Gifted Talented An Introduction Presented by April

Gifted & Talented: An Introduction Presented by April Coleman SPE 500 University of Alabama

Overview Review guiding questions Video Productive Thinking Activity Introductory Power. Point & Activities › What is giftedness? › Services › Issues Differentiation Strategies Closing Activity

Guiding Questions Why do students who are very bright need special education? How has the evolving definition of giftedness changed the ways in which students are identified and served? How do estimates of the prevalence of giftedness in the school-age population compare to the number of students actually served in K– 12 gifted programs?

Guiding Questions What provisions should be made to accurately identify students with outstanding talents who are from diverse cultural groups or have disabilities? Should gifted students be educated with their sameage peers or with older students who share the same intellectual and academic talents and interests? How can the general education classroom teacher provide instruction at the pace and depth needed by gifted and talented students while meeting the needs of other students in the classroom?

Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things You. Tube Link Teacher. Tube Link Think of many, varied, unusual words to describe these people and their extraordinary contributions to the world. Wordle Link Would you consider these people gifted? Why or why not?

What is giftedness? Myths & Misconceptions Definitions Identification Issues

Myth or Truth? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Gifted children excel in all areas of the curriculum. Gifted children will achieve without guidance. Gifted children should be given a larger quantity of work at average grade level. Gifted children are “teacher pleasers” and easy to teach. Gifted children will make straight A’s. Gifted children are nearly always from upper middle class professional families.

Myth or Truth? Gifted children are often nerds and social isolates. 8. The future of a gifted child is assured; a world of opportunities lies before them. 9. Gifted children learn best on their own. 10. Special programming for gifted children leads to elitist attitudes. 11. Gifted students should tutor their peers if they complete their own class work early. 12. Gifted children can accomplish anything if they put their minds to it and work hard. 7.

Theoretical Definitions of Giftedness Renzulli’s Three-Ring definition: › Above-average general intellectual abilities › High level of task commitment › Creativity Maker’s Problem-Solving Perspective: › High intelligence › High creativity › Excellent problem-solving skills Piirto’s Concept of Talent Development: › A foundation of genetic endowment › Personality attributes › Intelligence › Talent in a specific domain › Environmental influences Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory › Traditional notion of intelligence (IQ) too limited › Proposed 8 different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential (Heward) Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (9 th Ed. ). © Pearson Education, Inc.

Renzulli’s 3 -Ring Conception of Giftedness Renzulli, J. S. (1978). "What Makes Giftedness? Re-examining a Definition". Phi Delta Kappan 60: pp. 180– 181.

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences: Different “Smarts” 1. Linguistic intelligence ("word smart") 2. Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart") 3. Spatial intelligence ("picture smart") 4. Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart") 5. Musical intelligence ("music smart") 6. Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart") 7. Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart") 8. Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart") (Gardner, 1983)

Defining “Gifted & Talented” Former U. S. Commissioner of Education Sidney P. Marland, Jr. , in his August 1971 report to Congress, stated: Gifted and talented children are those identified by professionally qualified persons who by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of high performance. These are children who require differentiated educational programs and/or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to realize their contribution to self and society.

Defining “Gifted and Talented” Federal Definition: Compared to children of their own age the child: › Exhibits high performance capability › Demonstrates outstanding intellectual, creative, leadership, and/or artistic achievement › Excels in a specific academic field (Heward) Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (9 th Ed. ). © Pearson Education, Inc.

Defining “Gifted and Talented” State Definition: “Intellectually gifted children and youth are those who perform or who have demonstrated the potential to perform at high levels in academic and creative fields when compared with others of their age, experience or environment. These children and youth require services not ordinarily provided by the regular school program. Children and youth possessing these abilities can be found in all populations, across all economic strata, and in all areas of human endeavor. ” www. alsde. edu

General Characteristics Extremely precocious, when compared to same-age peers, in any area of learning or performance Exhibits asynchronous development Advanced vocabulary and verbal ability Outstanding memory Learns some things easily with little help Demonstrates ability to work with abstract ideas Perceives subtle cause-effect relationships Sees patterns, relationships, connections that others don’t Comes up with “better ways” for doing things (suggests to peers/adults – not always in positive ways) Prefers complex and challenging tasks to “basic” work Transfers concepts and learning to new situations; makes intuitive leaps toward understanding Wants to share all he knows (Winebrenner, 2001)

General Characteristics Curious about many things; asks endless questions A keen and alert observer Very intense! May be extremely emotional and excitable Gets totally absorbed in activities/thoughts Has many (sometimes unusual) interests, hobbies, collections Enjoys working independently; may prefer to work alone Very high energy level; may have trouble sleeping Sensitive to beauty and others’ feelings, emotions, and expectations Advanced sense of justice, morality, and fairness; aware and empathetic about global issues Sophisticated sense of humor Likes to be in charge; may be a natural leader (Winebrenner, 2001)

Common Challenges Resists to doing work; sloppy/careless with work Frustration with perceived inactivity or lack of noticeable progress Rebels against routine and predictability Asks embarrassing questions; demand good reasons for why things are done a certain way Daydreams Monopolizes class discussions Bossy with peers and teachers Intolerant of imperfection in self and others Super-sensitive to criticism; cries easily Refusal to conform Resists cooperative learning Acts out or disturbs others Becomes the “class clown” Becomes impatient if not called on to respond; blurts out answers without raising hand (Winebrenner, 2001)

Prevalence and Identification Gifted and talented children are found across gender, cultural, linguistic, and disability groups Gifted and talented children comprise about 5% of the school-age population Number of identified gifted students varies widely from state to state, ranging from 3% – 10% “Discrepancy between need and level of service may make gifted and talented students the most underserved population of exceptional children. ” (Heward) Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (9 th Ed. ). © Pearson Education, Inc.

