EDUC 5485 Development, Teaching and Learning

Inclusive Education: Gifted Students

Warm Up

Mensa (2013)

What is gifted?

Note: From Education for Inclusion and Diversity (3rd ed.) p. 65, by A. Ashman and J. Elkins, 2008, New South Wales: Pearson

What is gifted?

Note: From Educational Psychology (3rd ed.) p. 208, by A. Woolfolk and K. Margetts, 2013, Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson.

Category of giftedness

Number of SDs (SD=15) above mean of 100

General ability score (IQ)

Proportion of the population in or above this range

Moderately gifted 2 130-144 2%(1 in 50)

(1 in 2 classes)

Highly gifted 3 145-159 0.1%(1 in 1000)

(1 in a school)

Exceptionally gifted

4 160-179 0.001%(1 in 100,000)(20 in Western

Australia)

Profoundly gifted 5 180+ 0.00001%(1 in 10,000,000)

(2 in Australia)

What does gifted look like ?

(Winebrenner, 2001, p. 10-11):

• Has an advanced vocabulary and verbal ability for her/his age

• Has an outstanding memory. Possess lots of information and can process it in sophisticated ways

• Operates on higher levels of thinking that her/his age peers. Is comfortable with abstract and complex thinking tasks

• Sees patterns, relationships, and connections that others can’t

• Is very intense. May be extremely emotional and excitable. Gets totally absorbed in activities and thoughts; may be reluctant to move from one subject area to another; may insist on mastering one thing before starting another

• Is sensitive to beauty and other people’s feelings, emotions and expectations

What does gifted look like ?

(Winebrenner, 2001, p. 11):

• Gets frustrated with the pace of the class and what she/he perceives as inactivity or lack of noticeable progress

• Monopolises class discussions

• Rebels against routine and predictability

• Becomes the “class clown”

• Asks embarrassing questions; demands good reasons for why things are done in a certain way

• Becomes bossy with her/his peers and teachers

• Becomes impatient when she’s/he’s not called on to recite or respond; blurts out answers without raising their hand

How do you confirm giftedness for one of your students?

• Refer the student to the school psychologist for testing

• Typical tests administered:

– Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – 4th Ed. (WISC-IV)

– Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – 2nd Ed. (WIAT-II)

– Test of Visual Perception Skills (non-motor)

How do you confirm giftedness for one of your students?

• The following constructs are tested:

– Verbal Comprehension (tests of verbal reasoning and acquired verbal knowledge)

– Perceptual reasoning (tests of nonverbal reasoning, spatial processing and motor skills)

– Working memory

– Processing speed

Once you’ve found one, why should you teach them differently?

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers:

• 1. Know students and how they learn

– 1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities

(AITSL, 2013)

Once you’ve found one, why should you teach them differently?

• “Providing for the gifted and talented pupils in our schools is a question of equity. As with all other pupils, they have a right to an education that is suited to their particular needs and abilities.” (Balchin, Hymer & Matthews, 2009)

• “Wasting the potential of a gifted mind is reckless for a society in desperate need of creativity and inventiveness”. (Steineger, 1997)

How should you teach them differently?

Four examples of differentiating the curriculum

• Curriculum compacting. This provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate what they already know about a subject. Teachers can then eliminate content that is repetitive, replacing it with advanced learning experiences (Vaughn, Bos & Schumm, 2000).

How should you teach them differently?

• Enrichment. Giving students additional, more sophisticated, and more thought-provoking work, but keeping them with their same-age peers in school (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013)

How should you teach them differently?

Examples of “Author Extensions” enrichment (Winebrenner, 2001, p. 102)

• Write something of your own in the same style as the author

• Read other books of the same type by different authors. Compare and contrast the styles of the various authors

• Read interviews with the author. Write a short biography of the author based on that information.

How should you teach them differently?

• Mentors. An interest in (e.g.) maths or writing might be further supported by a mentor in the community or at a local college. In this way the child’s passions and advancement in specific areas are supported by the teacher outside the classroom. (Gilman, 2013)

- Need to check school policy

How should you teach them differently?

Some objectives of mentorship programs (Torrance & Sisk, 2001, p. 140) :

• To provide students opportunities to learn beyond the limits of time, space and curriculum

• To provide students access to resources and facilities not usually available in schools

• To provide students with professional role models

• To stimulate career awareness and career options

How should you teach them differently?

• Acceleration. Moving the students quickly though grades or through particular subjects (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013)

How you should not teach them…

How you should not teach them…

Resources

• www.gatcawa.org (The gifted and talented children’s association of WA)

• www.nswagtc.org.au (NSW Association for Gifted & Talented Children)

• www.hoagiesgifted.org (“all things gifted” resource for parents, teachers and students)

References

• Ashman, A. & Elkins, J. (2008). Education for Inclusion and Diversity. (3rd ed.). New South Wales: Pearson.

• DETWA. (2007). Department of Education and Training Western Australia: Middle childhood: Mathematics/Number scope and sequence. Retrieved fromhttp://det.wa.edu.au/redirect/?oid=com.arsdigita.cms.contenttypes.FileStorageItem-id-10886532&stream_asset=true

• Woolfolk, A., & Margetts, K. (2013). Educational Psychology. (3rd

ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson.• Winebrenner, S. (2001). Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular

Classroom. Minneapolis, USA: Free Spirit Publishing.• Mensa (2013). Mensa the high IQ society. Retrieved from

http://www.mensa.org.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=2748&u=pg_dtl_art_news&m=pg_hdr_art

References

• Balchin, T., Hymer, B., & Matthews, D.J. (Eds). (2009). The RoutledgeInternational Companion to Gifted Education. Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge Publishing.

• Steineger, M. (1997). Clarion call to action. Northwest Education (Fall 1997). Portland, OR, USA: Northwest Regional Education Laboratory

• Vaughn, S., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S. (2000). Teaching exceptional, diverse, and at-risk students in the general education classroom (2nd ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

• Gilman, B. J. (2003). Empowering gifted minds. Denver, US: DeLeon

• Torrance, E. P, & Sisk, D. A. (2001). Gifted and Talented Children in the Regular Classroom. Buffalo, US: Creative Education Foundation Press

• AITSL. (2013). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers Retrieved from http://www.teacherstandards.aitsl.edu.au/Standards/AllStandards