INTRODUCTION TO GIFTED EDUCATION

Session 3 – 11/11/10

http://aea11newgt.pbworks.com

AGENDA

• NAGC Position Papers

• Being an Effective Teacher of Gifted

• Teacher Characteristics

• Identification: Procedures, Problems, Paradoxes, and Promises

Does a teacher of gifted need to be gifted?

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE G/T TEACHER

• List five important characteristics of teachers of gifted children.

• Read/Review p. 92-95.• In your group, come to consensus

on the top five.

THE TOUGH QUESTIONS

• What are the “tough questions” you’ve heard about gifted education, gifted kids, your role as a teacher of gifted?

Doing well academically should not be an act of courage. --Nicholas Colangelo

INTRO. TO GIFTED EDUCATION

IDENTIFICATION:

Procedures, Problems, Paradoxes, And Promises

THINKING ABOUT IDENTIFICATION

FRAYER MODEL

• Pink: purpose

• Blue: problems

• Green: paradoxes

• Yellow: promises

WHAT’S THE PURPOSE?

• To ensure schools know kids’ learning needs

WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS?

• Some kids don’t test well• We don’t know how to make the system

perfect• People operate without enough knowledge

of what tests and criteria measure• People don’t know how to sift through and

make sense of all that information• We forget it’s about more than attaching a

label.

WHAT ARE THE PARADOXES?

• Kids can be learning disabled and gifted.

• Kids can be ELL and gifted.

• Those most in need of services are often not identified.

WHAT’S THE PROMISE?

• Kids needs will be met in school.

• Potential will not be wasted.

• Labels will become unnecessary.

THE IDENTIFICATION CONUNDRUM

Where does a teacher begin?

What’s a teacher to do?

How does a teacher know it’s “right”?

BEGIN WITH…

A definition of “gifted”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE GIFTED?

• Looking like a 6 year old.

• Thinking like a 12 year old.

• Acting like a 4 year old.

• Arguing like a high-priced middle-aged lawyer.

IOWA CODE

•The comprehensive school improvement plan shall include the following gifted and talented program provisions:

• valid and systematic procedures, including multiple selection criteria for identifying gifted and talented students from the total student population

KEY TERMS

• Valid

• Systematic

• Procedures

• Multiple criteria

KEY TERMS

• What?

• Why?

• How ?

VALIDITY

• The criterion measures the gifted construct it was chosen to measure.

RELIABILITY

• How sure you are you’ll get similar results the next time you use an instrument.

• How reliable are teacher rating scales?

PROCEDURES

• Addresses not only what criteria you’ll use, but in what manner those criteria will be sifted and applied.

MULTIPLE CRITERIA

• Objective and subjective

• Look for patterns of strengths and potential.

• No single criterion should screen a child out.

A COMPREHENSIVE IDENTIFICATION PROGRAM

• Evidence of extraordinary ability in relationship to age peers

• Evidence of the range of capabilities and needs

• Processes that measure potential as well as achievement

• Methods that identify students from diverse linguistic, economic, and cultural backgrounds

• Implications for educational planningSmith and colleagues (1990)

A SYSTEM FOR IDENTIFICATION

• Look at a variety of disciplines for outstanding students

• Use a variety of tests and other assessment measures to find and serve students

• Ensure that all students have equal access to challenging learning opportunities and unbiased assessment

• Develop assessment procedures that allow varying rates of maturity and interests.

• Seek students whose potential evidences itself in diverse and less obvious ways.

• Consider motivational factors such as interest, drive, and passion in assessing accomplishment.

IDENTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS

• Procedures are based on a broad, well defined conception of giftedness to ensure appropriate services.

• Multiple criteria include standardized and non-standardized instruments, process and performance indicators, and multiple sources of data.

• Instruments selected are valid and reliable for the construct they are expected to measure.

• The limitations of the use of a single test or of a matrix must be recognized and lead to a more comprehensive selection of evaluation data.

• Identification and placement are based on student need rather than the number of students who can be accommodated by a program or a preset percentage of students.

• Appropriate instruments and strategies are used to identify underserved populations.

Barbara Clark, Growing up Gifted (p. 324-5)

http://www.opi.mt.gov/pdf/gifted/GTIDInstruments.pdf