Gifted and Talented Academy

Session 2November 29, 2011

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Agenda Welcome/Check-in Process Home Play Developing a Written Gifted and Talented

Plan Domains of Giftedness Identification

– Tools and Criteria– Using this information

District Program Goals Developing an Identification Plan

Course Expectations 100% attendance Active participationGrade A Completion of SA/RT for program evaluation Submission of written gifted and talented program

plan (at least in rough draft) with sections completed for– Identification– Program Goals– Differentiated Program– In-service Design– Staff Qualifications– Program Evaluation

Reflection paper

Course ExpectationsGrade B Completion of SA/RT for program evaluation Submission of written gifted and talented

program plan (at least in rough draft) with at least four of the following sections completed– Identification– Program Goals– Differentiated Program– In-service Design– Staff Qualifications– Program Evaluation

Reflection paper

Home Play

Complete two sections of SA/RT– Program Goals– Identification

Share draft of Mission/Philosophy with GT Advisory, Administrative Team, and/or School Board– Get input– Get mission/philosophy approved

Processing Home Play

Triads - three different districts With whom did you share your

mission/vision/beliefs? Discuss the process.

How was it received? Were there suggestions for revisions?

What discussion and/or professional development needs to happen now? (Related to the mission/vision/beliefs?)

How will these guide your programming?

Processing Home Play

Return to original table. Whip Around

– Share one idea you heard from previous discussion

Where do you go from here as a team?

Academy Outcome

A comprehensive gifted and talented plan

Comprehensive Program Design

…a thoughtful, unified service delivery plan that has a singular

purpose:to identify the many, varied ways

that will be used to meet the needs of high-potential students.

--Purcell & Eckert, p. 74

Considerations

Unique learning profile of students Level of challenge in regular

curriculum Ways high-potential learners are

already served Areas where services are lacking

--Purcell & Eckert, p. 74

Traits

Derivation of Services Comprehensiveness Practicality Consistency Clarity Availability Continuation, Extension, and

Evaluation

Goals and Performance Measures

Program Goals– Provide focus for evaluation and

planning– Provide direction toward a particular

purpose– “living” - will be revised as needed– Based on clear mission and definition

of giftedness (target population)--Purcell & Eckert, p.

63

Goals and Performance Measures

Performance Measures– What does success look like?– How will we know when we get

there?– What data will we collect?– How good is good enough?

Traits

Alignment Validity Comprehensiveness Clarity

Purcell & Eckert, p. 64-5

Using SART to Establish Program Goals

Complete selected sections of the Self-Audit/Reflection Tool.

Identify area(s) most in need of improvement.

Target goal(s) to the area. At the end of the year review the

SART section and data to ascertain goal attainment.

Sample Program Goals

Urbandale District 196, Minnesota

– Based on NAGC Program Standards

Examine Your Program Goals

Do you have program goals? Are they program goals or student

outcomes?– What’s the difference?– Why is each important?

How do they stack up against the traits of high-quality goals on p. 64?

Writing/Revising Program Goals

Step-by-step process Report back at each Academy

session

Gifted and Talented Identification

What is it?Why do it?What then?

The Target Population

Definition of “gifted”

Multiple Criteria used/analyzed

State of Iowa Definition

General Intellectual Ability Specific Ability Aptitude Creativity Leadership Visual and Performing Arts

Characteristics

With your team Review areas in your target

population Talk about the assessments that help

you find kids in each category How is that working? What other assessments might you

need?

Understanding Giftedness

The Five Levels of Giftedness

Losing Our MindsGifted Children Left Behind

Ruff, 2005

Level One Gifted:

Approximately 90th to 98th Percentiles– “Moderately” gifted– Bright children well ahead of

classmates– Advanced levels must be addressed

to maximize their academic potential

Level One GiftedBirth to 2

Early eye contact Enjoyed being read to Early vocabulary Early counting, singing, reciting Sit still to watch and pay

attention to TV

Level One Giftedage two to three

Very busy Interested in many things Puzzles are a favorite activity for

many Sit still to watch and pay attention to

TV Knows colors and alphabet Interested in books

Level One Giftedage four to five

Master kindergarten end–of-the-year academic tasks before they turn four.

Read street and store signs Appreciation and practice of humor Understanding of subtleties of

language Enjoy adult conversations

Level Two Gifted98th and 99th Percentiles

Especially interactive very early in their lives.– Ability to communicate and

understand even before speaking Talk progressed quickly to very

advance speech Could do things that adults did not

teach them

Level Two Children

By kindergarten most have begun to read

Pick up contextual clues of vocabulary and meaning when interested in a topic

Little evidence of “sounding out” Many resort to silent reading

because it is faster.

