west high school professional development: gifted and talented supports

West High School Professional Development:

Gifted and Talented Supports

An examination of gifted and talented programming and its implications at

West.By: Kevin Purfurst

Agenda• Introduction

– Objectives– Rationale

• Defining Giftedness– Traditional Definitions– Issues with Traditional Definitions in Urban Schools– Expanded Definitions

• Response to Intervention– Identifying Giftedness– Tier 3 Interventions– Tier 2 Interventions– Tier 1 Interventions

Antwan Jefferson

Your focus on the need to reconsider giftedness in urban environments is intriguing to me. I'm looking forward to what you include there.

Content Objectives

• TWBAT develop a broad understanding for the definition of gifted and talented students.

• TWBAT analyze how gifted students are being handled in urban schools and at West might be impacting student and school achievement.

• TWBAT evaluate West’s current gifted and talented supports through the RtI Model.

• TWBAT plan uses for gifted and talented interventions in their classrooms.

Antwan Jefferson

The first objective, "that teachers will be able to apply programming." Feels ambitious. I'm looking forward to how you will accomplish this. Also, the order in which these objectives is listed isn't clear to me. I hope that gets clearer as I read on.

Language Objectives

• TWABT read analysis of defining giftedness. • TWBAT read about strategies to support gifted

and talented students. • TWBAT discuss in whole group, small group

and partner settings West’s current gifted and talented programs.

• TWBAT write how they will implement gifted and talented interventions in their classrooms.

Antwan Jefferson

It may be helpful to order these language objectives to correlate more directly with the content objectives.

Rationale

• Gifted and talented students are often overlooked, with the focus placed on those students who are behind grade level (Silverman, 2007).

• Gifted and talented students offer opportunities to raise school wide achievement.

Antwan Jefferson

The first claim included here, that students are overlooked, should have a present citation. This is preferable to relying heavily on the references slide. Your colleagues may have questions about how you know this.

Defining Giftedness

What is a gifted student?

Defining Giftedness

“Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer) in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity with its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensorimotor skills (e.g., painting, dance, sports) (National Association for Gifted Children)” [1]

Antwan Jefferson

Here is another place for a citation. It also may be appropriate to substantiate your critique of this definition, that the sensorimotor skills broadens giftedness beyond high academic achievement, as this definition seems to suggest that sensorimotor skills are a component of demonstrated academic achievement rather than an alternative.

Defining Giftedness

Giftedness and urban students:• “A large percentage of gifted children tested in

Denver Public Schools were referred for behavior problems.” [2]

• “Gifted children most likely be be overlooked were from low socio-economic backgrounds or culturally diverse or both.” [3]

How might these ideas impact our students?

Antwan Jefferson

Be sure to edit this slide. The second quotation has errors that compromise its meaning. Also, what are the potential implications of this slide for the school? Are you suggesting that at West gifted students are overlooked? If so, be clear about that. If not, be aware of the possible suggestion inherent in the slide.

Defining Giftedness

Effects of ignoring urban giftedness:• “The ways we have addressed [the achievement

gap] have also produced flat line academic growth among our most able students.” [4]

What strategies in use in urban schools might be contributing to the “flat line academic growth” among gifted students? What are we doing at West that might be contributing to this?

Antwan Jefferson

I'm waiting to see whether you will intentionally narrow the focus to West. Here, you continue to discuss broader "urban schools" ideas, but these are not yet grounded in the current context of your school. In addition to this broad focus, the specific school content will likely be relevant to your colleagues.

Defining Giftedness

Schools that are low performing (like West) may focus on raising the achievement of low performing students through RtI and intervention programs here at West while ignoring the opportunity to help gifted students push their achievement even higher.

Intensive intervention support through RtI was provided to 112 students last year. Those students represented the 112 lowest growth students from the previous year’s CSAP data. 71% of those students demonstrated above average growth using the CGM.

Antwan Jefferson

This slide feels a bit loose to me. Is your thinking here that gifted students are only demonstrating proficient scores on statewide tests? What is your support for this? What school-level evidence supports this idea?

Defining Giftedness

What about the other 500+ students? Their growth was low relative to the rest of the state population. Could this be a result of lack of interventions for all other students?

If we focused time and effort on push our gifted students beyond the where they already are what might be the impact? On students? On the school performance framework?

