1. Session Goals: Know the cognitive and affective characteristics of gifted learners Understand the resource-cluster model as designed and implemented in Virginia Beach City Public Schools Understand the differentiation of curriculum and instruction according to readiness, areas of interest, and learning profile Understand the role of assessment in differentiation 1 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education

2. Elementary Gifted Resource Program Resource-Cluster Model If I admit to being gifted, what’s in it for me? 2 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education

3. 3 Definition of Giftedness United States Office of Education definition of Gifted and Talented Students "those who have outstanding abilities, are capable of high performance and who require differentiated educational programs (beyond those normally provided by regular school programs) in order to realize their contribution to self and society."

4. K-1 Talent Pool Resource Grades 9-12 K-12 Continuum of Services Resource-Cluster Model Grades 2-8 4 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education Old Donation Center (Gr. 2-5) Kemps Landing Magnet School (Gr. 6-8)

5. Resource-Cluster Model The resource-cluster model is an arrangement in which a group (cluster) of identified gifted students is assigned to a classroom with a cluster teacher who collaborates with the gifted resource teacher to provide differentiated curriculum and instruction. The cluster teacher is responsible for delivering gifted services in collaboration with the GRT. 5 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education

6. Resource-Cluster Program Goals and Objectives: To differentiate curriculum and instruction in order to provide rigor and challenge for intellectually gifted students to meet their emotional and intellectual needs To provide effective staff development opportunities for resource teachers, cluster teachers, regular education teachers, and administrators To promote the awareness of the unique needs of gifted students among parents, school, staff, and the community 6 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education

7. The Role of the Elementary Gifted Resource Teacher 7 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education

8. Advocacy Direct support of students (e.g., time management, organizational skills, and communication skills support) and parents Presentations and workshops on gifted education topics; promotion of gifted pedagogy GRT participation in parent and teacher conferences School newsletter articles, school website articles and documents posted Sharing of resources (presentations & print material) 8 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education

9. Staff Development and Parent Education The gifted resource teacher provides ongoing staff development opportunities for teachers, parents, and administrators as they work collaboratively to meet the cognitive and affective needs of gifted learners. 9 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education

10. Communication With Stakeholders: Gifted and Talented Bulletin (citywide newsletter) Parent meetings and workshops PTA newsletters Websites Letters, bulletins, and Good News notes Surveys & Questionnaires 10 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education

11. The Role of the Elementary Cluster Classroom Teacher 11 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education

12. Differentiation of Curriculum and Instruction Designing curriculum that ratchets content beginning with the key concepts in the Virginia Beach Instructional Objectives, focuses on big ideas within and across disciplines, and facilitates learning experiences that are rich, rigorous, and joyful. 12 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education

13. K: Exploration1: Patterns 2: Systems3: Structures4: Relationships  exploration confronts the unknown  exploration may result in "new findings" or the confirmation of "old findings"  exploration requires recognizing purpose and responding to it  patterns have segments that are repeated  patterns allow for prediction  patterns have an internal order  patterns are enablers  systems have parts that work to complete a task  systems are composed of sub- systems  parts of systems are interdependent upon one another and form symbiotic relationships  a system may be influenced by other systems  systems interact  systems follow rules  everything is related in some way  all relationships are purposeful  relationships change over time  structures have parts that interrelate  parts of structures support and are supported by other parts  smaller structures may be combined to form larger structures  a structure is no stronger than its weakest component part 5: Change6: Force7: Conflict8: Order vs. Chaos  change generates additional change  change can be either positive or negative  change is inevitable  change is necessary for growth  change can be evolutionary or revolutionary  change is linked to time  change is everywhere  change may be perceived as orderly or random  change may happen naturally or may be caused by people  force attracts, holds, or repels  force influences or changes  force and inertia are co- dependent  force may be countered with equal or greater force  conflict is composed of opposing forces  conflict may be natural or man-made  conflict may be intentional or unintentional  conflict may allow for synthesis and change  order may be natural or constructed  order may allow for prediction  order is a form of communication  order may have repeated patterns  order and chaos are reciprocals  order leads to chaos and chaos leads to order K-8 Macroconcepts 13 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education

14. Gifted Program Benchmarks The gifted program benchmarks include specific curricular and instructional goals for students in Virginia Beach City Public Schools who are identified for intellectual gifted services. Curriculum and instruction to meet the needs of gifted learners is in alignment with these learner outcomes. 14 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education

15. Collaboration The gifted resource teacher works collaboratively with the cluster teachers (planning, co- teaching, coaching, reviewing student work, debriefing lessons, and providing feedback) to implement the model. 15 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education

16. Differentiation of instruction is a teacher’s response to a learner’s needs Guided by general principles of differentiation, such as Respectful tasks are learning experiences matched to the needs of the student. Tasks that are respectful of the learner honor the differences among students’ readiness levels (appropriately rigorous), areas of interest (engage the learner), and learning profile (attends to learner processing). Ongoing assessment and adjustment involves the use of pre-, ongoing, and post- assessment data on learner readiness, areas of interest, and learning profile to make adjustments in curriculum and instruction. Flexible grouping is characterized by the combination of whole group, small group, and independent work. Learners’ readiness, interests, and learning profiles serve as the basis for groups. Student groups remain flexible because they are responsive to changes in students’ readiness, interests, and learning profile. With high quality curriculum for all learners as the foundation, teachers can differentiate Content Content is the what. Content is defined by the Virginia Beach Instructional Objectives and the Virginia Standards of Learning. The content is what students will know, understand, and be able to do as a result of the sequence of teaching and learning. Process Process is the how. Process is how students will make sense of the content. The process is made up of the strategies and methods that form the sequence of teaching and learning. Product Products are the vehicles by which students demonstrate their knowledge, understanding, and skills. They are the tools teachers use to assess student progress toward the content goals. Learning Environment Learning environment is the where. The learning environment is the organization of time, space, and resources for teaching and learning. It is the context in which teaching and learning take place. Developing a strong community of learners is essential to effective differentiation. According to student’s Readiness The goal of differentiating by learner readiness is growth. Readiness is the point at which knowledge, skills, attitudes, and preparedness for learning converge so that the student is able to meet the demands of an educational experience. Readiness is constantly evolving and changing. If all learners are to progress toward content goals, the varying degrees of readiness for a given objective must be honored. Differentiation according to learner readiness provides an appropriate level of challenge. Interests The goal of differentiating by student interest is motivation. If students are going to persist in rigorous content, they must be engaged. Differentiation according to student interest provides guided choices based upon content standards (VBOs/SOLs) where such choices are both appropriate and motivating. Learning Profile The goal of differentiating by learner profile is efficiency. Identifying the ways in which students best learn helps organize curriculum and instruction so they learn things in a more efficient manner. A student’s learning profile is the combination of ways in which he/she best processes information. Adapted by VIRGINIA BEACH CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS from The Differentiated Classroom by Carol Ann Tomlinson, 1999 16

17. 17 2011 VBCPS Office of Gifted Education