Gifted & Talented Definition/CO law Nature & Needs GT in PSD GT Identification What you can do in the classroom

“Gifted and talented children" means those persons between the age of five and 21 whose abilities, talents, and potential for accomplishment are so exceptional or developmentally advanced that they require special provisions to meet their educational needs. Gifted students include gifted students with disabilities and gifted students with exceptional abilities or potential from all socio- economic and ethnic, cultural populations.

Exceptional Children’s Educational Act: Identification ALP (Advanced Learning Plans) Funding Adopt and Implement a Program Plan

General or specific intellectual ability.General or specific intellectual ability. Specific academic aptitude.Specific academic aptitude. Creative or productive thinking.Creative or productive thinking. Leadership and human relations abilities.Leadership and human relations abilities. Visual arts, performing arts, spatial or musical abilities.Visual arts, performing arts, spatial or musical abilities. Areas of Identification…

General or specific intellectual ability.General or specific intellectual ability. Specific academic aptitude.Specific academic aptitude. Creative or productive thinking.Creative or productive thinking. Leadership and human relations abilities.Leadership and human relations abilities. Visual arts, performing arts, spatial or musical abilities.Visual arts, performing arts, spatial or musical abilities. Areas of Identification… Areas of identification in PSD

Gifted students are just as different from the average as special education students

This means they have different needs…

Knows the answers Bright Gifted Asks the Questions

Is Interested Bright Gifted Is Highly Curious

Answers Questions Bright Gifted Questions Answers

Grasps the Meaning Bright Gifted Draws Inferences

Enjoys School Bright Gifted Enjoys Learning

Is Pleased With Own Learning Bright Gifted Is Highly Self- Critical

Enjoys Same- Age Peers Bright Gifted Prefers Older Children or Adults

Works Hard Bright Gifted Can Play Around and Still Get Good Results

Pays Attention Bright Gifted Gets Involved Mentally, Physically, and Emotionally

Is in the Top Group Bright Gifted Can Think Beyond the Top Group

Gifted students are gifted in all areas/subjectsGifted students are gifted in all areas/subjects Gifted students are arrogant, difficult, and obsessiveGifted students are arrogant, difficult, and obsessive Gifted kids don’t need teachers and the typical amount of teacher attentionGifted kids don’t need teachers and the typical amount of teacher attention Gifted students need more work than other studentsGifted students need more work than other students School is a good experience for gifted students because they score well on tests and make good gradesSchool is a good experience for gifted students because they score well on tests and make good grades Myths about GT

According to George Betts, Ed.D.: There are 6 types of Gifted people

The Successfu The Challenging The Underground The At-Risk The Twice Exceptional Autonomous Learner

8 GREAT GRIPES: No one explains what being gifted is all about – it’s kept a big secret.

8 GREAT GRIPES: School is too easy and too boring.

8 GREAT GRIPES: Parents, teachers, and friends expect us to be perfect all the time.

8 GREAT GRIPES: Friends who really understand us are few and far between.

8 GREAT GRIPES: Kids often tease us about being smart.

8 GREAT GRIPES: We feel overwhelmed by the number of things we can do in life.

8 GREAT GRIPES: We feel different and alienated.

8 GREAT GRIPES: We worry about world problems and feel helpless to do anything about them.

GT in Poudre School District Math Language Arts

GT in Poudre School District Math Language Arts Creativity

Elementary & Secondary GT Site Coordinators Identification ALP’s (Advanced Learning Plans) Programming (refer to book) Acceleration, Enrichment, AP/Honors, IB, grouping, Affective Needs, etc.

