2014-15 Meeting the Affective Needs of Gifted Learners

1. By Rebecca Mercer GT Itinerant Teacher 2014-15Meeting the Affective Needs of Gifted Learners

2. What new instructional strategies did I implement in my classroom/practice during the course of the PDU? I facilitated a twelve week long affective needs GT discussion group for fifth grade students at Isabella Bird Community School. I also facilitated a fourth grade GT discussion group at Ashley Elementary School. I utilized strategies learned in our PDU, such as the online affective needs unit already developed by another GT teacher. I also implemented strategies from Terri Bradley’s GT discussion group training manual. My students thoroughly enjoyed the discussion groups and learned about issues related to the gifted experience, such as perfectionism, risk-taking, self advocacy and emotional intensity. All of my students reported feeling better prepared to work with their intensities as a result of strategies gained from our groups.

3. How did I apply the PDU strategies in my classroom? (examples) How did I collaborate with my team about implementing the PDU strategies? • I applied the PDU strategies via a Gifted and Talented Affective Needs Discussion Group. • I spoke with various members of my group for feedback about the topics of our discussion groups and for feedback about issues that arose during our groups. • I collaborated with my team by sharing resources, sharing experiences and asking for feedback about improving my group practice.

4. What three strategies did I implement from the study section of the PDU? What strategy worked best? Why? • Gifted and Talented Discussion Groups for fifth grade students at Isabella Bird Community School. • Gifted and Talented Discussion Groups for fourth grade students at Ashley Elementary School. • I sent parents lists of books to use for bibliotherapy with our students gleaned from Diana Howards’s wonderful resources she shared with our group. • I shared the list of books that attend to each overexcitibility with classroom teacher, students and parents in an effort to support the affective needs of gifted learners. • Our librarian compiled a list of all of the books to have electronically for parents in the future. • I shared various resources about meeting the social and emotional needs of gifted learners with parents, teachers and students via a weekly GT newsletter and parent GT informational night.

5. What did I learn to do differently as a result of the PDU and strategy implementation in my classroom? • I learned to facilitate GT discussion groups as a means of meeting the social and emotional needs of gifted learners. I was inspired by the strategies shared in our PDU so I registered and completed training through SENG on how to facilitate SENG parent model support groups. I am now certified through SENG to facilitate parent groups. I will be offering this as a resource for the Stapleton Community in the spring and over the summer. I also recognize the value of educating parents and teachers about strategies to attend to the affective needs of our students.

6. Why is this PDU action research process important to my students learning and to my growth as a professional? • It is so important to have time with my colleagues to learn and reflect about ways to implement our learning into our daily practice with our students. As Gifted and Talented itinerant Teachers, we are out in our prospective school working independently. It is so important to develop our own supports and the PDU is an outstanding means of sharing research based practices to take back into our classrooms. As a reflective practitioner, I enjoy continual learning and see the benefit this brings to my students. My students have benefited from my participation in the PDU process this year.

7. PDU Data AnalysisReflecting on the data you have collected, how did this experience impact instruction, progress monitoring, student performance, and your own practice? • I choose to write one of my SLO’s this year on social and emotional growth and meeting the affective needs of gifted students. This PDU experience directly impacted my instruction, progress monitoring and my student performance. I was able to utilize strategies learned in the PDU directly with my students. The lesson plans positively impacted student performance by assisting them with learning about their giftedness, their intensities, their perfectionism and taught strategies to help cope and advocate for themselves.

8. How will I apply my new learning in the future to further my practice? What are my next steps? • I will continue to offer affective needs groups for fifth grade gifted students. In fact, I hope to broaden this group offering to include students in third and fourth grade in the fall. The feedback from students, parents and other teachers has been consistently positive. My next step would be to assess and reflect on my students’ growth as a result of the practices gleaned from this PDU and make changes as necessary for the future. I will also be offering SENG parent support groups as a result of my training. I will be facilitating these groups with another PDU member who sought out additional training this spring o meeting the affective needs of gifted learners.

9. PDU Artifact #1 • For a unit of sensitivity, I had my students rate themselves on a continuum from zero to forty on the board about their perception of their own sensitivity. I then read out loud sentence strips that gifted children have quoted. If the student agreed with the statement and this was a truth about themselves, they gave themselves points. We then compiled the points for a final score to see if it matched their original perception of themselves as emotionally sensitive individuals. The strips lead to a lively and rich discussion about intensity

10. PDU Artifact #2 • We discussed perfectionism and the pursuit of excellence. We began by taking a self assessment to gauge/determine our own level of perfectionistic qualities. We developed a concept map to define perfectionism. We then read sentence strips with statements and scenarios and placed these strips into categories of either perfectionism or the pursuit of excellence. We ended the unit by completing a graphic organizer about expectations we place upon ourselves and others place upon us. We talked about strategies to turn frame perfectionism into a healthier way of being.

11. PDU Artifact #3 https://sites.google.com/site/gtaffectiveunit/. We utilized this website of planned activities to facilitate a GT discussion group with students.

12. Exit Ticket • PDU’s can continue to help me grow by offering practical, real world applications of knowledge for our classrooms. • I took away hands-on, practical applications to use with my students that I serve. I took the online social/emotional unit to use with students and Diana Howards compilation of books that meet the OE’s of gifted students. • I do not have constructive criticism. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and plan to do this again next year. More time to work together would be positive.