Gifted and Talented Academy Year 2 Curriculum and Instruction Session 1 http://maryschmidt.pbworks.com/w/page/60213263/West%20Des%20Moines%20Gifted%20Academy%202

Agenda Welcome/Check In Moodle Where We’ve Been Making Sense of Curriculum Curriculum Models Team Planning Closure

Targets: I can… Define curriculum Understand basic principles of curriculum Make connections between curriculum for the gifted and Iowa Core Identify which philosophical perspective matches my district’s gifted programming Identify basic differences among and roles of curriculum models Work with my team to set goals for curriculum design

Reflecting Individually Jot down Share at your table 1-2 key accomplishments from Academy Year 1 1-2 ways your programming is better now than it was a year ago Share at your table

Handshake Find a partner Share one key accomplishment and one programming improvement Repeat Large group processing Partner is not at your table.

Web 2.0 Tools Wiki or Google site Visit http://maryschmidt.pbworks.com Set up account Create team Wiki space or Goggle site Visit http://maryschmidt.pbworks.com Download PowerPoint Moodle The wiki is optional and can serve as a place to house your documents and/or as a resource to share with teachers, administrators, etc.

To get us grounded in this work, think about your experiences in Academy I. Where has your work touched this graphic? As we consider that this year’s Academy focus is curriculum and instruction, discuss with your team how the components of this graphic connect in the world of comprehensive gifted and talented programming. Be sure to consider your own setting as you discuss these connections.

Processing Reading Number off by 3’s Discuss assigned chapter and identify key points Jigsaw What shifts in thinking does this information create for you? Your team? 1’s – chapter 1 2’s – chapter 2 3’s – chapter 3

Random Acts of gifted education Jeanne Purcell, 2002

Curriculum Defined A set of organized experiences appropriate for gifted learners that are written down and adopted for use in a school district. It represents a formal codifying of the goals, objectives, and activities of a gifted program. The appropriateness of a district's basic curriculum for the gifted is a key consideration. (VanTassel-Baska, 1994). Compare to bullet 1 on p. 89.

Curriculum Defined A design plan that fosters the purposeful, proactive organization, sequencing, and management of interactions among the teacher, the learners, and the content knowledge, understandings, and skills we want students to acquire. (Purcell & Eckert, 2007)

Curriculum Defined Curriculum can be divided into three categories: intended, enacted, and assessed curricula Intended curriculum: the content target for the enacted curriculum, often captured in content standards or other similar documents Enacted curriculum: the content actually delivered during instruction in the classroom and other learning settings Assessed curriculum: the content that is assessed to determine achievement (Porter, 2004) As defined in the Iowa Core

Processing In your team discuss What is common across definitions Where definitions differ Key considerations for your context Refer to p. 9-10 in Curriculum Planning and Instructional Design for Gifted Learners

Making Sense of Curriculum With your team/table group discuss what it means to have “curriculum for the gifted.” Today’s Meet The purpose of this activity is to activate your background knowledge and to reveal your thinking about curriculum for gifted. Consider from the perspective of the gifted student, classroom teacher, teacher of gifted, system Beliefs about curriculum – green handout

Making Sense of Curriculum Read “Myth: There is a Single Curriculum for the Gifted!” and “Myth 9: There is a Single Curriculum for the Gifted” Identify key ideas and arguments Discuss shifts in thinking from 1982 to 2009 How do these ideas connect to Iowa Core: essential concepts and skills, characteristics of effective instruction, and universal constructs? Consider the connection between gifted programming and curriculum

Making Sense of Curriculum Review Guiding Principles and Best Practices and Traits (p. 89-92, Purcell & Eckert) Discuss with your team The ways each of these is evident in what you have read and learned so far about curriculum for the gifted.

Making Sense of Curriculum With your team/table group discuss what it means to have “curriculum for the gifted.” Post on todaysmeet Read and discuss “Beliefs about Curriculum” Read “Myth: There is a Single Curriculum for the Gifted!” and “Myth 9: There is a Single Curriculum for the Gifted” Review Guiding Principles and Best Practices (p. 89, Purcell & Eckert) Discuss in relation to initial perceptions Have those perceptions changed based on new information? Individually identify and share with your team something you’ve learned about curriculum for the gifted. Pulling it together. Review the steps we’ve gone through and synthesize/summarize learning. Go back to the posts on todaysmeet and examine how initial perceptions have changed.

