Gifted Education Program Design and Administration

1. Gifted Education Program Design and Administration Dr. Barbara L. Branch Branch Consulting

2. Objectives • Wednesday • Rationale for providing gifted education • Statistical Rationale • Rights of the Gifted Child • Myths and Realities • State Law, Federal Law • NCLB Assignment • Thursday • NCLB Reports • Budgets • Intelligence • Identification • Program Options • Reflection Paper

3. Here’s a puzzle to test your ability to find a pattern and test it against more data. In this table, each row across follows the same pattern of numbers. See if you can discern the pattern and fill in the missing number in the bottom row. For added challenge (or competition), time how long it takes you to complete the puzzle. Executive functions, like planning, and spatial processing are handled by your frontal lobes.

4. Have you solved it yet? If not, here’s a hint: If you read your figures like words in the West,then multiply your efforts and subtract the rest. http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2006/11/22/pattern-recognition-brain-teaser/

5. Rationale for Providing Gifted Services

6. Wordstorm • Each team has a flip chart paper with a word in the middle. • Person number one on each team walks to their team paper and writes a word related to the original word. • Person one passes the marker to the next person on the team. Each person in turn adds a word related to the original word. • Wait for a signal for round two, three, etc. • In your group, organize your words into groups that go together and label the groups

7. Why Should Gifted Students Be Supported? • “Gifted and talented” is not always viewed very positively • Isn’t it elitist? Offends our egalitarian sensibilities • Democracy butts heads with intellectualism • Does superior intellect make us uncomfortable?

8. Why Should Gifted Students Be Supported? • Doesn’t it stigmatize kids or label kids? • Is it fair to other students? • Isn’t it just kids who get more field trips and special treatment like after-school programs?

9. Why Should Gifted Students Be Supported? Numerous studies confirm a sad finding: • Gifted students in the US have little good to say about their schooling. • Are usually bored and unengaged in school • Tend to be highly critical of their teachers • Are asked to learn independently too often. Ellen Winner

10. Rationale for Providing Gifted Services Every child has a right to a free and appropriate public education at his or her level All youngsters need appropriate peers and friends If improperly nurtured and educated, gifted youngsters can become a powerful negative force in society Dr. Victoria Gardner Placker, B.A.Ed., M.S., R.Sc.P., Rs.D. http://www.angelfire.com/ne/cre8vityunltd/futrgifted.html

11. Rationale for Providing Gifted Services 24% of drop outs are gifted Many of the prisoners on death row have IQ's over 130 Think of the havoc wrecked upon our society by Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, and Ted Kaczynski. Dr. Victoria Gardner Placker, B.A.Ed., M.S., R.Sc.P., Rs.D. http://www.angelfire.com/ne/cre8vityunltd/futrgifted.html

12. Who’s Profile is This? 100% Male 75% Caucasian Middle Class Average age 16 33% Loner/social outcast 25% Members of alienated group All attend public school 41% earning A’s and B’s 63% No history of serious school/conduct problems 75% Felt bullied, threatened, attacked, by others Final Report of the Safe School Initiative, US Secret Service and US Dept. of Educ., 2002, http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/NEWS/PDFs/061002_Safe_Schools.pdf

13. Rationale for Providing Gifted Services Gifted children have specific behavioral characteristics in the cognitive and affective realms that present special learning needs that must be addressed by curriculum differentiation Van Tassel-Baska, 1998

14. Why our Nation Needs to Educate our Gifted and Talented Youth • About one-third of all jobs in the United States require science or technology competency, but currently only 17 percent of Americans graduate with science or technology majors … in China, fully 52 percent of college degrees awarded are in science and technology. (William R. Brody, president of Johns Hopkins University, Congressional testimony 7/05) • Only 11 percent of bachelor’s degrees in the United States are in the sciences or engineering, compared with 23 percent in the rest of the world and 50 percent in China. (National Summit on Competitiveness 12/05)

15. Why our Nation Needs to Educate our Gifted and Talented Youth • In the fourth grade, U.S. students score above the international average in math and near first in science. At eighth grade, they score below average in math, and only slightly above average in science. By 12th grade, U.S. students are near the bottom of a 49-country survey in both math and science, outscoring only Cyprus and South Africa. • Less than 15 percent of U.S. students have the prerequisites even to pursue scientific or technical degrees in college. (William R. Brody, president of Johns Hopkins University, Congressional testimony 7/05)

16. Why our Nation Needs to Educate our Gifted and Talented Youth • China graduates about 500,000 engineers per year, while  India produces 200,000 and the United States turns out a mere 70,000. (National Academy  of Sciences: “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” 10/05) • The United States in 1970 produced more than half of the world’s Ph.D.s. But if patterns continue, it will be lucky to produce 15 percent of the world’s doctorates by 2010. (National Bureau of Economic Research 5/05)

17. Why our Nation Needs to Educate our Gifted and Talented Youth • 45% of new U.S. patents are granted now to foreigners. (Education Week “A Quiet Crisis is Clouding the Future of R&D” 5/25/05) • Only three of the top 10 recipients of U.S. patents in 2003 were American companies. (National Academy of Sciences: “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” 10/05)

18. Why our Nation Needs to Educate our Gifted and Talented Youth • 88% of high school dropouts had passing grades, but dropped out due to boredom. (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: “The Silent Epidemic” 3/06) • Up to 20 percent of high school dropouts test in the gifted range. (Handbook for Gifted Education, 2003

