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Palmetto Scholars Academy Community Information Session

Palmetto Scholars Academy Community Information Session. November 1 , 2012. Topics for Tonight: Curriculum. Why PSA? What does PSA offer the gifted learner? What does a PSA graduate look like? What can a PSA student demonstrate (and how do we know?)

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Palmetto Scholars Academy Community Information Session

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  1. Palmetto Scholars AcademyCommunity Information Session November 1, 2012

  2. Topics for Tonight: Curriculum • Why PSA? • What does PSA offer the gifted learner? • What does a PSA graduate look like? • What can a PSA student demonstrate (and how do we know?) • Overview and timeline for PSA’s curriculum • Learning Opportunities • Research opportunities • Next steps. . .

  3. Topics for Tonight:College and Academic Counseling • College counseling at PSA • Understanding the multipotentialities of the gifted • What are colleges looking for? • Alignment of curriculum and counseling • Building timeline and resources

  4. An opening thought. . . • Failing to provide appropriate instruction to high-ability students can hinder their development, just as treating an illness with the wrong medications can be harmful to patients. (National Association for Gifted Children)

  5. Why PSA? • Who does PSA serve? • Gifted and talented learners • Greater Charleston community • Teaching and learning in gifted education • What makes PSA relevant? • Needs of gifted learners • Opportunities for research among students, faculty, graduate students, etc. • Informing teaching beyond PSA

  6. What makes PSA possible? • A rigorous, innovative, coherent curriculum • A gifted, motivated faculty • Leadership that understands PSA learners and supports innovation • A community that recognizes PSA’s potential • A counseling program that advances the mission of PSA and advocates for its students

  7. What makes PSA distinctive? • A curriculum that meets the diverse needs of a gifted student body • Partnerships between PSA community and the greater Charleston community (local businesses and industry, etc.) • Research opportunities that allow PSA students to distinguish themselves before college • Opportunities for PSA students to work closely with experts in a variety of fields

  8. Departmental Philosophy Authentic Research will prepare students to follow their interests and inquiries toward a logical conclusion. The four year experience will develop the skills of inquiry, investigation, critical thinking, and communication that will support academic and professional pursuits, and developing expertise. Authentic Research Thinking Like a. . . Introduction to Authentic Research Research and Technical Writing across the Disciplines Peer review, professional presentation E.g., Original research, novel writing Senior Research Capstone PSA Presentation Day • Program Outcomes • By the end of the Authentic Research program students will: • Demonstrate skills and habits of researchers in their chosen research areas. • Design, execute, and present original research or creative work in there are of interest. • Develop an understanding of the resources (personal, institutional, technological) that support meaningful research. *Exceeds SC High School academic standards

  9. Departmental Philosophy PSA students will develop and apply mathematical thinking and problem-solving as involved citizens and community leaders. High School Math Department Math Investigations I/II Math Investigations II Math Investigations III Analytical Statistics /Pre-calculus Single Variable Calculus Math Investigations IV Advanced Problem Solving • Program Outcomes • PSA students will internalize the eight math practices of Common Core State Standards: • Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. • Reason abstractly and quantitatively. • Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. • Model with mathematics. • Use appropriate tools strategically. • Attend to precision. • Look for and make use of structure. • Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. *Exceeds SC High School academic standards

  10. High School English/Language Arts Department ELA II American Literature through 1900 ELA III American Literature ELA IV World Literature Dual Credit Selected topics Senior ELA Elective Online courses Departmental Philosophy To create analytical readers, writers, and thinkers who read widely and deeply with a variety of text forms and who use writing to convey understanding and to convey real and imagined experiences *Exceeds SC High School academic standards

  11. Program Outcomes • By the end of the PSA ELA experience students will: • Be able to read and write with a global perspective • Become critical consumers of various media • Develop understanding of concepts, themes, and issues fundamental to society and disciplines, foster interrelationship recognition among disciplines • Develop inquiry skills at a level of complexity, abstractness, depth appropriate to gifted learners • Develop critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making skills (abstract, complex, in-depth) • Develop proficiency in communicating abstract and complex ideas, relationships and issues High School English/Language Arts Department ELA II American Literature through 1900 ELA III American Literature ELA IV World Literature Dual Credit Selected topics Senior ELA Elective Online courses *Exceeds SC High School academic standards

  12. Departmental Philosophy PSA’s history/social science department enables students to develop an intellectual and cultural context that serves as a framework for future intellectual, civic, and ethical growth, and participation in civil society. High School History/Social Science Department Human Geography AP American History Economics (1 semester) Senior Elective Senior Elective Government (1 semester) *Exceeds SC High School academic standards

  13. High School History/Social Science Department • Program Outcomes • By the end of the PSA history/social science experience, students will: • View the social sciences through inquiry of thematic concepts; • Recognize the value of primary sources in creating an authentic understanding of human history; • Examine the importance of the patterns and processes that have shaped cultural and social history • Understand the interactions between humans and their cultural, social, and political histories to create the world in which we live • Develop a global awareness of the increasingly complex society andtheir role in the world Human Geography AP American History Economics (1 semester) Senior Elective Senior Elective Government (1 semester) *Exceeds SC High School academic standards

  14. Departmental Philosophy The core component of science at PSA is collaborative, cooperative scientific inquiry.  Scientific inquiry is the process of students asking questions about the natural world and understanding how to answer these questions using evidence and research.  At its core is the analysis of questions and knowing how different questions require different methods to answer.  Inquiry lends itself to collaborative learning, research collection, scientific tool use, and inference development. High School Science Department Biology Chemistry Physics Forensic Science Calc-based Physics Required Senior Science Elective Environmental Science *Exceeds SC High School academic standards

  15. High School Science Department • Program Outcomes • By the end of the PSA science sequence, students will: • Understand the value of collaboration in the sciences • Be able to use scientific tools accurately during science investigations • Be able to use the controlled scientific investigation and the technological design process to conduct a scientific investigation • Be able to recognize common science misconceptions • Be able to read above grade level science texts and write purposefully for scientific disciplines • Demonstrate the habits of mind and communication skills of scientists • Use mathematical and analytical skills to deepen their knowledge of the scientific process • Understand the impact of science in our society and the different perspectives of scientific methodologies Biology Chemistry Physics Forensic Science Calc-based Physics Required Senior Science Elective Environmental Science *Exceeds SC High School academic standards

  16. College Counseling at PSA • College counseling is inextricable from the PSA curriculum • College counseling staff will know PSA students as well as the PSA faculty • Colleges will soon recognize the profile of the PSA applicants!

  17. What lies ahead (and how can the PSA community support us?) • Identifying research sites and partners • Finalizing course sequences from middle school though graduation • Integrating Mathematical Investigations • Articulating course, program, and institutional outcomes • Formalizing a system of assessment • Preparing PSA students, faculty, and leadership for college selection opportunities • Creating professional development opportunities for PSA faculty

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