Identification BODY OF EVIDENCE Intellectual Abilities Achievement Demonstrated Performance Behavior/ Characteristics

Tier 1 (90 th – 94 th percentile): Differentiated instruction in the regular education classroom should meet the student’s needs for continued growth. Tier 2 (95 th – 97 th percentile): Differentiated instruction in the regular education classroom, plus Additional services may be needed to meet the student’s needs for continued growth. Tier 3 (97 th – 99 th percentile): Differentiated instruction in the regular education classroom, plus The most intense additional services are required to meet the student’s needs for continued growth. Tiers of Interventions

Pre-Screening: 3 rd Grade CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) Identification Procedures

Students Previous Test Scores are assessed:assessed CSAP MAP *Any score on a standardized instrument over 95% can be used Identification Procedures

Does a student have 2 scores 95%+? If yes – Identification complete! If no – More assessment is needed Identification Procedures

Identification BODY OF EVIDENCE Intellectual Abilities Achievement Demonstrated Performance Behavior/ Characteristics

Other Assessments Used: CogAT (for students entering PSD after 3 rd grade) TONI (non-verbal) WIAT (achievement) GATES (rating scales) Rubrics (performance) Identification Procedures

Provides Information About: Tier 2 or 3 Interventions Provided Goals for ALPs: SMART goals (content and affective) linked to specific instructional strategies More individualized Evaluation Process Collaboration (parents & teachers) Gifted Education Plans Gifted Education Plans or Advanced Learning Plans

HOW CAN YOU HELP? OBSERVATION RATING SCALES RUBRICS KNOWING THE PROCESS! Identification Procedures

Pace Accelerated Instruction Minimum Repetition Level Advanced Content A high degree of complexity and abstraction In-depth study Instructional Needs of Advanced and Gifted Learners:

Nothing! This perpetuates the myth that gifted children make it on their own and therefore denies them the right to learn. What is the worst thing to do to gifted students?

Synthesis (create) Evaluation (Judge) Analysis (Examine) Application (Use) Comprehension (Understand) Knowledge (Know) Bloom’s Taxonomy

Tiered Lessons Differentiated Instruction for Gifted Learners Challenge Complexity Resources Outcome Process Product

Tiered Lessons Differentiated Instruction for Gifted Learners Challenge Complexity Resources Outcome Process Product

Phrase each learning description as succinctly as possible. Content + Process + Product = Learning Activity Writing Learning Activities Content – reflects unit and essential questions

Phrase each learning description as succinctly as possible. Content + Process + Product = Learning Activity Writing Learning Activities Process – reflects thinking processes & the level of challenge (Bloom’s!)

Phrase each learning description as succinctly as possible. Content + Process + Product = Learning Activity Writing Learning Activities Product – End result! How do students show what they have learned?

Phrase each learning description as succinctly as possible. Write a script and role play a scene from a fable. Writing Learning Activities

Phrase each learning description as succinctly as possible. On a chart, categorize various composers according to musical style. Writing Learning Activities

Identify the content, skills, and products for a particular unit, as well as any required curriculum standards Curriculum Mapping

Exit Points: Is there a point when a student may need more time to work on a skill or content? Is there an activity that could result in more than one way to show what the student has learned? Is there an activity in which students could benefit from working on the same outcome but different kinds of work? Curriculum Mapping

Planning tool for curriculum units that specifically address levels of challenge Matrix Planning

Grouping Flexible Groups Ability Groups Cooperative Groups

High levels of retention with an extraordinary amount of information Accelerated pace of learning Advanced comprehension, deep understanding Unusually varied interests and curiosity Differentiated Instruction for Gifted Learners

Advanced Vocabulary Flexibility in Thinking (Creativity) Ability to Generate Original Ideas and Solutions Ability to Think in Abstract Terms and Sense Consequences Evaluative, Judgmental Thinking Persistent Goal-directed Behavior Differentiated Instruction for Gifted Learners

Is this an appropriate learning experience? Can all students do this? Should all students do this? Do the learning experiences vary in complexity? Is the pace of instruction appropriate? Questions to Guide

Conclusions: By definitions, GT kids are different. They won’t just “get it anyway.” If instruction isn’t on their level, they might never learn how to respond when they are faced with an academic challenge (underachievement and/or perfectionism) Parents, teachers, and school counselors with an understanding of giftedness can make a huge difference in these students’ lives.