OBLIGATION AND OPPORTUNITY EDUCATING GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH

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OBLIGATION AND OPPORTUNITYEDUCATING GIFTED AND
TALENTED STUDENTS ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH

• Susie Burkhardt
• Student Achievement Consultant
• Shelby County Public Schools

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WITH HELP FROM
Ten Things All Administrators Should Know About
Gifted Children Joyce VanTassel-Baska,
Ed.D.Center for Gifted EducationThe College of
William and Mary
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OBLIGATION

• Our responsibility to every child entrusted to us.

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OBLIGATION 1IDENTIFICATION

• Gifted students are not all alike. They vary in
  respect to general ability, domain-specific
  aptitude, interests and predispositions, and
  motivation and personality. Thus one program or
  service is insufficient to respond to their
  diverse needs.

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LEVELS OF INTELLECTUAL GIFTEDNESS

• Levels of Giftedness
• Mildly (115 - 129)
• basically
• Moderately (130 - 144)
• Highly (145 - 159)
• Exceptionally (160 - 179)
• Profoundly

• Prevalence
• 16 ? 140
• 140 ? 11,000
• 11,000 ? 110,000
• 110,000 ? 11 million
• Fewer than 11 million

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704 KAR 3285. Programs for the gifted and
talented.
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY KRS
157.200(1)(n) includes within the definition of
"exceptional children" a category of "exceptional
students" who are identified as possessing
demonstrated or potential ability to perform at
an exceptionally high level in general
intellectual aptitude, specific academic
aptitude, creative or divergent thinking,
psychosocial or leadership skills, or in the
visual or performing arts. KRS 157.224(1) commits
the state to a comprehensive educational program
for its exceptional school-aged children. KRS
157.230 requires all school districts to operate
programs for resident exceptional children,
primary - grade twelve (12). This administrative
regulation establishes the requirements for
programs for gifted and talented students
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OBLIGATION 2A PROGRAM THAT ENCOURAGES GROWTH

• Students come to school to learn.
• Intentional programming leads to learning for all
• Finding what they know and need to learn
• At least one years growth in one year of school
• What they wont learn without challenge
• Study skills/Work ethic
• How to fail and learn from it
• Tenacity
• Love of learning

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PROGRAM CONSIDERATIONS

• Continuous Progress
• Interaction with Intellectual Peers
• Grouping Practices
• Acceleration
• Rigor
• Scheduling
• Emotional Needs
• Social Needs

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CONTINUOUS PROGRESS

• According to the research on the nature of
  intelligence and the brain, we either progress or
  regress depending on our participation in
  stimulation appropriate to our level of
  development.

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INTELLECTUAL PEERS
Gifted students benefit from interaction with
peers. Intellectual peerage contributes to
important growth patterns in all subject areas
(Kulik Kulik, 1992). For example, cooperative
learning, carried out in heterogeneous classroom
settings, produces no growth (Rogers, 2001).
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GROUPING STUDENTS
Grouping gifted students together for instruction
increases achievement for gifted students, and in
some cases, also for students who are achieving
at average and below average levels.
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ACCELERATION
Gifted students need various forms of
acceleration throughout their school years,
ranging from content acceleration to Advanced
Placement or dual enrollment to mentorships
(Shiever Maker, 2003 Renzulli Reis, 2003
Clasen Clasen, 2003).
Gifted students need to be challenged and
stimulated by an advanced and enriched curriculum
that is above their current level of functioning
in each area of learning (VanTassel-Baska, 2003).
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RIGOR
Gifted students are capable of producing high
level products in specific areas of learning at
the level of a competent adult (NAGC, 1990). For
example, fifth graders can draft a policy for
pollution that would rival an adult community
committee.
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SCHEDULING
Gifted students at elementary level require
differentiated staffing and flexible scheduling
to accommodate their needs at secondary level,
they require special classes (Feldhusen, 2003).
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EMOTIONAL NEEDS

• Gifted students have counseling needs that
  require psychosocial, academic, and career
  preparation on an annual basis (Colangelo, 2003
  Greene, 2003 Jackson Snow, 2004 Silverman,
  1993).
• Gifted students have affective characteristics
  that render them vulnerable in school settings
  such as perfectionism, sensitivity, and intensity
  (Lovecky, 1992 Robinson, 2002).

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SOCIAL NEEDS

• Gifted students in general have healthy social
  relationships and adjust well to new situations
  (Robinson, 2002). Concerns for social development
  more than cognitive growth are rarely warranted.

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OPPORTUNITY

• An occasion to act on behalf of gifted students.

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PAYBACK TO SOCIETY

• Appropriately educating all students is important
  for the future of the Commonwealth.

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BE AN ADVOCATE

• Include gifted students in your district
  discussions
• Share the White Paper with legislators
• Provide on-going professional development for
  teachers
• Join KAGE
• Have conversations with parents of gifted
  students
• Publicize opportunities for gifted students

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Gifted students dont look needy because their
needs are created by their strengths. Reality
finds these needs to be every bit as intense as
the needs of other exceptional children. Dr.
Julia Roberts, Director, The Center for Gifted
Studies, Western Kentucky University