MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES AND THE GIFTED CHILD PRESENTED BY: C. CALDARERA

1. MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCESANDTHE GIFTED CHILD PRESENTED BY: C. CALDARERA

2. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES AS A RESULT OF THIS WORKSHOP, PARTICIPANTS WILL: The Gifted and Talented: • Be introduced to the characteristics of the gifted child • Learn the process for identifying the gifted learner and common misconceptions • Know what is involved in the assessment and placement of the gifted learner (Elementary and Secondary) • Know what training is required for facilitators of gifted learners • Be able to differentiate curriculum for the gifted learner

3. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES CONT. II. The Multiple Intelligences: PRE-TEST • Be introduced to the history and background of the Multiple Intelligence Theory • Be introduced and recognize the Eight Multiple Intelligences • Analyze and interpret the significance, basis for, and implications of the future of education with regards to the Multiple Intelligences • Discover your students’ different abilities, strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes • Develop appropriate lesson strategies for addressing multiple intelligences the classroom • Develop responses for possible interview questions targeted at the gifted and talented as well as the multiple intelligences

4. THE GIFTED CHILD PRE-TEST • They are in every classroom, some are the most QUIET, some the LOUDEST, some are meticulous to DETAIL, some are extremely SLOPPY…ALL are remarkable PROBLEM SOLVERS. • The gifted child INTERPRETS, ANALYZES, INFERS AND RATIONALIZES, can INTERNALIZE information faster, consistent engages in critical THINKING and can EXPAND thought in a highly efficient manner. • The gifted child learns in MULTIPLE different ways and fashions, may EXCEL in certain content areas, and be DISTRACTED in others. • The gifted child must ALWAYS be engaged ...their attention span requires makes it mandatory! • High Order Thinking Skills help to facilitate adequate instruction (H.O.T.S. vs L.O.T.S.) • Gifted students are the MOST OPINIONATED of all special populations.....utilize this strength.

5. HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE GIFTED CHILD: The gifted child will, or may, exhibit: • A tendency to TALK out of turn • A predisposition to be ultra informed about • An uncanny knack for being informed and up to date with CURRENT EVENTS. • The ability to CALCULATE or problem solve WITHOUT COMPUTATION. • The ability to VISUALIZE & CONCETPUALIZE information with ease • Unparalleled CREATIVITY. • Fluency in VERBAL prowess, with a high vocabulary • A keen MATHEMATICAL sense • A remarkable ability to learn NEW MATERIAL quickly and efficiently • A strong sense of CULTURAL awareness • Excellent COMPUTER literacy • The ability to FINISH class work extremely fast • Skip required METHODOLOGICAL steps with regards to required SYTHESIS

6. COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS: • Many students are often NOT identified; on the contrary, many students are often MISLABELED as a discipline problem, as a trouble maker, and worst case scenario referred for special services. • Many gifted students, due to the nature of their particular gifted characteristics, are also some of the most intellectually CONIVING, CONVINCING, and at times MISCHIEVIOUS children. That does not mean that they are bad, but to just be careful! !! • There is a tendency for the gifted child to be labeled ADD or ADHD which may or may not be true. What is true is that ADD or ADHD can be more of an ADVANTAGE for the gifted child than a HINDERANCE (especially as an adult) • Be sure to recognize individual students different STRENGTHS as they may require individualized instruction focusing on that strength; don’t ignore it, their SELF CONFIDENCE depends on it.

7. HOW DISTRICTS DETERMINE GIFTEDNESS The road to a student’s gifted placement is an arduous one…for the student. • Gifted placement can be narrowed down into one repetitive word; ASSESSMENT, ASSESSMENT, ASSESSMENT. • The steps to recommending a child for the gifted and talented program are as follows (keep mind, you may see these assessments later on in your coursework, or may need to become familiarized with them): 1) NOMINATION : The teacher must recognize that a particular student possesses some of the aforementioned gifted characteristics, and fills out a nomination form that is sent to the Districts Office of Advanced Academics before the deadline. • Students can be nominated as early as kindergarten. • All nominees are eligible for and given an opportunity to be tested.

8. G/T ASSESSMENTPROCEDURES CONTINUED: 2) THE RENZULLI TEST: Essentially a teacher checklist focusing on providing information on the student’s learning, motivational and creative ability, assessed on a scale of 1 to 4, 4 being highest, on a multitude of criteria. • Only in kindergarten is the Renzulli test accompanied by a parent checklist, gauging their child characteristics from the parent’s point of view. 3) THE RAVEN TEST: This test is an assessment of the student’s spatial ability. • It is a test consisting of a series of “patterns”- or “puzzles” that are incomplete, that the student must reconfigure. • The students are given choices per configuration and must choose the one that best suits the pattern, puzzle or sequence. • Students in grades 1 through 5 are given minutes to complete the test, and minutes are allotted for students in grades 6 through 12.