19. Rationale for Providing Gifted Services We need gifted people to deal with our world's problems, and they need to be appropriately educated and emotionally healthy to do so! Our future depends on them! Dr. Victoria Gardner Placker, B.A.Ed., M.S., R.Sc.P., Rs.D. http://www.angelfire.com/ne/cre8vityunltd/futrgifted.html

20. A blind beggar had a brother who died. What relation wasthe blind beggar to the brother who died?“Brother” is not the answer. http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2006/10/20/brain-puzzle-for-the-whole-brain-the-blind-beggar/

21. Statistical Rationale

22. Sac City Data

23. Sac City Data Sacramento City Unified School District

24. Stanislaus County GATE CST Scores Spring 2009 English Language Arts Who are these kids by name? www.cde.ca.gov/ds

25. Stanislaus County GATE CST Scores Spring 2009Mathematics www.cde.ca.gov/ds

26. Stanislaus County GATE CST Scores 2009 Algebra I www.cde.ca.gov/ds

27. Questions to Ask of Your Data • Who are the students in proficient or below by name. • Why aren’t they in advanced? • Do they have challenging curriculum in each grade level? • How many gifted students are not in honors or AP? Why not? www.cde.ca.gov/ds

28. http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2006/09/17/brain-exercise-draw-the-face-of-a-penny-please/http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2006/09/17/brain-exercise-draw-the-face-of-a-penny-please/

29. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child

30. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child Read and discuss with your neighbor. Do you agree with all of the declarations?   Dr. Barbara Clark, Growing Up Gifted, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997eighbor.

31. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child It is the right of a gifted child to engage in appropriate educational experiences even when other children of that grade level or age are unable to profit from the experience. Dr. Barbara Clark, Growing Up Gifted, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997

32. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child It is the right of a gifted child to be grouped and to interact with other gifted children for some part of their learning experience so that they may be understood, engaged, and challenged. Dr. Barbara Clark, Growing Up Gifted, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997

33. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child It is the right of a gifted child to be taught rather than to be used as a tutor or teaching assistant for a significant part of the school day. Dr. Barbara Clark, Growing Up Gifted, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997

34. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child It is the right of a gifted child to be presented with new, advanced, and challenging ideas and concepts regardless of the material and resources that have been designated for the age group or grade level in which the child was placed. Dr. Barbara Clark, Growing Up Gifted, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997

35. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child It is the right of a gifted child to be taught concepts that the child does not yet know instead of relearning old concepts that the child has already shown evidence of mastering. Dr. Barbara Clark, Growing Up Gifted, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997

36. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child It is the right of a gifted child to learn faster than age peers and to have that pace of learning respected and provided for. It is the right of a gifted child to think in alternative ways, produce diverse products, and to bring intuition and innovation to the learning experience. Dr. Barbara Clark, Growing Up Gifted, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997

37. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child It is the right of a gifted child to be idealistic and sensitive to fairness, justice, accuracy and the global problems facing humankind and to have a forum for expressing these concerns. Dr. Barbara Clark, Growing Up Gifted, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997

38. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child It is the right of a gifted child to question generalizations, offer alternative solutions, and value complex and profound levels of thought. It is the right of a gifted child to be intense, persistent, and goal-directed in the pursuit of knowledge. Dr. Barbara Clark, Growing Up Gifted, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997

39. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child It is the right of a gifted child to express a sense of humor that is unusual, playful, and often complex. Dr. Barbara Clark, Growing Up Gifted, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997

40. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child It is the right of a gifted child to hold high expectations for self and others and to be sensitive to inconsistencies between ideals and behavior, with the need to have help in seeing the value in human differences. Dr. Barbara Clark, Growing Up Gifted, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997

41. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child It is the right of a gifted child to be a high achiever in some areas of the curriculum and not in others, making thoughtful knowledgeable academic placement a necessity. Dr. Barbara Clark, Growing Up Gifted, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997

42. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child It is the right of a gifted child to have a low tolerance for the lag between vision and actualization, between personal standards and developed skill, and between physical maturity and athletic ability. Dr. Barbara Clark, Growing Up Gifted, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997

43. A Declaration of the Educational Rights of the Gifted Child It is the right of a gifted child to pursue interests that are beyond the ability of age peers, are outside the grade level curriculum, or involve areas as yet unexplored or unknown. Dr. Barbara Clark, Growing Up Gifted, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997

44. Plexers

45. Myths and Realities

46. Activity Complete Distinguishing Myths from Realities Quiz with at least one partner – discuss each before you decide what to answer

47. Cooperative learning can be substituted for specialized programs and services for academically talented students • Gifted students have lower self-esteem than non-gifted students • Gifted children can get a good education on their own Myths

48. Dependent Independent Zone of Proximal Development • The gap between what a learner can accomplish independently and what a learner cannot do, even with assistance. Too Hard Just Right Too Easy

49. Dependent Dependent Dependent Independent Dependent Independent Independent Independent Independent Independent Zone of Proximal Development Gifted Child High-achiever Average Children

50. Myths • Gifted students are a homogeneous group, all high achievers. • Gifted students do not need help. If they are really gifted, they can manage on their own. • Gifted students have fewer problems than others because their intelligence and abilities somehow exempt them from the hassles of daily life.