Gifted Education: Sharing, Discovering, Programming

1. Gifted Education: Sharing, Discovering, Programming Gifted Education 101

2. Welcome!

3. Chapter 16 How well do you know Chapter 16? http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ECCJyJJzXYI/TG2TKfgBG9I/AAAAAAAAADo/pXwYHwSorUQ/s320/quizzical_housewife_web.png

4. Debrief of Agree/Disagree A-ha’s – What information supported what you knew about gifted education walking in the door, but the Guidelines provided more clarity…explain. Uh-Oh’s – What information surprised you in the guidelines and how might you work to raise the bar in your district? Actionable Steps – Any ideas generated by the group as a result of the discussion

5. Screening - Then How do we “find” children who may be in need…. Image courtesy of: http://blog.vendavo.com

6. Screening - Now Casting the net has become so much easier… Image courtesy of: http://www.fishermensnet.org

7. Children have three ages… Chronological – based on birth Emotional – based on maturity Intellectual – based on the ability to apply knowledge and skills

8. Screening and Evaluation §16.21. (a) • School Districts must adopt and use a system for identifying all students within the district who are thought to be gifted. • Public awareness activities must be designed to reach parents of students in the public schools and the parents of school-age children not enrolled in the public schools.

9. Screening and Evaluation (cont.) §16.21. (a) • Awareness activities shall be conducted annually • Information should be provided in local newspapers, other media, student handbooks, and on the school district website

10. An Effective System… finds the child has an assessment plan that is prescriptive has defined targets has a clear link to curriculum and instruction

11. Assessment – It all begins here • Four Types of Assessments: • Summative • Benchmark • Diagnostic • Formative

12. Types of Assessments • Summative • Assesses what students have had an opportunity to learn – after instruction • Used to determine whether students have met the lesson, unit, grade level, or course goals • Used to set district and school-wide goals to improve student outcomes • Examples: • State Tests (PSSA, Keystone Exams) • Mastery Tests • Unit or Chapter Tests • Final Exams

13. Types of Assessments • Formative • Assesses what students have had an opportunity to learn – during instruction • Allows teachers to adjust teaching practices to improve student learning • Should not be used to evaluate or grade students but can provide ongoing feedback • Formal or Informal • Examples: • Progress Monitoring Measures • Quizzes • Ticket out the Door, White boards, Thumbs Up/Down • SAS Assessment Creator • PSSA Sampler

14. Types of Assessments • Benchmark Assessment • Given on student’s actual grade level • Assesses end of grade level expectations • Administered 3 or 4 times per year • Compares student to same age peers • Used to evaluate the core, discover trends, identify at-risk students, identify advanced level students • Examples: • DIBELS/AIMSWeb • 4Sight • PVAAS Projections**

15. Types of Assessments • Diagnostic • Provides insights into the student's strengths, needs, knowledge and skills prior to further instruction • Targeted for specific audience • Examples: • WIAT • DRA • Woodcock Johnson III • MAP (by NWEA) • GRADE (Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation) • WISC - IV • Classroom Diagnostic Tool (CDT)

16. Universal Process

17. BREAK TIME

18. Universal (Screening) Process • Current District Tools to Measure Intellectual (Instructional) Age • Can we use tools that are already in place in our districts? • DIBELS/AIMSwebBenchmark • Math Probes Benchmark • Common Assessments (that are already administered to every child in a particular grade level or content area) Summative • PSSA Results - Summative • PVAAS Reports - Summative • Standards Based Report Card - Summative

19. Screening for Gifted

20. Screening for Gifted Who – students who meet universal screening “cuts” When – no timeline, can happen anytime throughout the year (after every benchmark, when new summative Data is available) How – administering further screening tools and obtaining teacher input Why – to determine who goes on to a full scale evaluation

21. Gifted Screening Tools Diagnostics K-BIT2 WASI WIATIII NNAT OLSAT CogAT SCAT STEP Woodcock-Johnson III Cognitive Abilities GRS TTCT

22. Teacher Input Renzulli-Hartman Scales Chuska Scales Silverman Scales Jim Delisle and Teacher’s Gifted Student Nomination Form GRS District Created Formative

23. Evaluation (GMDE)

24. Evaluation for Gifted Who – students who meet gifted screening “cuts” or referred by parents or teachers When – Within 60 calendar days from signed Permission to Evaluate How: Through a systematic process that uses all assessment types and includes input from the GMDE Team Perm. To Evaluate/ Notice of Parental Rights

25. Intelligence Quotient Test • Stanford-Binet • WISC-IV • RAVENS *** • NNAT2 • Important link: Neumann, Types of Assessments and Evaluations, NAGC, 2e newsletter Diagnostics

26. GWR • Parents contribute to the report • Parents are part of the decision • Chapter 16 does not explicitly state a “meeting” must be held to review the GWR…but it must be presented to the parents. • How do you get their input on the decisions? • Is “sending the report home without an explanation” serving our parents and our students? Gifted Written Report/Invitation to Participate in Gifted Team Meeting

27. Multiple Criteria • Achievement test scores • Acquisition and retention rates • Demonstrated achievement, performance or expertise in one or more academic areas • Higher level thinking skills, academic creativity, leadership skills, academic interest areas, communication skills, foreign language aptitude or technology expertise