Antwan Jefferson

It isn't clear to me that you've provided a stable basis on which to introduce the notion of pushing students to perform better on CSAP. This seems to counter your earlier recommendation to think beyond academic achievement. Also, in a low-growth scenario, given the population of gifted students at West, what potential is there to really change increase growth by pushing gifted students?

Defining Giftedness

This might suggest that if we do a better job providing targeted interventions for different student groups, we might be able to provide the necessary supports for them to achieve above average growth like their peers receiving intensive interventions did in the previous year.

Defining Giftedness

A more accurate definition?“It is developmental advancement that can be observed in early childhood.” [5]

How does this definition differ from a definition focused on academic achievement?

Defining GiftednessFour areas of giftedness:• Above Average Ability – general

– Students with high academic performance across all subjects.• Above Average Ability – specific

– Students with high academic performance in specific subject areas.• Task Commitment

– Students with drive to be successful through hard work.• Creativity

– Students demonstrating advanced ability in creative areas. [6]

Can you think of any students you have, or have had, who might have been gifted in a way other than academically?

Response to Intervention

“Gifted student achievement is accomplished in a RtI adaptable system of ongoing assessment, problem solving and learning through a continuum of benchmarks and tiered programming options. Strengths, interests and needs of diverse gifted learners are matched to programming and/or interventions.” [7]


The first step to providing support for gifted students through RtI is to identify the students who are gifted, and in what ways they are gifted.

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=145411&title=Gifted_and_Talented

[10]

What are some ways we can identify gifted students in our own classrooms?




Tier 1 Interventions (In class strategies!) [11]

• Differentiate, differentiate, differentiate!• Independent study.• Scaffold up – push towards higher order thinking.• Homogeneous grouping.

What are some other ideas for gifted tier 1 interventions that you have?

Antwan Jefferson

What are your thoughts about the intersection of differentiation and homogeneous grouping? Do you have any preliminary ideas about the numbers of gifted students at West?


Tier 1 interventions in action!

http://www.learner.org/vod/vod_window.html?pid=1821

[12]

How could you use this in your classroom?




Tier 2 Interventions at West• Graduation Station– Course alike teachers should divide and conquer!– One teacher should provide enrichment, the other

should provide intervention.– This allows our gifted interventions to be fluid –

changing each week!


Tier 3 Interventions at West• Honors Courses– All English courses have honors sections.– Advanced courses of all electives are being

offered.– All 10th-12th grade science, math and social studies

courses have honors/accelerated sections.– We will create 9th grade honors/accelerated

sections for second semester.

In your departments…

• Create a poster that shows how you can implement one Tier 1 intervention for gifted students in your content area.

• Be prepared to share it with the whole group!

For your exit ticket…

• On a blank sheet of paper answer the two following questions:1. How will you work to identify gifted students in

your classroom?2. Write one day next week that you will use a

gifted Tier 1 intervention in your classroom, what that intervention will be and how you will use it.

Resources

[1] National Association for Gifted Children http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=574&an

[2] [3] [5] Silverman, L. (2007). What is giftedness? The Boulder Parent, p. 50.

[4] Renzulli, J. (2008)The Achievement Gap, the Education Conspiracy Against Low Income Children and How This Conspiracy Has Dragged Down the Achievement of All Students. The University of Connecticut. http://www.nsgt.org/resources/index.asp

http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=574&an

Resources[6] Gargiulo, R. (2012). Special Education in Contemporary Society. Los

Angeles, CA: Sage. – Pages 538-547 - selected chapter on gifted & talented

[7] GT: Mission, Vision and Principles. Colorado Department of Education. http://www.cde.state.co.us/gt/MissionVision.htm

[8] RtI: Learn About RtI. Colorado Department of Education. http://www.cde.state.co.us/RtI/LearnAboutRtI.htm

[9] Rollins, et al. (2009) RtI Models for Gifted Students. Gifted Child

Today. 32 (3). Pg. 28.

http://www.cde.state.co.us/gt/MissionVision.htm

http://www.cde.state.co.us/RtI/LearnAboutRtI.htm

Resources

[10] “Gifted and Talented” http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=145411&title=Gifted_and_Talented

[11] Archambault, et al. Regular Classroom Practices with Gifted Students: Results of a Survey of Classroom Teachers. The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/archwest.html

[12] Lannenberg Learner: Making Meaning in Literature: 3. Asking Questions http://www.learner.org/vod/vod_window.html?pid=1821



http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/archwest.html
