PEERS Javits Training Gifted Education

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PEERSJavits Training Gifted Education

• Paulding Elementary School
• May 21, 2008

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Purpose of PEERS JAVITS

• The purpose of this PEERS group was to provide
  high quality professional development in gifted
  education to Paulding Elementary teachers.
  Teachers learned about and discussed such topics
  as screening and identification, rule, law,
  district plan, social and emotional needs,
  acceleration, and differentiation of the gifted
  population.

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Resources

• Resources used for this training was available
  through the Javits training online module,
  Department of Education website, materials
  obtained through OAGC conferences I attended this
  year, and the Internet.

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Team members Randi and Kristi accessing the
JAVITS site on the Internet
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Top 10 Things Teachers Should Know About Our
Gifted and Talented Students

• 1. Gifted students dont look the same
• 2. Gifted students need support.
• 3. Know your students.
• 4. Know the program
• 5. Classroom behaviors of gifted
• 6. Asynchronous Development
• 7. Abstract and Complex
• 8. Perfectionism
• 9. Multi-potentiality
• 10. Problem Solvers

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Who is Gifted in Ohio by Law and Rule?

• Children are gifted in Ohio in 4 major
  categories superior cognitive ability, specific
  academic ability, creative thinking ability, and
  visual or performing arts ability. There are
  different eligibility criteria for each area. All
  tests and checklists used must be on an approved
  list prepared by the Ohio Department of Education.

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Superior Cognitive Ability

• Score two standard deviations above the mean
  minus the standard error of measurement on an
  intelligence test, perform at or above the 95th
  percentile on a basic or composite battery of a
  nationally normed achievement test, or attain an
  approved score on an above grade-level,
  standardized, nationally normed test.

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Specific Academic Ability in a Field

• Perform at or above the 95th percentile at the
  national level on a standardized achievement test
  of specific academic ability in that field. A
  child may be identified as gifted in more than
  one specific academic ability field.

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Creative Thinking Ability

• Score one standard deviation above the mean minus
  the standard error of measurement on an
  intelligence test and attain a sufficient score,
  as established by the Department, on a test of
  creative ability or a checklist of creative
  behavior.

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Visual or Performing Arts Ability

• Demonstrate to a trained individual through a
  display of work, an audition, or other
  performance or exhibition, superior ability in a
  visual or performing arts area and attain a
  sufficient score, as established by the
  Department, on a checklist of behaviors related
  to a specific arts area.

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Testing Policy at PEVS

• Students are screened, tested, and identified
  with the CogAT in second grade.
• Students will be screened, tested, and identified
  with the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in seventh
  grade.
• Referrals

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WEP (Written Education Plan)

• Each gifted student that is being served shall be
  guided by instruction documented in a Written
  Education Plan.

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Social and Emotional Needs of Gifted Students
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Team members Mary Ellen and Ruby working on a
presentation for social and emotional needs of
gifted children
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Academic and Career Guidance

• All students need academic and career guidance.
  Gifted students are no different, but it is easy
  to assume that they will figure things out for
  themselves.

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Asynchronous Development

• Asynchronous means out of sync.
• Cognitive, emotional and physical development
  occur at different rates which creates unique
  problems.
• Although his emotions and body may be in sync
  with age peers, a gifted students mind functions
  more quickly and at higher cognition levels.
• He may be eight chronologically as he rides his
  bike, twelve while playing chess and fifteen
  while working through his algebra homework.

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Gender Issues and the Gifted Child

• Both genders tend to underachieve, yet they do so
  in different ways and for a variety of reasons.
• Be alert for students who score high on
  standardized tests but who exhibit much lower
  grades.
• Look for social isolation in adolescence,
  particularly among females.
• Females may exhibit eating disorders, while males
  may resort to acting out in class to mask their
  boredom.
• Both sexes may display signs of low
  self-confidence or self-esteem.
• Adolescents may engage in risky behaviors by
  experimenting with alcohol and/or drugs.

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Peer Relationships

• The gifted students often do not have an
  opportunity to find a true peer.
• Students often struggle to balance the
  expectations of family, teachers and friends.
• Students often view themselves as different from
  their age peers, which can be either positive or
  negative.
• Awareness of social norms can lead to a desire
  for conformity.
• True peers for minority gifted students may be
  limited.

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Perfectionism

• Students often set unrealistic standards for
  themselves and others.
• Students believe that others expect them to be
  perfect.
• Fear of failure or procrastination may keep
  students from starting or completing work or
  trying new things.
• Workaholism and an inability to say no are
  common.
• Perfectionists are prone to depression and stress
  that may be a function of asynchronous
  development.

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Twice-Exceptional Gifted and Learning Disability

• GT/LD students may show above average or below on
  IQ tests or be misdiagnosed as underachieving.
• Outside of school, students generally have a
  higher level of self-confidence, often speaking
  with enthusiasm about their abilities and areas
  of interest.
• Students maybe aware of their difficulties in
  learning, and over-generalize feelings of
  academic failure.
• Students may exhibit behaviors like being
  off-task, act out, daydream, or complain of
  headaches and stomachaches.
• Frustration, anger, resentment, and relations
  with family and peers often influence behavior.
• Students often use their creative abilities to
  avoid tasks.

