Gifted Education

Please respond to each discussion with 5 strong sentences to fulfill requirement for the discussions.

Class 2 Discussions:

1) Reflect on the following statements.

In a typical public classroom, there are 27 students whose academic performance spans five grade levels.

-from “Support and Sabotage: Principal’s Influence on Middle School Teachers’ Responses to Differentiation” in The Journal of Secondary Gifted Education.

High-ability learners received no differentiated instruction in 84% of the activities.

-from “The Classroom Practices Observation Study” in Journal for the Education of Gifted.

2) How might grouping strategies affect student achievement? How might allowing students to work at their own pace affect student achievement?

3) Look at the graphics titled Differentiation of Instruction and How Will We Respond if They Already Know. How do you most often differentiate instruction – by readiness level, interest, or learning profile? Could you differentiate more through content, process, product, or the environment? Do you differentiate instruction for students who already know the content?

4) View the questioning resources titled 5 Simple Questions, Formative Instructional Practices, Standards for Mathematical Practice Questions, and Q-Chart. Also explore the Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrices. Which questioning resource speaks to you most? (Use the title of the resource as the subject of your email thread.) How could you use one of these resources in your classroom?

5) Read "The Sciences of Teaching." What's one thing you could do to create a classroom culture in which "peers pull together for mutual growth and success," as Tomlinson and Sousa say is key? Why did you select that strategy, and how will you apply it in your classroom? If you tried or already use the strategy, explain its impact.

6) Teachers should use a variety of strategies to provide access to all learners. Pick one of your favorite instructional strategies (not already discussed in this course) to share with your classmates. Name the strategy and describe how you use it. (Use the strategy name as the subject of your email thread.) Include content it can address as well as ways to adapt the strategy. Feel free to include pictures or links to additional resources.

Class 3 Discussions:

1) Look at the Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) at https://fcit(dot)usf(dot)edu/matrix/matrix/Links to an external site.. Rank your classroom in the areas of active, collaborative, constructive, authentic, and goal-directed. Choose an area to develop. Watch one of the featured videos for that category and reflect what you can do to move to the next level on the matrix. Title the thread with the area you want to develop.

2) Think about a time in your life when you received feedback. It can be from childhood through adulthood, personal or professional. It can be positive or negative, general or specific. Briefly share that feedback and how you reacted to it. You will likely relate to others and realize the significant impact feedback can have.

3) Explore Project-Based Learning. Find projects and rubrics at https://www(dot)pblworks(dot)org/Links to an external site.. You may even create a free account (using your work email address) to have greater access to the website.

There are two choices for discussion topics:

-Based on the projects listed, briefly describe a small-scale activity you could try in your classroom that is interdisciplinary and has some characteristics of project-based learning. The discussion subject should include the project, content addressed, and grade level. (i.e. Project Addressing Biology for 10thGrade or Math Project Addressing Graphing at the Middle School Level)

-Copy, create, or adapt a general rubric for skills like collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. This rubric will not be content-specific. Share a picture of your rubric in the discussion board and explain when you would use it. The discussion subject should include rubric, grade level, and the skill addressed like collaboration and creativity. (i.e. Rubric for 3rd Grade on Collaboration)

4) Choose two or more articles to read from the October 2017 edition of Educational Leadership called Unleashing Problem Solvers. (The articles are in the module under the assignments.) Choose one sentence that speaks to you from an article you read. Write that sentence as the subject of your discussion thread. In the body/text, identify the article you read and describe why that sentence speaks to you.

5) Identify the high school you teach or the high school your school feeds into. What offerings does your high school have? Are there Advanced Placement (AP) courses? Is there evidence of Dual Enrollment opportunities? Is it an International Baccalaureate (IB) school? Are there other opportunities that might impact gifted learners? The purpose is to learn more about DeKalb schools and to make connections between elementary, middle, and high schools.

6) There are many resources outside of the district. Share a favorite resource for performance tasks or rubrics. One example for math is the Mathematics Assessment Project at https://www(dot)map(dot)mathshell(dot)org/Links to an external site.. Feel free to describe a book or classroom resource instead of a website. For example, the writing

checklists in the Units of Study from Heinemann compare two grade levels and can be used for goal setting. Share a specific resource you like. Please include the following in the subject of the thread: grade level, content area, and resource title. (i.e. MS and HS Summative Assessments from the Mathematics

Assessment Project) The goal is for participants to learn about other resources that could help plan instruction.

Class 4 Discussions:

1) Read Fact Sheet #6 - Performance Standard 6: Assessment Uses from the Teacher Keys Effectiveness System (TKES). Which of the sample performance indicators will you emphasize for the remainder of this school year or the beginning of next school year? Be specific with action steps. Title your thread with the indicator.

2) TKES Standard 6 states, “The teacher systematically gathers, analyzes, and uses relevant data to measure student progress, to inform instructional content and delivery methods, and to provide timely and constructive feedback to both students and parents.” How are you assessing students? What tools are you using to assess students in a variety of ways?

3) The State of Georgia has two options for gifted eligibility as illustrated on page 11 of the Georgia Resource Manual for Gifted Education Services. Option A requires qualifying scores in mental ability (CogAT) and achievement (MAP). Option B requires qualifying scores in three out of four areas: mental ability, achievement, creativity, and motivation.

Explore various assessments for creativity and motivation which include Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) Figural, Gifted Evaluation Scale (GES), and Renzulli. NOTE: The GES and Renzulli are both teacher rating scales. Know that the State of Georgia only accepts one teacher rating scale as a qualifying score for gifted identification.

Share your thoughts on Georgia’s two options for gifted eligibility and the assessments for creativity and motivation.



4) Read the six ideas for fostering creativity on the Creativity Task Cards in VERGE. Choose one activity and share how you could use this activity with your content and grade level. Title the thread with the name of the activity.



5) View the Gifted Education site from the Georgia Department of Education. Explore DeKalb County’s gifted page on the district website as it is our external communication for families and community members. View the district’s SharePoint site which is an internal site primarily used by the gifted liaison at each school. Explore the website of at least one other district in the United States. Consider your experiences with gifted education and the knowledge gained from this program.

What is one change we could make as a district or at your own school to strengthen DeKalb’s gifted program? This is intentionally open-ended and could lead down a variety of paths from small changes to significant movements.



6) The DeKalb County School District does not use products or portfolios to qualify students for gifted services in the areas of creativity or motivation. According to the Georgia Resource Manual for Gifted Education Services, students may “receive from a panel of qualified evaluators a score at or above 90 on a 100 point scale on a structured observation/evaluation of creative products and/or performances.” It continues, “As evidence of motivation, students, or individuals on behalf of students, may submit products or evidence of outstanding performances made during the two calendar years prior to evaluation. The products or performances submitted shall be reviewed by a panel of qualified evaluators.” Choose an assignment from any student that you think illustrates giftedness in the area of creativity or motivation. Describe the assignment and what the student did to demonstrate creativity or motivation. Upload a picture. Would you like to see our district utilize products to qualify students in the areas of creativity or motivation? Why or why not?