Identification & Assessment A Brief History of Gifted Education (NAGC) Past: Sole use of IQ testing for identification Present: Multi-factored assessment: › › IQ tests and achievement tests Portfolios Teacher, parent, self, and peer nomination Extracurricular or leisure activities (Heward) Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (9 th Ed. ). © Pearson Education, Inc.

Identification in Alabama Varies by state and school system Alabama Referral Process: › Referral by teacher, parent, or other person › Screening Vision/hearing testing Work sample scoring IQ Screener Test (K-BIT, Co. GAT, etc. ) › Aptitude Test (Stanford-Binet, RIAS, etc. ) or Creativity Test (Torrance) Eligibility Determination Form (“The Matrix”) No re-evaluation process › “Once identified, always identified”

Identification Issues What provisions should be made to accurately identify students with outstanding talents who are from diverse cultural groups or have disabilities? › Use of culturally nonbiased aptitude tests Nonverbal tests DISCOVER (Maker, 1994) › Consideration of other criteria › Child Find procedures

Internal Consistency Assessment Identification Services

Other Issues Twice-Exceptional Students › Gifted/LD › Gifted/ADHD › Asperger’s Syndrome Underachivement › 10% - 20% of all high school dropouts are gifted (Davis & Rimm, 2004). Perfectionism Lack of Funding & Advocacy

Services for Gifted & Talented Students Placement & Service Delivery Options Curricular Models Differentiation Strategies

Key Question Do students who are very bright need special education services? Why or why not? Think, Pair, Share… Online Timer

Educational Placement Alternatives Special schools and self-contained classrooms › The primary advantage is that all curriculum and instruction could be focused on the needs of high-ability students › Programs for gifted students often must deal with stigma of being viewed as elitist Resource room or pullout programs › A few hours to one day a week › Focus on advanced, enriched curriculum › Time for students to pursue in-depth study related to interests › Still need to differentiate the curriculum in regular classrooms Regular classroom › Consultation Model: A gifted specialist may work with the regular classroom teacher › Many schools do not have a specialist, and the regular classroom teacher is responsible for differentiating the curriculum (Heward) Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (9 th Ed. ). © Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Placement Alternatives Ability grouping › XYZ Grouping (Tracking) - places students into different levels of curriculum requirements or offerings according to high, middle, and low ability based on test scores or other indicators of performance › Within-class Grouping - teachers group students within the same heterogeneous class for instruction according to their achievement Cluster Grouping – clustering small groups of gifted students within a larger heterogeneous class; benefits achievement of all students › Cross-grade Grouping - ability-grouped class assignments, ability group for selected subjects, nongraded plans, and special classes (Heward) Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (9 th Ed. ). © Pearson Education, Inc.

Curriculum and Instruction Curriculum for gifted students should be… › Highly individualized › Related to student interests › Comprehensive: critical and creative thinking skills, problem solving, social-emotional needs, and real-world applications Programming Options: › Acceleration: Modifying the pace at which the student moves through the curriculum › Enrichment: Investigating a topic of interest in greater detail (Heward) Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (9 th Ed. ). © Pearson Education, Inc.

Curriculum and Instruction (cont. ) Methods for Differentiating Curriculum and Instruction › Curriculum compacting: Compressing instructional content › Tiered lessons: Different extensions of the same basic lesson for groups of students with differing abilities › Bloom’s Taxonomy: Asking questions that require students to demonstrate different types of knowledge about a given topic › Curriculum differentiation outside the classroom Internships and mentor programs Special courses Academic competitions (Odyssey of the Mind) Summer programs International experiences (Heward) Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (9 th Ed. ). © Pearson Education, Inc.

Curriculum Models for Gifted Education Schoolwide Enrichment Model (Renzulli & Reis) Talents Unlimited Model (Taylor & Schlichter) Concept-Based Curriculum (Erickson) Problem-Based Learning › Includes Enrichment Triad Model: Type I, II, and III activities › An umbrella under which many different types of enrichment services are made available › Set of 5 critical and creative thinking skills taught step-by-step: Productive Thinking, Decision Making, Planning, Forecasting, & Communication › Shown to increase achievement in all students › Role of the teacher is to facilitate high achievement by making curriculum modifications › Students work cooperatively in groups to seek solutions to realworld problems (Heward) Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (9 th Ed. ). © Pearson Education, Inc.

Group Activity Develop a differentiated learning plan for an identified gifted student, “Michael, ” by using the information given to complete a Compactor form. View the completed compactor for “Eileen” as an example. Online Timer

Exit Ticket… Please list: 3 key concepts/ideas you gained 2 things you enjoyed or benefitted from 1 question you have OR topic you want to explore more in-depth

Additional Resources on Gifted & Talented Education

Websites National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Hoagie’s Gifted Education Page National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT) The Association for the Gifted (TAG, a division of CEC) TARGET BRIDGE Differentiation Resources www. learnerslink. com/curriculum. htm http: //adifferentplace. org/

Books Kingore, B. (2007). Reaching all learners: Making differentiation work. Professional Associates Publishing: Austin, TX. Tomlinson, C. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Meeting the needs of all learners. ASCD: Alexandria, VA. Winebrenner, S. (2001). Teaching gifted kids in the regular classroom. Free Spirit Publishing: Minneapolis, MN.