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Characteristics of Gifted Underachievement

• Disorganized schoolwork is often either missing
  or incomplete
• Declining achievement or interest in school
• Making excuses or blaming others for their
  problems
• Over-socializing or social isolation
• Showing emotional frustration and low self-esteem
• Difficulty concentrating on the task at hand
• Lacking skills in at least one subject area due
  to another identified exceptionality or
  disability
• Lower socioeconomic background

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Acceleration Policy

• No individual or group should be excluded from
  the opportunity to learn, and all students are
  presumed capable of learning. Every Ohio student,
  regardless of race, gender, ethnicity,
  socioeconomic status, limited English
  proficiency, disability or giftedness shall have
  access to a challenging, standards-based
  curriculum.

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Jan and Leigh reading the Acceleration Policy
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Options

• Whole grade acceleration
• Individual Subject Acceleration
• Early admission to Kindergarten
• Early High School Graduation

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Acceleration Defined

• Any educational intervention that permits
  students to progress through school at faster
  rates or at an earlier age than expected.

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Research shows

• Accelerated students show achievement scores
  similar to older grade peers.
• Early entrants to kindergarten showed ½ years
  growth.
• Single subject accelerants were 3/5 of a year
  ahead of age peers.

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Acceleration Policies

• Each district must design and adopt a plan for
  acceleration. Paulding Exempted Village Schools
  has adopted the state Model Accerlation Policy.

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Acceleration Evaluation Committee

• Composition
• Principal or assistant principal
• Current teacher
• Teacher from accelerated grade level
• Parent or legal guardian
• Gifted coordinator or teacher
• Convened by principal of referred student or his
  designee.

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Acceleration Policy

• Any student may be referred.
• Copies of policy must be available to staff and
  parents.
• Principal obtains written permission.
• Evaluation in advance of start of school year
  with a 60 day rule.
• Parent notified of results.
• Appeal process for parents.

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Differentiation Strategies
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Peers facilitator working on program development
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Centers

• Are distinct (science, math, writing centers).
• Are self-contained learning locations
• Allow students to work on a task or collection of
  tasks to develop and reinforce knowledge and
  skills.

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Compacting

• Compacting is a method of identifying the content
  or skill for a particular unit, documenting what
  a student already knows and how prior knowledge
  was determined, and providing alternative tasks
  that extend learning and eliminate the repetition
  of mastered content or skills by students.

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Curriculum Compacting Steps

• Identify learning objectives
• Find or develop pre-test format
• Pre-test students
• Identify students for compacting option based on
  pretest results
• Eliminate practice and instructional time
• Streamline instruction or assignments
• Offer enrichment or acceleration options
• Keep records of process and instructional options
  offered to compacted students

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Learning Contracts

• Contracts are negotiated agreements between the
  teacher and students.
• Contracts provide the student with some freedom
  in acquiring skills and understandings that the
  teacher deems important based on content
  standards.
• Student choices can include
• What is to be learned (content)
• Working conditions (process)
• How information will be applied or expressed
  (assessment)

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Cubing/Blooms Taxonomy Verbs

• Cubing is a differentiation tool based on
  readiness.
• Cubing maintains the same goals of thinking
  processes and content interaction but asks
  students to enter the task at a complexity level
  that is a best fit.
• Cubes are traditionally used with content that is
  not brand new to students so they will need some
  prior knowledge to help them complete the tasks.
• Students will be grouped based on what you know
  about their strengths and weaknesses for a
  particular content or skill focus.
• Students do not have to be physically sitting
  next to one another in this group as the cubes
  will serve as their assignment guide and where
  they sit is irrelevant.

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Interest Inventories

• Interest inventories are tools to identify
  student interests in a variety of areas.
• Interest inventories are not necessarily content
  related but may look at many different interest
  areas.
• Once these interested are identified learning
  experiences can be developed to provide
  opportunities for students to explore a fact of
  their area of interest.

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Stations

• Students work in different spots in room on
  various tasks.
• All stations fall within a content area or topic.
• Stations invite flexible grouping. Students go to
  different stations to work on different tasks and
  spend different amounts of time completing each
  task.
• Assignments in stations can vary from day to day
  depending on who is in the station.
• Stations offer a balance between student and
  teacher choice. Sometimes the teacher indicates a
  set task and other times there are choices that
  address the same idea but in different ways.
• Stations are similar to circuit training each
  stop adds to the learning goal but does not have
  to be completed in a set manner.

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Tic-Tac-Toe Menus

• This is a strategy that can be used for different
  purposes, including
• - for Im done times when students complete
  regular activities in the classroom
• - as a way to assess student learning at the
  completion of a unit or book study. This works
  well paired with a simple rubric that outlines
  expectations for completed work.
• The tic-tac-toe menu is a tool to teach and
  support independent work skills.
• The Tic-tac-toe menu allows students to select a
  series of activities to complete.
• Students may also have the option completing an
  activity of their own creation.

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Tiering

• Tiering is an instructional strategy that
  provides instruction to match students with their
  individual needs.

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The rationale for tiering

• Blends assessment and instruction
• Allows students to begin learning where they are
• Allows for reinforcement or extension of concepts
  and principles based on student readiness
• Allows modification of working conditions based
  on learning style
• Avoids work that is anxiety-producing (too hard)
  or boredom-producing (too easy).
• Promotes success and is therefore motivating.

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How will this project impact student achievement?

• We want our advanced and our gifted and talented
  students to advance at least one or more years in
  achievement tests each year. Hopefully, with
  training and professional development of
  classroom and differentiation strategies, this
  will occur.