Chapter 15: Accommodating Special Populations of Gifted Students through Tailored Curriculum Experiences EQ: How do you accommodate students with dual exceptionalities in your gifted classroom?

General Notes Gifted students are a heterogeneous group of learners within a high threshold level of general and specific ability. They vary from each other as much as they share similarities.

2 Areas of Study Students who are multi-identified or twice exceptional, meaning they have a gifted label and either a learning disabled level or an ADHD label. Students who are underrepresented because of race, poverty, or geographical location.

LD and AG Sometimes called twice exceptional learners…show advanced capabilities, possess innate compensation strategies that tend to mask learning disabilities and gifts, and, when compared to their learning disabled counterparts, twice exceptional learners think and process more visually and creatively.

LD and AG Cont. Gifted/LD have stronger and more productive extracurricular interests, lower self-esteem regarding academic endeavors, and caused more disruptions in school.

According to Baum, Brody, & Mills…3 Main Categories of Gifted/LD – Students who are not identified as LD but are identified as gifted – Students who are LD but not gifted – Most underserved group and consists of those students who do not have a significant score to qualify for either service

Strategies for Gifted/LD Students Use strengths to remediate weaknesses Teach students to use compensation strategies Use adaptive technology Allow different pathways for learning Provide choice, interest, and creative product options Use visual cues

Strategies for Gifted/LD Students Cont. Focus on the main objective of a lesson Avoid making the student emotionally uncomfortable Modify and reduce the number of activities required to meet a standard Group the student with another capable peer

There have been an increased number of referrals of gifted students for ADHD in the past decade. Treatment of ADHD, when it is actually giftedness, may squelch potential achievement while forcing gifted students to conform to a more conventional rote system. ADHD and Gifted

Implications for Curriculum and Classroom Management Seat students close to the teacher or with more attentive, less distractible, students. Provide behavioral modifications that reinforce desired behavior Maintain predictability and structure in the classroom Engage students in helpful classroom tasks Establish a cooling down or time-out area Teach organizational strategies

Implications for Curriculum and Classroom Management Cont. Keep a schedule of tasks for each day that a student can check off as completed Provide a management contract Teach gifted, ADHD students to self-monitor their behavior LOOK AT CHART ON PAGE 252

Underrepresented Gifted Learners Gifted Minority Students Students of Poverty Rural, Disadvantaged Students Underachieving

Why Underachieving? – Unchallenging classroom experiences – Peer pressure to conform – Loneliness – Family dynamics – Personal issues – Unrecognized deficits – Nontraditional gifts or leaning styles – Deficits in self-regulation – Maladaptive strategies – Social immaturity

Strategies to Help Underachievers Focus on student strengths Remember the 3 C’s: Choices, Cheers, and Challenges Place students with achieving peers Encourage a concerted effort between home, school and child Teach students to set goals Provide work that is meaningful and promotes new learning Reframe negative comments and beliefs Study eminent people’s failures Encourage extracurricular activities

Curriculum and Programming Incorporate multicultural curricular modifications Provide hands-on activities Recruit minority educators Provide opportunities for interaction with like intellectual, ethnic peers Increase family involvement to gain support and raise expectations College planning is essential Use technology

Reflection: Discussion Question Think of a student you have that has dual exceptionalities or who is underachieving. How do you meet their needs?

Preview Chapter 16 CCGL Peer Review of Unit April 11…be prepared to share your unit. Action Research Proposal due April 4. Ms. Ervin will run class this night.