9. 4) THE TORRANCE TEST: A test of the student’s creativity. • This test involves a series of shapes provided to the student, which the student must draw expansions to the shapes and explain their purpose. • Students have 30 min. to complete the test. • This is the ONLY test in gifted assessment that is sent to an assessment agency for evaluation (big $$$$ spent for this! !!) • The Torrance Tests are sent to be assessed in Illinois, The Scholastic Testing Service. 5) THE STANFORD 9: The achievement test. • This is the standardized language arts, math, science, and social studies test of knowledge. • The test is multiple choice and the number of questions and time allotment depends on age and grade of student tested.

10. G/T ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES CONT. NOTE: ALL students have an opportunity to be G/T assessed, as long as they are identified (the sooner the better).   All test results are analyzed and assessed, according to each devised RUBRIC for determining if the student passed. Last year 1,700 students in B.I.S.D. were tested and 65% passed, well above the desired passing rate targeted by our district. AIDAN’S RESULTS: A REVIEW GT FORMS: SPR/APPEAL “A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME “ - HANDOUT

11. REQUIRED TEACHER TRAINING FOR G/T TEACHER CERTIFICATION In almost all districts I have researched, in order for a teacher to instruct gifted and talented students, they must complete required, specified G/T core training sessions / hours), as well as 12 ongoing TRAINING hours per year. The following are the required G/T core sessions for B.I.S.D.: 1) The Nature and Needs of the Gifted and Talented Student 2) Identification and Assessment 3) Differentiating the Curriculum — Part I 4) Differentiating the curriculum — Part II 5) Creativity and Gifted Instruction On-going hours are either offered by the district’s OFFICE OF ADVANCED ACADEMICS, or REGION I in Edinburg, Texas, throughout the school year. SEE DATES HANDOUT. -Failure to complete ongoing hours may result in teacher reassignment.

12. DIFFERENTIATING YOUR G/T CURRICULUM Below are some simple instructional tactics that can go a long way, try ‘em 1) Make sure to ORGANIZE your lesson plan to include ALL and exclude NONE. 2) The G/T student must be engaged in learning at all times; have room for EXPANSION (i.e. leave room open for classroom discussion, they love it!) 3) DO NOT give more HOMEWORK; rather make the assignments require more CRITICAL THINKING and ANALYTICAL skills. 4) For some reason, the G/T student works better when music is playing. 5) Try to create lessons where they work in GROUPS and COMPETITIVELY. G/T students are always trying to OUT-DO one another. 6) Create THEMATIC UNITS or projects that require CREATIVE and TACTILE student participation. 7) Make sure to provide all appropriate and necessary MATERIALS. 8) Make an effort to target the MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES. 9) Be CONSISTENT AND FAIR, they will notice, or take advantage, of the situation or instruction. 10) Always. ..Always have BACK UP assignments, videos, newspapers, or sponge activities in case you run out of time. An engaged student is a well behaved student! BLOOM’S TAXONOMY – REVISED LESSON PLANS/WALKTHROUGHS

13. II. THE MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES: The history behind the MI Theory: • The theory of multiple intelligences was developed in 1983 by DR. HOWARD GARDNER professor of education at Harvard University. • His theory suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence used in the past, and still used today’s educational systems across the United States, the IQ TEST is far too limited and one-dimensional in nature. • Dr. Gardner believes that people possess intelligences of many different natures and characteristics; that intelligence is PLURALISTIC And not simply based on ONE logical capacity (as with the IQ test). • Dr. Gardner devised EIGHT intelligences that individuals possess, (one that has just recently been added) identifying SPECIFIC learning styles that are to each person.

14. Dr. Gardner devised the multiple intelligences via analysis of many different studies, including evidence and research from: 1) Knowledge about normal and gifted DEVELOPMENT in individuals 2) Information from the breakdown of COGNITIVE SKILLS under conditions of BRAIN DAMAGE. 3) Studies of EXCEPTIONAL populations (including child prodigies, idiot savants, and autistic children) 4) Data about the evolution of COGNITION over the millennia 5) CROSS CULTURAL accounts of cognition 6) PSYCHOMETRIC studies (test correlations) 7) PSYCHOLOGICAL training studies According to Dr. Gardner an intelligence,” entails the ability to or that are of consequence in a particular cultural setting community." (Gardner, pg.15)