28. GWR(Gifted Written Report) • Achievement test scores - • Goal Areas - What level of instruction are they functioning at now (mastery level). • Goal areas/STLO’s/SDI – Do they require acceleration, enrichment, or a combination of both? • Acquisition and retention rates • Goals - How quickly do they learn new information? • Goals/SDI - Does pace need to be adjusted? • Demonstrated achievement, performance or expertise in one or more academic areas – Use this to determine where the specially designed instruction will be needed. • Goal Areas– Reading, Writing, Math, science? • Short Term Learning Outcomes – Incorporate Social Studies, Science, • Higher level thinking skills, academic creativity, leadership skills, academic interest areas, communication skills, foreign language aptitude or technology expertise • Alignment is in the Short Term Learning Outcomes and Specially Designed Instruction

29. GWR… GIEP…

30. PLEPS(Present Levels of Educational Performance) Academic/Cognitive Strengths Achievement Results Progress on Goals Aptitudes/interests/specialized skills/products Grades/Classroom Performance

31. Guiding Ideas Current (within last year) Indicate present mastery level Help us measure growth Establish strength areas Not a standard list Report progress on goals (maintenance) Tanya Morret and Cheryl Everett PAGE 2011

32. GIEP Development and Planning PLEPS Invitation to Participate in Gifted Team Meeting GIEP Timelines

33. What are we really trying to do? • Answer these questions…. • Does this child need enrichment? • Does this child need acceleration? • Does this child need a combination of both?

35. Enrichment

36. Acceleration

37. Enrichment/Acceleration

38. PLEP’s • Academic/Cognitive Strengths • How would you characterize this student as a learner and a thinker? • What have you observed in or out of the classroom that has enhanced or prohibited this child’s learning? • How to gather this information: • Anecdotal Teacher Report • Anecdotal Student Report • Anecdotal Parent Report • Gifted Checklists/Scales • Narrative

39. PLEP’s • Academic/Cognitive Strengths • The student has a passion for any items topics, books, documentaries, etc. related to the Civil War. • He is most successful when assignments are chunked with clear intermediate deadlines. He is more likely to learn information from visual or auditory means, rather than solely relying on text. He has a keen short and long term memory and often requires only one or two presentations of information before he is independently questioning and expanding his understanding. • The student does well with graphic organizers. He likes to repeat information out loud to assure he understands concepts. He prefers to work independently, but will work in groups where he feels his expertise/creativity is recognized and appreciated. He can easily synthesize information across content areas and contexts.

40. PLEP’s • Achievement Results • Assessment results that indicate instructional levels to direct curriculum placement and goal development • PSSA and PVAAS data, Keystone Results, DIBELS, BENCHMARK TESTS, CBA’s, end of unit tests, CDT’s (classroom diagnostic tools), 4Sight, Star, AIMS web, MAP (measure of academic progress), Study Island,

41. PLEP’s • Achievement Results • In the spring of third grade, _____took the PSSA assessments and scored Advanced (1681) in Reading and Advanced (1487) in Math. • In the fall of fourth grade, ___read 170 words per minute on the DIBELs oral reading fluency assessment. He read 169 words per minute on this assessment in January. On the Star Reading assessment, ____scored 6.8 in September, 6.2 in November, 6.8 in January and 8.8 in March as his instructional reading level. On the district math assessments, ________scored Advanced (28) in the first quarter and Proficient (26) in the second quarter. • Note to GIEP Team: I s this a red flag? Going from Advanced to Proficient…. • Additional Suggestions: Are there any end of the year or end of the unit test scores available?

42. PLEP’s • Progress on Goals • Failure to make progress on previous goals may indicate further investigation is needed to determine the underlying cause. Here is where a GIEP team may refer an underachieving student for a re-evaluation. • If this is an initial GIEP, this section will not need to be completed. • Matt succeeded in developing his writing to a proficient or higher level using criteria from the 9th and 10th grade level PA ELA CCSS. • 1. Write an Argument – Averaged 98% (Advanced) • 2. Informative/ Explanatory Texts – Averaged 95% (Advanced) • 3. Draw evidence from literary/ informational texts –Averages 93% (Proficient)

43. PLEP’s • Aptitudes, interests, specialized skills, products and evidence of effectiveness in other academic areas: • Content Competitions, Technology Skills, Portfolio reviews, Extra-Curricular Activities • Samples of things that might fall into this category: America Math Competition (AMC), MathCounts; Odyssey of Mind, FPS (Future Problem Solving; Art, Music, Writing Awards; Learning Style assessment; Multiple Intelligence tests; Torrance Creativity Assessments; Creativity Assessment Packet , TOMAGS

44. PLEP’s • Aptitudes, interests, specialized skills, products and evidence of effectiveness in other academic areas: • _______’s mother reported that _______is very friendly and caring. He studies and loves to read. He enjoys learning new information. In addition, he is creative and able to advocate for himself. ______academic interests are reading, social studies, and science. He enjoys art and attends classes at GoggleWorks. He is interested in reptiles and likes being outside. He plays tennis and swims. He is in band this year.

45. PLEP’s • Grades/Classroom Performance • The scale of evaluation should be included. We should be able to understand where the child falls in the over-all evaluation picture. • The student earned an 85% average in Mathematics for the last four marking periods. (please note, this may span more than one academic school year) • The student scored outstanding (highest rating out of three) in math problem solving.

46. FAQ’s What questions have you asked or been asked by parents? Can you find it in the FAQ?

47. State Developments Moved from Bureau of Planning to Bureau of Teaching and Learning PVAAS Differentiated Lesson Plans Gifted PLC in SAS Revising Compliance Monitoring Manual Development of Model GIEP Teacher Evaluation Rubric with examples for Gifted Support Teachers