Curriculum Philosophy Curriculum as Development of Cognitive Processes Technology Personal Relevance Social Reconstruction Academic Rationalism Precursor to Professional Career VanTassel-Baska & Stambaugh, 2006

Curriculum Philosophy Individually Identify any of the curriculum orientations you use in your programming. Determine which best match your own philosophy. With your team Share individual perspectives Determine which best match the orientation of your comprehensive plan Discuss how/why curriculum orientation matters in and/or influences programming. Add thoughts on last bullet to todaysmeet.

Influences on student learning LEADERSHIP School Teacher Student 1. Guaranteed & Viable Curriculum 2. Challenging Goals & Effective Feedback 3. Parent & Community Involvement 4. Safe & Orderly Environment 5. Collegiality & Professionalism 6. Instructional Strategies 7. Classroom Management 8. Classroom Curriculum Design Beginning in 1998, McREL undertook its first meta-analysis to answer the question about which instructional strategies had the largest effects on student achievement. In that study, McREL identified nine instructional strategies correlated to student achievement. Some of you may know this work. The findings were published by ASCD as Classroom Instruction that Works. The findings from the study showed that teachers use of particular instructional practices had an effect on student achievement. This raised a question about effective school practices. To answer this question, McREL conducted a second meta-analysis which identified five school practices correlated to student achievement. Those findings are published in What Works in Schools. Both of those studies resulted in the information on this chart. It’s important to remember these are influences on student learning and that influence does not equal impact. The practices in each category are in rank order. School level factors represent 7% of the total variance in student achievement. Teacher level factors represent 13%. Student level factors represent 80%. Let’s take a look at just a few of the factors on this chart. School Guaranteed - consistent across classes. Is this really happening? Viable - district responsibility but we need to consider, can kids master what we teach? Can it be taught in the time we have? Student It is important to point out that home environment is not what we typically think of with regard to single-parent families, socio-economic, ELL or educational status. It has everything to do with what families do to help kids learn or support learning in school. School can have a huge influence on student factors. We have to work hard to enhance or supplement that influence. Learned Intelligence/Background Knowledge - there is value in students being overtly taught the vocabulary they will be using. Motivation - this has to do with helping the child internally and externally. It will be different for each student. We need to ask, “Who is going to motivate this student to learn?” and “What will motivate the student to learn?” 9. Home Environment 10. Learned Intelligence/Background Knowledge 11. Motivation

Curriculum Models In designing appropriate curricula for gifted and talented students, a curriculum model or models may serve as an ideal framework… Schools may choose to adopt a specific model or take a more eclectic approach in adapting several models that suit their needs. See Analysis of Curriculum Models on p. 14 of Curriculum Planning and Instructional Design for Gifted Learners. Consider which philosophical orientation is dominant in each of the models. How does each model reflect the importance (or not) of standards? (Chapter 3) How does each relate to the two educational worlds of sp ed and gen ed? (Intro., p. 10)

What is a curriculum model? …a format for curriculum design developed to meet unique needs, contexts, and/or purposes.

Parallel Curriculum Model …a set of four interrelated designs that can be used singly, or in combination, to create or revise existing curriculum units, lessons, or tasks. Each of the four parallels offers a unique approach for organizing content, teaching, and learning that is closely aligned to the special purpose of each parallel. --Purcell, 2002 Read through intro and chart of parallels.

Ascending Levels of Intellectual Demand Escalates one or more facets of curriculum Takes into consideration students’ Cognitive abilities Prior knowledge Schema Opportunities to learn Learning rate Developmental differences Levels of abstraction

Why ALID? To honor student differences Address varying levels of prior knowledge, varying opportunities, and cognitive abilities To ensure optimal levels of academic achievement To support continuous learning To ensure intrinsic motivation To provide appropriate challenge Provides “mental sweat”

ALID Download ALID document Read the levels and discuss in your team Wiki Read the levels and discuss in your team Add Ideas, Thoughts, and Implications One team member save and upload to team Wiki or Google site or email to all team members.

Survey Visit Wiki Click on the survey link Each person on team complete

And the Survey Says… Discuss as a team What the survey results show How you interpreted the ratings Discrepancies across buildings Implications of these results in light of what you’ve discussed today

Team Planning Use planning template on Wiki for team planning/goal setting. Upload to the Moodle site (session 1)

Home Play Read chapters 4-6 in VT-B text and post to Moodle forums Finish team plan & post to Moodle by Nov. 16 Choose an area and explore Iowa Core standards

Next Meeting November 29, 2012 Heartland AEA Ames Office