Gifted Education: Program Design on a Shoestring

1. Gifted Education: Program Design on a Shoestring Dr. Barbara L. Branch Branch Consulting

2. Objectives • First Day • Legal aspects • California Standards

3. State Law Federal Law and NCLB

4. Federal Definition of Giftedness • Children and youth with outstanding talent perform or show the potential for performance at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience, or environment. • These children and youth exhibit high performance capability in intellectual, creative, and/or artistic areas, possess an unusual leadership capacity, or excel in specific academic fields. They require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the schools. • Outstanding talents are present in children and youth from all cultural groups, across all economic strata, and in all areas of human endeavor.

5. NCLB Definition of Gifted The definition of gifted and talented in NCLB is as follows: The term 'gifted and talented', when used with respect to students, children, or youth, means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities. Title IX, Part A, Section 9101(22)Page 544

6. California Definition Each district shall use one or more of these categories in identifying pupils as gifted and talented in all categories, identification of a pupil’s extraordinary capability shall be in relation to the pupil’s chronological peers. • Intellectual Ability: A Pupil demonstrates extraordinary or potential for extraordinary intellectual development • Creative Ability: A Pupil characteristically: • Perceives unusual relationships among aspects of the pupil’s environment and among ideas; • Overcomes obstacles to thinking and doing; • Produces unique solutions to problems • Specific Academic Ability: A pupil functions at highly advanced academic levels in particular subject areas. • Leadership Ability: A pupil displays the characteristic behaviors necessary for extraordinary leadership. • High Achievement: A pupil consistently produces advanced ideas and products and/or attains exceptionally high scores on achievement tests. • Visual and Performing Arts Talent: A Pupil originates, performs, produces, or responds at extraordinarily high levels in the arts. • Any other category which meets the standards set forth in these regulations CAL CODE REGS, title 5, § 3822

7. History of Gifted Education in California • MGM – 1961 • GATE – 1980 – AB 1040 • Districts set up own criteria • Expanded services beyond intellectually gifted • Updated GATE with standards - AB 2313 • Title V of the State Code

8. Recommended Program Standards • Components • Program Design • Identification • Curriculum and Instruction • Social & Emotional Development • Professional Development • Parent and Community Involvement • Program Assessment

9. Important Elements of a Gifted Program • Continuum of program services • Integral part of the day • Flexible groupings • Trained teachers • Characteristics • Differentiation Strategies • Respect for gifted needs

10. Meeting Standards with no money

11. Program Options Based on identification

12. Gifted Program Delivery Models What can schools do to help these students when they really care, but don’t have the funds?

13. Gifted Program Delivery Models Some gifted students may be candidates for early entrance to kindergarten, or possibly first grade if they are already reading.

14. Gifted Program Delivery Models Pre-assess gifted students before a unit or a course for mastery of the subject matter and offer a more advanced unit or course. Self-contained classes for gifted students, particularly in core curriculum classes, help them move on to more advanced subjects.

15. Gifted Program Delivery Models Multi-age, self-contained gifted classes are even more effective. Learning with intellectual peers encourages gifted students to achieve.

16. Gifted Program Delivery Models Subject acceleration is appropriate when a student is proficient in a particular subject. Consider grade acceleration when a student demonstrates proficiency at a particular grade level. Use the Iowa Acceleration Scale to evaluate this and other options. Subject Grade

17. A Nation Deceived • Limited familiarity with the research on acceleration • Philosophy that children must be kept with their age group • Belief that acceleration hurries children out of childhood • Fear that acceleration hurts children socially • Political concerns about equity • Worry that other students will be offended if one child is accelerated.

18. Gifted Program Delivery Models Dual enrollment in middle or high school, or high school and college, offers challenging opportunities for gifted students. Middle School High School College

19. Gifted Program Delivery Models Offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses and/or International Baccalaureate (IB) programs for gifted students. Provide counselors who are trained to counsel gifted students, including advising them of talent development opportunities.

20. Gifted Program Delivery Models Advise students of Academic Talent Searches, scholarships and academic competitions and give students credit for the advanced courses they take in academic summer programs.

21. Gifted Program Delivery Models Create a school culture that values intellectual discovery and achievements, where students encourage one another to accomplish more than they would on their own. Encourage administrators and teachers to educate themselves on the wide range of exceptional abilities among bright students and increase flexibility in addressing the individual learning needs of gifted

22. Cluster Grouping

23. Rationale for Cluster Grouping • Placing high achievers together in one classroom challenges those students, enabling other students to become academic leaders and allowing new talent to emerge. Marcia Gentry

24. Rationale for Cluster Grouping • Cluster grouping makes it easier for teachers to meet the needs of students in their classrooms by reducing the achievement range of students within a classroom. • Cluster grouping used in conjunction with challenging instruction and high teacher expectations may improve how teachers view their students with respect to ability and achievement. Marcia Gentry

25. Rationale for Cluster Grouping • Achievement scores improved over a three-year period for students in a cluster group environment and the number of students identified as high achievers increased. Marcia Gentry

26. Rationale for Cluster Grouping • Flexible grouping within and between classes that reduces the achievement range of each class can provide many benefits to all students and teachers. • The positive effects of cluster grouping result from many changes in the school climate such as: Marcia Gentry

27. Rationale for Cluster Grouping • creating opportunities for staff development, emphasizing a variety of instructional strategies; • raising teacher expectations; • creating a sense of ownership; Marcia Gentry

28. Rationale for Cluster Grouping • reducing the range of achievement levels in classrooms; • creating opportunities for collaboration with colleagues and administration. Marcia Gentry

29. Talent Development Model • Identify possible gifted in K-1 • Reading fluency • Math problem solving skills • Vocabulary • Characteristics checklist • Reading comprehension • Train K-6 teachers • Provide differentiated instruction K-6 • Officially identify in grade 6 for 7-8 placement

30. Identification • Identify within schools using checklists and rubrics of exemplars

31. Curriculum and Instruction • Train teachers in differentiated instruction of the core curriculum • Create a sequence of extensions for your district content standards • Core Plus

33. Social/Emotional Needs • Teacher and administrator training • Parent speakers • Book clubs

34. Professional Development • Minimal - once • Teacher training in characteristics and differentiated instruction strategies • Maximum - ongoing • Certificate Program • Differentiation • Social/Emotional • Diverse Gifted • Program Design and Instruction

35. Parents and Community • Parent speakers – CAG regional reps • Book club • Discussions at SSC meetings • Mentor program

36. Program Assessment • Review School Site Plans

37. For every gifted child who is not allowed to reach his or her potential, there is a lost opportunity for a society in desperate need of creativity and inventiveness.” Carl Rogers