SPECIAL POPULATIONS

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SPECIAL POPULATIONS

• Talented and Gifted Learners
• Rebecca Blocher, TAG Specialist,
• Oregon Department of Education
  rebecca.blocher_at_state.or.us 503-947-5931

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Who are these students?The Oregon Definition of
TAG

• Talented and gifted children means those children
  who require special educational programs or
  services, or both, beyond those normally provided
  by the regular school programs in order to
  realize their contribution to self and society
  and who demonstrate outstanding ability or
  potential in one or more of the following areas

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Oregon TAG Definitioncontinued . . .

• General Intellectual ability as commonly measured
  by measures of intelligence or aptitude
• Unusual academic ability in one or more academic
  areas
• Creative ability in using original or
  nontraditonal methods in thinking and producing
• Leadership ability in motivating the performance
  of others either in educational or noneducational
  settings
• Ability in the visual or performing arts, such as
  dance, music, or art.

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TAG Students andCommon Core

• The Oregon TAG Mandate Remains.
• Districts are required to
• Identify TAG students
• Provide instructional services to TAG students
• Instruction is in the general education classroom
  (most often) through the differentiation of
  instruction (DI)

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The Level and Rate of Instruction

• The requirement for reaching TAG students through
  instruction at the appropriate Level and Rate
  remains in place
• The instruction provided to identified (TAG)
  students shall be designed to accommodate their
  assessed levels of learning and accelerated rates
  of learning.
• (Oregon Administrative Rule 582-022-1330)
• The instructional level moves up with the
  learners needs
• The instructional rate (pace) moves with the
  learners needs
• The depth and complexity of CCSS provide
  challenge.

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Common Core Alignment and TAG Students

• The alignment to Common Core raises the
  expectations for all learners
• Identified TAG students may enjoy the inherent
  challenge in the new higher level learning,
  questioning, and opportunities to demonstrate
  learning in different ways.
• However, identified TAG students could also not
  be comfortable stepping up to sufficient
  challenge.

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Sufficient Challengefor TAG Students

• Varies by the students area of TAG
  identification
• Varies by the place in curriculum in which the
  student is placed and instructed
• Students learning should be different learning,
  not more of the same.
• TAG students will grapple with higher
  expectations. In the end . . .
• EFFORT EQUALS ACHIEVEMENT

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TAG Students and CCSS

• TAG students will probably re-calibrate to the
  higher level instruction quickly with
• The challenge in HOTS (Higher Order Thinking
  Skills)
• Opportunities for Integrated Thinking
• Opportunities to hold one thought while
  integrating a new thought in a different way
• Students conclusions appear later in the
  learning process, but eventually students are
  more satisfied with their own learning extensions
  and expressions.
• One caution TAG students should never be used
  as the second teacher in the classroom. High
  ability learners have the right to learn
  something new each day for their intellectual
  growth and personal learning.