SOAR Curriculum Seeing Our Achievements Rise

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SOAR CurriculumSeeing Our Achievements Rise

• Watchung Borough School District
• Committee Members
• Elaine Chesebro, Co-Chair
• Necole Fabris, Co-Chair
• Timothy McCarthy, Co-Chair

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Mission Statement

• In June of 2005, the NJ State Board of Education
  adopted
• N.J.A.C. 6A 8,Standards and Assessment for
  Student
• Achievement, which includes expanded requirements
  for
• gifted and talented programs. The regulations
  define
• gifted and talented students as
• Those exceptionally able students who possess or
• demonstrate high levels of ability, in one or
  more content
• areas, when compared to their chronological peers
  in
• the local district and who require modification
  of their
• educational program if they are to achieve in
  accordance
• with their capabilities.

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Mission Statement (Contd)

• In accordance with the New Jersey Board of
  Education
• definition of a gifted student, and in
  recognition of the
• differentiated needs of students, Watchung
  Borough Public
• School Districts SOAR Program will provide
  opportunities
• to broaden and extend the learning process. The
  district is
• committed to providing each student with a wide
  range of
• opportunities for academic enrichment. Therefore,
  the
• SOAR Program will provide materials, tasks, and
• experiences differentiated in content, process,
  and
• products and/or performances to enhance student
• learning.

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Course Goals - Foundations

• June 2005 - NJDOE requires that gifted and
  talented programs consider the National
  Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Gifted
  Program Standards developed in 1998
• 2008 and 2009 - Standards Clarification Project
  Standards Revision Project
• Highlighted key areas of study critical to the
  21st century global economy

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Course Goals - Standards Overview

• Big Ideas, Enduring Understandings, and Essential
  Questions
• 21st Century Knowledge and Skills
• Technology integration
• Interdisciplinary connections
• Infusion of global perspectives
• 21st Century Themes
• Global Awareness Financial, Economic, Business
  and Entrepreneurial Literacy Civic Literacy and
  Health Literacy
• Skills needed in contemporary real world
  situations
• Innovative learning strategies
• Integrating supportive technologies, inquiry- and
  problem-based approaches and higher order
  thinking skills
• Cumulative progress indicators that provide
  guidance and resources for teachers
• sample assessment tasks, natural links to
  integrated content, global perspectives and
  technology

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Course Goals

• Based upon these standards, the Watchung Borough
  Public School Districts SOAR Program goals are
• To provide challenging learning experiences
  beyond the regular curriculum
• To enable students to make connections between
  areas of study and recognize how their learning
  relates to a global context
• To develop and promote higher-level thinking and
  problem-solving skills
• To develop creative expression and technological
  literacy
• To provide opportunities to develop
  self-awareness, autonomy, and self-direction
• To provide opportunities for sharing and
  exchanging ideas in a supportive environment

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Changes to SOAR Curriculum Guide

• Documentation of differentiation strategies
  employed within the regular education classroom
• SOAR Advisory Committee creation
• Employ NAGC standards for curriculum and
  instruction 21st Century Skills
• Continuum of Services (in lieu of Scope
  Sequence)
• Parent Appeal Process
• Statement of the Young Gifted Learner
• Timeline for Identification Identification
  Procedure
• Timeframe for SOAR activities

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Identification of Gifted Learners The Young
Learner

• Characteristics of these young gifted children
  can include
• Use of advanced vocabulary
• Development of early reading skills
• Keen observation and curiosity
• Unusual retention of information
• Periods of intense concentration
• Early demonstration of talent in the arts
• Task commitment beyond peers
• Ability to understand complex concepts, perceive
  relationships, and think abstractly
• Important to note Young gifted learners are
  not easily defined or assessed. They present
  educators and families with unique challenges due
  to their rapid and often asynchronous
  development.