15. THE MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES: The 8 multiple intelligences identify the particular learning styles unique to each individual. It is important to mention that in grade school students and in adulthood, these intelligences do not operate in isolation, rather these intelligences work ALWAYS work in CONCERT, with equal value. The Multiple Intelligences, as developed by Dr. Howard Gardner, are as follows: I. LINGUISTIC Intelligence — "Word Smart" II. LOGICAL/MATHEMATICAL Intell. ‑ "Number/Reasoning Smart" III. SPATIAL Intelligence — "Picture Smart" IV. BODILY/KINESTHETIC Intell.—"Body Smart" V. MUSIC Intelligence — "Music Smart" VI. INTERPERSONAL Intelligence -"People Smart" VII. INTRAPERSONAL Intelligence — "Self Smart" VIII. NATURALIST Intelligence — "Nature Smart" IX. EXISTENTIALIST Intelligence – “Philosophical smart”

16. MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES CONT.: Dr. Gardner states that several criteria musthappen in order for the multiple intelligences tobe activated: 1) The intelligence(s) of the individual MUST first be IDENTIFIED. 2) In order to be considered a BONE FIDE intelligence, the intelligence had to satisfy ALL the research criteria involved. 3) Each intelligence must have an identifiable CORE operation or set of operations.(i.e. music — pitch, linguistic - phonetics) 4) The intelligences must be TRIGGERED by certain kinds of internally or externally, presented information. MI WORKSHEET MI GRAPHIC ORGANIZER

17. MI AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION: As educators WE must always place equal attention on individuals who show giftedness in other intelligences, TO IDENTIFY THEM, NUTURE THEM, ACTIVATE THEM, ENGAGE THEM, DEVELOP THEM, and SUPPORT THEM. DO NOT stick to the TRADITIONAL method of teaching, the linguistic and logical, rather instruct in a HOLISTIC way, that sparks CREATIVITY, and expands their minds. Present lessons in a wide VARIETY of ways using music, COOPERATIVE learning, ART activities, ROLE play, multimedia, field trips, inner/self REFLECTION, discussion and anything else that you can think of. Be creative, utilize YOUR multiple intelligences when lesson planning, as a national trend of mandating MI instruction is sweeping across our country redesigning the way we educate our children.

18. MI AND ADULTS: - The multiple intelligences have an astounding impact in relation to our adult lives as well. - Many adults are in professions that DO NOT make optimal use of their most highly Developed intelligences. - Multiple intelligences give adults the opportunity to see their lives from a completely different perspective, rationalizing and recognizing the potentials they have left behind in the early stages of their childhood education. - This rationalization, sparks the revisiting or re-introduction of individual HOBBIES , desire to obtain new DEGREES and/or changing of PROFESSION satisfying and satiating SELF DEVELOPEMNT - Look for these intelligences in your children, identify them, and develop them at home. Make note of them, and assist your child's teacher in explaining to them how your child learns best!!!

19. SOME THOUGHTS: EVERY CHILD IS LIKE A SEED YEARNING FOR A DRINK, SO THAT THEY MAY GROW INTO A PROFUSION OF LIFE AND BEAUTY. WILL IT BE YOU THAT OFFERS THAT FIRST DROP OF DEW? C. Caldarera " LORD, GRANT THAT I MAY ALWAYSDESIRE M ORE THAN I ACCOMPLISH." Michelangelo "GREAT THINGS ARE DONE BYA SERIES OF SMALL THINGS BROUGHT TOGETHER." Vincent Van Gogh "WHAT WE CAN EASILY SEE IS ONLY A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE. IMAGINATION IS HAVING THE VISION TO SEE WHAT IS JUST BELOW THE SURFACE; TO PICTURE THAT WHICH IS ESSENTIAL, BUT VISIBLE TO THE EYE." Anonymous "IN YEARS TO COME, YOUR STUDENTS MAY FORGET WHAT YOU TAUGHT THEM, BUT THEY WILL NEVER FORGET HOW YOUMADE THEM FEEL" Anonymous

20. "WE ARE NOW AT A POINT WHERE WE MUST EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN IN WHAT NO ONE KNEW YESTERDAY, AND PREPARE OUR SCHOOLS FOR WHAT NO ONE KNOWS YET." Margaret Mead "THE WORLD WE HAVE CREATED IS A PRODUCT OF OUR THINKING; IT CANNOT BE CHANGED WITHOUT CHANGING OURTHINKING." Albert Einstein A TEACHER TAKES A HAM), OPENS A MIND, TOUCHES A HEART, AND SHAPES THE FUTURE" Anonymous