Mountain View High School GATE Program

1. Mountain View High SchoolGATE Program Steve Kahl: GATE Coordinator steven.kahl@mvla.net 408-395-0002

2. Professional Biography • High school English teacher for twenty-three years: fifteen at Independence High School in East San Jose eight at Mountain View High School in Mountain View • Professional development presenter for thirteen years: curriculum differentiation, gifted education, Socratic seminar, classroom management, ethics education • Mentor teacher for sixteen years • CLAD certificated • Teacher Certification from California Assn. for the Gifted • Master of Arts Degree in Educational Leadership • Former coordinator of the Teaching Academy, a California Partnership Academy for high school kids who intend to become teachers.

3. Objectives for the Visit • Participants will identify the major components of the GATE program at MVHS. • Participants will examine examples of differentiated assignments. • Participants will reflect together on their experiences with GATE Programs.

4. Agenda • GATE Program Overview • Examination of Differentiated Assignments • Overview of Training for New Teachers in Gifted Education • Questions and Answers • Evaluation

5. Differentiated Instruction Training (Sixteen Hours) • For all new teachers in the district--every year for the last six years. (That includes more than half of our staff.) Differentiated instruction design for academic readiness levels, interests, learning profiles, cultures, and language backgrounds. • For veterans on Saturdays and during summer breaks • Ongoing coaching from GATE Coordinator • Tuning Protocols

6. Identification • Most GATE students were already identified in elementary districts • Teachers identify other students using CAG’s identification checklists for general academic ability, specific academic ability, creativity, leadership, visual arts, and performing arts. • We also have a form parents use to recommend students for the identification process.

7. The Differentiated Classroom • Teachers’ form letters to GATE students • Students’ form letters to their teachers • Learning contracts for students • “Open Access” AP and Honors courses (with invitations to students from underrepresented groups) • Project menus and tiered assignments • Pre-assessment tools • The Tuning Protocol

8. Meeting Students’ Needs Outside the Regular Classroom • Survey of GATE students’ academic needs--as well as their intellectual and academic and career interests • Academic Mentorship Program • Professional Mentorship Program • “Walk a Day in My Shoes” Program • E-mail group lists for each grade level to keep students informed of opportunities outside our school community • Lunch with Leaders Program

9. “Assignment Bank” of Model Assignments for GATE Students • Connected to school website • Models of tiered assignments, project menus, and pre-assessment tools • Teachers may upload and download

10. GATE Advisory Board • GATE Coordinator • Assistant Principal • Three parents • Three teachers • Three students • Three community members

11. GATE Parent Involvement • An overview of the GATE program at MVHS--what to expect from teachers • “How to Raise a Successful, Ethical Gifted Child” • The Social and Emotional Needs of GATE Students (a series) • “Overcoming Underachievement” workshop • Support for our mentorship program

12. Options for Pre-assessment Before a New Instructional Unit • Pre-test students on unit concepts, skills, and facts. • Give the chapter test first. • Survey students about their experience & comfort level with the material. • Survey students on areas of interest in unit. • Complete a KWL chart (know/want to know/learned). • Use “find my partner” cards or match-up game. • Students create PSAs on what they know already. • Students write ironic statements on unit concepts.

13. Pre-assessment Activities to Begin the Year • Letter to the Teacher • Learning Skill Inventory • Interest Circle • Personal Museums • Student Survey • Student Self-Assessment of Skills Chart • Parent Survey • Parent Letter to the Teacher • Annotated Portfolio of Work from Years Past • Standardized Test Scores

14. Joseph Renzulli’s Definition of Successful Gifted Students (University of Connecticut)

15. Heuristic for Creating a Project Menu • Decide on the enduring understanding and/or skill(s) you want all students to develop from the projects. • Review your pre-assessment data on individual students’ learning styles, interests, and learning profiles. • Create several standard projects typical for your grade level and subject area. • Each project choice should contain a process activity, new content to be learned, a research component, and a product to demonstrate growth. • Add several projects connecting your enduring understanding to other disciplines and talents.

16. Heuristic for Creating a Tiered Assignment • Identify the essential understanding (concepts, principles, attitudes, knowledge base and/or skills) you want the students to cultivate as they complete the assignment. • Write a typical standards based “grade level” assignment, containing the process, content, research, resources, and products the students will be using. Make certain that the activity is interesting, challenging, and that it causes students to use key skills to understand the major idea or concept • Study the pre-assessment data for the unit to identify the needs of struggling students and advanced students. • Use the “Equalizer” to adjust at least one aspect of the assignment to make it even more challenging for some. • Use the “Equalizer” to adjust at least one aspect of the assignment to make it more “do-able” for struggling students. Add scaffolding for support.