Level Two Children

Could complete the entire elementary curriculum in three years.

Level Three Giftedness:Approximately 98th and 99th

Percentiles Described as “highly” or “exceptionally”

gifted Intense eye contact from birth or soon after Clearly know and understand many things

before they actually talk Talk in full sentences before age of 2 Quick transition of no speech to full sentences Know how to read, count, do simple math

before Kindergarten.

Level Three Giftedness:Approximately 98th and 99th

Percentiles Abilities with numbers, colors, the

alphabet, speaking & reading, and sense of humor are recognizably advanced.

Know how to read, count, do simple math before Kindergarten.

Most move from simple to chapter books during kindergarten.

Level Four Gifted:99th Percentile

Exceptionally to profoundly gifted Clearly outpace lower levels of giftedness

in their powers of reasoning, complexity of speech and interests, and in grasp of math concepts

Learning trajectories in reading raised from average 3rd grade level during kindergarten to an average upper high school level by 4th or 5th grades

Level Four Gifted:99th Percentile

Most level Four children are capable of finishing all academic coursework through eighth grade before they reach third or fourth grade, but few have the opportunity to live up to their capabilities.

These are students who could go off to college at age 10-12.

They could complete the elementary curriculum in two years.

But we don’t let them

Radical acceleration is not radical to the child whom it serves. Instead it is a shock to the “system” and deemed “radical” by the big people in that system who don’t understand either the affective or the cognitive needs of highly gifted young children.

Level Four Gifted:99th Percentile

“Every child in this chapter started kindergarten and first grade with other children who were within a year of his or her own age. Every child in this chapter had parents who asked the schools to recognize the abilities that their child possessed and to guide him or her appropriately. Every parent and child encountered one problem after another.

Losing our Minds,Ruf, 2005

Level Five Gifted: Above the 99th Percentile

Profoundly gifted Omnibus genius – unusual

occurrence of profound ability across all ability areas Feldman, 1986

Children are so obviously different from their age-mates in intellectual ability that either their parents or the school arrange for dramatic changes.

Level Five Gifted: Above the 99th Percentile

Many times a parent postpones a career to advocate for the needs of the child.

Incredibly advanced in every intellectual domain – the primary distinguishing factor in contrast with other levels

Level 5 children could finish the entire elementary curriculum in less than a year if given the opportunity.

Reflect and Discuss

What are the implications for schools and teachers?

Small Poppies: Highly gifted Small Poppies: Highly gifted children in the early yearschildren in the early years

Miraca U.M. GrossSource: Roeper Review 1999

Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 207-214

Text Coding

I knew that (highlight yellow)

? Needs clarification (highlight pink)

! New perspective or new idea (highlight blue)

Share With a Partner

2-3 places where you text

coded

•Why did you code?

•What was your connection?

Gifted at the Secondary Level

Starting the Process

Screening– Use existing data sources

Nomination/Referral– Who may/should refer?– How will they do it?– How will they know they can?

Digging Deeper

What stands out about the child? What more do you need to know?

– Cast a wider net– No single piece of data screens a child “in”

or “out” Are the criteria valid for the construct

being measured? How will you analyze the information? At what point can you make a decision

with confidence? Notification

Activity Consider the list of multiple criteria Identify which area(s) of giftedness

for which each would be a valid criterion to consider.

Are all the criteria appropriate at all grade spans?

Add other examples at the bottom. Share with someone you haven’t

yet worked with today.

Placement

Which children need which services?

Not about assigning a label According to need

It is better to have imprecise answers to the right

questions than precise answers to the wrong

questions.--Donald Campbell

Some Things to Ponder

Once identified, always identified? Procedure for staffing out? Your questions?

Gap Analysis

With your team1. Study Guiding Principles, Attributes

That Define High-Quality Identification Procedures (p. 51-2), and SART results

2. Identify desired state3. Outline your current identification

procedures (current state)4. List steps needed to move toward

desired state

Home Play

Establish program goals for identification Determine domains of giftedness to be

served Write identification plan for district

(Identification section of written plan) Share with GT Advisory and/or

Administrative Team Complete Differentiated Program section of

Self-Audit Tool

Magnet Summary

Fold paper in fourths Write “identification” in the

middle In each corner write a key word or

phrase to remember Summarize at the bottom