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Identification of Students in Grades 3-8
Referral Phase

• Students can be referred to the SOAR Advisory
  Committee in two ways
• Demonstrates Advanced Proficiency on the New
  Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK)
• Referred by his/her teacher
• Process occurs once per school year, excepting
  students who enter the school district midyear
• New students will be assessed, if appropriate, as
  soon as possible upon enrollment in the district

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Identification of Students in Grades 3-8
Assessment Phase

• Students identified move to assessment phase
• Measures used to ascertain eligibility for SOAR
  Pullout Program
• New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge
  (NJASK)
• Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT)
• Student Assessment for Gifted Elementary/Middle
  School Students (SAGES)
• Teacher Nomination Form
• Results are gathered
• SOAR Advisory Committee determines if placement
  of students within the SOAR Pullout Program is
  appropriate
• Once a student is placed in the SOAR Pullout
  program, considered part of that program for the
  duration of his/her enrollment in the district

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Appeal Option

• If the SOAR Advisory Committee does not recommend
  a student for the SOAR Pullout Program, a parent
  may appeal the recommendation via the following
  steps
• Submit a letter of appeal to the SOAR Advisory
  Committee requesting that his/her child be
  reconsidered for the SOAR Pullout Program
• Complete the Parent Nomination Form
• Submit a sample of student work that reflects
  advanced levels of understanding in one or more
  areas (optional)

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Continuum of SOAR Program Services

• Due to its unique orientation and structure, SOAR
  Programs organization does not follow a specific
  sequence of study.
• Rather, SOAR Program provides a continuum of
  services
• Reflects the flexibility and diversity of its
  programming
• Please see p. 29 of the SOAR Curriculum Guide

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Student Performance Assessment

• Pull-Out Program
• Teacher Evaluation
• Student Self-Evaluation
• Evaluation forms completed at the end of each
  unit.
• SOAR teacher will discuss the students progress
  with student
• Copies of evaluations will be sent home to
  parents
• Students expected to maintain grades and keep
  current with regular classroom work
• Students and their parents sign a contract
• Indicating commitment to program
• Acknowledging responsibilities regarding class
  work and homework

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Student Performance Assessment

• In the other SOAR Programs (Programs listed for
  All Learners in the Continuum of Services)
• Classroom teacher documentation of
  differentiation strategies employed
• Student progress discussed and monitored
  collaboratively among the SOAR teacher, the
  classroom teacher, the parent(s), and the student
• Areas monitored include, but are not limited to,
  commitment to the program behaviorally and
  academically, and overall student progress

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New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards

• NJDOE requirement for all gifted and talented
  curricula to consider the NAGC Gifted Program
  Standards (Guiding Principles)
• SOAR Program meets, if not exceeds, these
  standards
• Additionally, SOAR Program integrates the 21st
  Century Learning Skills referenced by the NJDOE
  Standards Clarification Project of 2008 and the
  NJDOE Standards Revision Project of 2009

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NAGC Guiding Principles

• Differentiated curriculum for the gifted learner
  must span grades PreK-12
• Regular classroom curricula and instruction must
  be adapted, modified, or replaced to meet the
  unique needs of gifted learners
• Instructional pace must be flexible to allow for
  the accelerated learning of gifted learners as
  appropriate
• Educational opportunities for subject and grade
  skipping must be provided to gifted learners
• Learning opportunities for gifted learners must
  consist of a continuum of differentiated
  curricular options, instructional approaches, and
  resource materials

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21st Century Learning Skills

• Information, Media, Technology Skills
• Information Literacy
• Media Literacy
• ICT (Information, Communications Technology)
  Literacy

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21st Century Learning Skills

• Life Career Skills
• Flexibility Adaptability
• Initiative Self-Direction
• Social Cross-Cultural Skills
• Productivity Accountability
• Leadership Responsibility

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21st Century Learning Skills

• Learning and Innovation Skills
• Creativity Innovation
• Work Creatively with Others
• Implement Innovations
• Critical Thinking Problem Solving
• Communication Collaboration

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Web-Based Resources

• www.state.nj.us/education/aps/cccs/g_and_t_req.htm
  
• www.nagc.org
• www.21stcenturyskills.org
• www.njagc.org
• The New Jersey Association for Gifted Children
  (NJAGC), a state chapter of the National
  Association for Gifted Children (NAGC).
• www.gifted.org
• The Gifted Child Society is a non-profit
  organization that was founded in 1957 by parents
  of New Jersey to further the cause of gifted
  children.

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Web-Based Resources

• www.davidsongifted.org
• Davidson Institute is a national nonprofit
  organization dedicated to supporting profoundly
  gifted students under 18.
• www.hoagiesgifted.org
• Hoagies' Gifted Education Page offers resources,
  articles, books and links.
• www.gifted.uconn.edu
• The University of Connecticut's Neag Center for
  Gifted Education and Talent Development.

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Web-Based Resources

• www.wordmasterschallenge.com
• www.continentalmathematicsleague.com
• www.megt.org
• Minnesota Educators of the Gifted and Talented
  (MEGT)
• Videoconferencing links
• www.cilc.org