eight essentials for engagement of high potential students
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Eight Essentials for Engagement of High Potential Students. Colleen Anthony Jefferson County Public Schools Gifted and Talented Jennifer Gottschalk Gifted and Talented Cherry Creek Public Schools Jackie Trucky. Think about your students?. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Colleen AnthonyJefferson County Public Schools
Gifted and Talented
Jennifer GottschalkGifted and Talented
Cherry Creek Public Schools
Jackie Trucky
Think about your students?Think about a student/s who you know or
suspect may be gifted.What keeps them engaged in learning?Where do you see the highest involvement in
learning? The lowest engagement?Share your thinking with someone.What creates the most engagement for your
learners?
Engagement• What does it mean?• A constructivist learning environment in
which students generate knowledge and meaning from experiences. (Tomlinson 1997)
• Four C’s that provide optimal conditions to motivate gifted learners:– Challenge– Control– Commitment– Compassion (Whitney and Hirsch, 2007)
How do students become engaged?Based on research and feedback from students,
teachers, and, parents the following eight essentials emerged:
1. Data Driven Instruction2. Acceleration3. Affective Guidance for Social/Emotional Needs4. Mentoring/Guidance/Career Counseling/Goals5. Differentiated Instruction6. Higher Order Thinking Skills7. Personal/Independent Study8. Integration of Media & Technology
What about acceleration?• Acceleration is defined as the appropriate
movement of a student and/or curriculum by pace or place which matches learning with student’s demonstrated readiness and needs.
• There are multiple ways to accelerate a student: content, grade, multiple grade, etc.
• The Iowa Acceleration Scale is a research-based resource that supports parents and schools in acceleration decisions
Are social/emotional needs really important?
Affective guidance addresses social, emotional and behavioral needs such as:Perfectionism Divergent ThinkingUnderachievement Advanced Moral
DevelopmentSensitivities/Over Excitabilities Precocious Talent
Gifted students also need guidance and direction in the areas of:Self-advocacy• Stress Management• Understanding overexcitabilities
Why Data Driven Instruction?Data driven instruction must flow from
known strengthsFocused instruction results in excellent
growthA combination of preassessment, formative
and summative assessments will yield best/accurate information
Above/off grade-level testing (when permitted) may be necessary
More on Data Driven Instruction
• Pre-assessment is an essential!—a student must have the opportunity to demonstrate what they know
• Become familiar with data that is available– What kind of data is it? (Is it cognitive or
performance?)– How do you interpret the data?– What direction will this provide for student learning?
• What data do you still need to make sound instructional decisions?
How do you differentiate for gifted?Gifted students need carefully planned,
coordinated learning experiences that extend beyond the core curriculum to meet specific learning needs. (NAGC 1994)
Curriculum can be differentiated by: content, product, process and learning environment
Differentiation is a philosophy—some strategies that facilitate this philosophy include:Compacting Multiple intelligencesCluster grouping Learning stylesFlexible pacing Tiered lessons
Why are goals and career guidance necessary?• Gifted children require appropriate affective
services including gifted-focused counseling interventions and career-development guidance programs to allow students to reach full potential (NAGC Position Statement)
• Goals based on data, ensure that students will develop to their full potential
• Mentorships can provide the expertise and exposure to the depth of knowledge students seek in their area/s of expertise
What are higher order thinking skills (HOTS) and why are they important?Higher Order Thinking Skills are a tool for
teachers to organize learning tasks that require analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and/or other critical thinking skills for questioning and activities
Higher Order Thinking Skills include: Analytical, Critical CreativeOrganizational Thinking
Why incorporate personal/independent Study? Independent Study provides an opportunity to
explore in depth, complexity, and novelty topics of passion by extending content, allowing choice, and making real-world connections to learning
Student motivation is enhanced through:ChoicePersonal goal-settingTime management based on self-created
deadlinesIndependent Study provides opportunity for
replacement of class work in which mastery has been demonstrated
How does media/technology engage?Technology… facilitates learning in a variety of formats for
learning and demonstrationprovides access to allow expansion of
knowledge in passion areasfulfills the need for depth and complexitycreates opportunity to transfer and
demonstrate learningpresents a vehicle to explore passions in
depth and display understanding in a creative manner
Getting back to your students…Focus on one student you feel engagement
who is in need of increased engagement?What could you incorporate in your
instruction to increase engagement?Where will you begin—what will be your first
step?
Analytical Reasoning SkillsPromote academic success through examination and analysis.
Identify CharacteristicsRecognize AttributesMake ObservationsComparing and ContrastingCategorizingClassifying/Criteria SettingPredictingDetermining Cause and EffectMaking AnalogiesAdapted from Deborah E. Burns, Ph.D. University of Connecticut
Organizational Thinking Skills Encourage the management, monitoring, and executing of higher order thinking skills.
MemorySummarizingMetacognitionGoal SettingFormulating QuestionsDeveloping HypothesesGeneralizing/develop a ruleProblem SolvingPlanningAdapted from Deborah E. Burns, Ph.D. University of Connecticut
Critical Thinking SkillsNeeded for analyzing and evaluating the quality, worth, or strength of an oral or written argument, proposition, or suggestion
Inductive Thinking: Draw an Inferential Conclusion
Deductive thinking: Draw a Logical Supported Conclusion
Determine Reality and FantasyIdentify Value Statements/Bias StatementsIdentifying Point of ViewIdentifying Fact and OpinionJudging Essential and Incidental EvidenceJudging Credibility: accuracy, missing
information, source, exaggerationDetermining the Strength of an Argument
Adapted from Deborah E. Burns, Ph.D. University of Connecticut
Creativity SkillsEncourage alternate solutions or products when existing solutions are inappropriate or yield less than satisfactory results.
FluencyFlexibilityOriginalityElaboration
Adapted from Deborah E. Burns, Ph.D. University of Connecticut
StrategiesImageryScamperAttribute ListingRandom ListingBrainstormingCreative Problem
SolvingSynectics
Colleen [email protected]