Gifted Education: Purpose and

Overview

2

Other Nations U.S.

Slipping in rankings of student proficiency

Higher costs of doing business in U.S.

Higher costs of education in U.S.

Declining in international comparisons of college completion

Changing political structures—competitive in global marketplace

Emphasis on math, science, and English

More opportunities for more people than previously

3

Jobs Requiring Postsecondary Degree = 2:1

Nonroutine analytic

Interactive

Requires math and executive functioning

(Council of Economic Advisors, 2009)

4

Preparing for a Global Environment

All need academic growth

Some need supports or extensions

Must develop potential of all

5

Student Outcomes

Skills for Success and Creative Production

Think critically

Generate ideas and

connections; problem solve

Communicate effectively in

multiple formats

6

How Do You Develop Talent?

Process of Talent Development

piano, violin, voice

basketball, gymnastics, tennisacademics

7

Lost performance

Underidentified

Untrained teachers

Lack of challenging curriculum

What Can We Do?

8

None or very little 63%

Some or a lot

35%

Not sure 2%

Preservice Teacher Preparation for

Academically Ad-vanced

None58%

Some41%

Not sure1%

Recent PD on Academ-ically Advanced

(Duffett, Farkas, & Loveless, 2008)

9

Classroom Differentiation

Not differen-tiated for

gifted84%

Differentiated activities

16%

(Archambault et al., 1993; Westberg & Daoust, 2003)

10

Content previously mastered*—81 days

(45%)

Remainder— 24.75 days (14%)

Unnecessary repetition— 74.25 days

(41%)

Gifted Elementary Student 180 School Days

(*Reis, West-berg, Ku-likowich, & Purcell, 1998)

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Identify advanced potential

Provide appropriate environment

Produceadvanced

achievement

How Are Learners Different?

0.13%

Aboveaverage

Belowaverage

2.14%13.59%

34.13%

34.13%

13.59%

2.14%

0.13%

Cognitive disability

GiftedAverage

General Intellectual Functioning

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Gifted: Students With Advanced

Potential

Demonstrated high performance

Prodigies

Creative producers

Above-grade achievers

Underdeveloped performance

Twice-exceptional

Low-SES

Culturally/linguistically diverse

Underachievers

Supports (self, family, school)

Inhibitors (self, family, school)

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Important Ideas About Ability

Giftedness

not limited to abilities

measured once

Expression

dependent upon

opportunity

individual action

cultural demand

Abilities

can be developed

Intelligence

multifaceted

domain-specific

embedded in context

developed throughout the

lifespan

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Characteristics of Giftednessin School When Compared to Same Age, Experience, or Environment (LEP, F/R Lunch, etc.)

Learns quickly Has an extensive vocabulary

Grasps math concepts quickly; intuitive

May be highly sensitive and/or introverted

Grasps “big picture”; may learn “whole-to-

part” instead of building parts to make

whole

May be more intense

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Services

According to

Need

Needs Differ

Some require many services

Some require advanced

instruction in all subjects

Some need advanced instruction in just one

area

Some need an advanced pace but do not yet

achieve at a high level

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Differentiated Curriculum and Instruction

You do not have to teach all of the standards to all the students, but you must show that all students have mastered all standards.

Preassessment is key: Find out what students already know and use the time you would have spent teaching those concepts differently.

Curriculum for high-ability students goes beyond grade-level standards and goes deeper than grade-level content.

18

Differentiation for the Gifted

Qualitatively Different in All

Aspects

Not just different

Not just a different

assignment

Not just accelerated

Not just choice

Not just an extension

Not just a different word list

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more than faster

start where

you need

to

above grade level

K–12 math

in fewer years

problem solving

critical thinking

beyond standards

How Is Instruction Different?

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Instruction Is a Qualitatively Different Experience

• It is a different experience with all aspects of learning.

• It is a planned sequence of experiences that builds to greater goals, big ideas, broader understandings, more comprehensive foundations, more critical thinking, and more opportunities for creative thinking.

• A child does not have this intellectual capacity only when it is convenient for the school. The learning experience needs to match the intellectual capabilities of the child in all areas of the curriculum or in the specific academic area where the child has high ability.

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Elements of Curriculum and Instruction for Gifted Learners

Substantive content

Provision for acceleration and compression of content

Focus on concepts

Habits of mind of the experts in the field

Development of advanced products

Opportunities for independent learning

Consistently focused use of inquiry-based instruction

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Create

Evaluate

Analyze

Apply

Understand

Remember

Create

Evaluate

Analyze

Apply

Under-stand

Instructional Time: Bloom’s TaxonomyRegular Curriculum vs. Curriculum for Advanced Potential

Remember

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What Predicts?

Math > Algebra II

Rigorous curriculum

College graduation

(Adelman, 1999, 2006)

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Predictors: ACT Research (2008)

Upper elementary

Middle school

Eighth grade

Eighth-grade students’ academic achievement has a larger impact on their readiness for college than anything that happens academically in today’s high schools.

25

AP Indicator of College Completion

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

No AP One AP Two or MoreAP's

(Adelman, 1999, 2006)

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District Responsibility - Developing Policies & Programs

District Responsibility: Developing Policies and Programs

Leadership and commitment to

excellence

Defensible identification

Services and curriculum

Evaluation of program

effectiveness

Stakeholder support

Building Responsibility: Leadership in Implementation

Fidelity of services

Support for differentiation

In-depth training in gifted education

Assessing teacher effectiveness

Classroom Responsibility

Differentiating instruction Monitoring achievement

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Where Do We Begin?

Gifted Services

BBPC

Identification and services

Curriculum and instruction

Guidance and counseling

Professional development

Program evaluation