • Artistic Characteristics • Dramatics Characteristics • Communication Characteristics • Expressiveness • Precision • Mathematics Characteristics • Motivation Characteristics • Leadership Characteristics • Musical Characteristics • Planning Characteristics • Reading Characteristics • Technology Characteristics • Science Characteristics 

26. Lohman & Renzulli Procedure for Identification of Gifted and Talented Students • Matrix based approach to combining data points for identification • Weighting is well-grounded in research • Utilizes CogAT and STBCSS • Helps to distinguish between intellectually gifted and academically talented--> can improve appropriate individual programming decisions for children

27. Identification of General Intellectual Ability • Students identified by CogAT score and/or in Category I of Lohman & Renzulli Identification Matrix could be individually screened by school psychologist using the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC-IV) or Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (SB-5) to determine individual needs for further programming.  • Social-Emotional needs are different for the highly intellectually gifted. This would allow for differentiated services in the area of social work.

28. Strengths of Proposed Identification System - CoGAT • Enables all students to be screened for gifted services • Provides rich data to inform instruction (individual and group data) • Wider testing pool would allow for the establishment of local norms • Increased parent communication of student strengths and concerns-normed score reporting

29. Strengths of Proposed Identification System SRBCSS (Teacher Rating Scales) • Helps to establish consistency in teacher rating • Assesses multiple areas of strength • Variety of scales allows for collection of data in specific areas • Local norms can be established

30. Strengths of Proposed Identification SystemLohman & Renzulli Identification Matrix • Well-grounded in research • Identifies students in four quadrants  • Provides information that can assist in student-specific programming decisions

31. Staff Development Related to Identification • Training in the interpretation and use of CogAT scores for differentiating instruction and making programming decisions • Training in the use of the SRBCSS scales to increase inter-rater reliability in teacher identification of gifted student characteristics and to recognize areas of relative strength and challenge within the gifted population.

32. Program Evaluation Recommendations • Three year program review process • Involvement of staff, students, and parents • Information regarding programming gathered • Students – current and past • Parents • Staff • Administration • Review of Student Assessment Data • Development of Program Goals • Program Improvement Plan presented to Board

33. References • Lohman, D. F. & Renzulli, J. (2007). A simple procedure for combining ability test scores, achievement test scores, and teacher ratings to identify academically talented children. • Lohman, D. F. (2008).  Using the Cognitive Abilities Test (Form 6) to identify gifted children.  Powerpoint presentation for ICN-BBC training day. January 25, 2008. • National Association for Gifted Children (2009). State of the states in gifted education. Washington, D.C. http://www.nagc.org/uploadedFiles/Information_and_Resources/State_of_the_States_2008-2009/Summary%20of%20findings%202008-2009%20State%20of%20the%20States%20Report.pdf • Illinois Public Act 094-0410 http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=094-0410&print=true • Additional CogAT information: http://www.riverpub.com/products/cogAt/index.html