Gifted and Talented Academy Year 2 Curriculum and Instruction Session 3

Agenda Welcome/Check In Content/Standards Focus –Iowa Core –NAGC Standards Universal Constructs Curriculum Documents Team Planning Closure

Desired State… Individually… What do you want for the gifted students who graduate from West Des Moines Schools? Share with a partner.

Universal Constructs Critical thinking Complex Communication Creativity Collaboration Flexibility and Adaptability Productivity and Accountability

Iowa Core Read the Iowa Core overviewoverview Identify the key purposes of the Iowa Core Standards. Share

NAGC Programming Criterion 3 Read intro & identify key words/ideas Share with a partner Read through the outcomes and evidence- based practices. Discuss what these do or could look like in programming.

Rationale for a Standards Focus Standards will… …ensure students learn what they need to know for success in the 21 st century …ensure educational quality …provide guideposts …provide a curriculum template VanTassel-Baska, p. 37-9

Standards as Core Curriculum Basic content areas are the organizational framework for schools Content-based instruction provides natural context for curriculum planning Gifted spend majority of time in traditional subject-matter disciplines Giftedness is often conceptualized as domain- specific Applying higher-level skills to content enhances transfer --VanTassel-Baska, p

Problems with Standards Teachers don’t perceive standards as helpful in differentiation for most able students. Standards are perceived as low-level. Perception that standards are content-based and, therefore, inappropriate for gifted. Assessments have been found to be narrow, less demanding, and tied to factual material. Effectively implementing strong standards- based education benefits students but requires stronger teacher planning.

Adapting Standards for Gifted Many are already high-level, so tasks for gifted can be developed directly from the standard Unpack the standards to determine scope and intent Use essence of the standard as rubric for assessment Organize by HOTS across subject areas Accelerate within standard after pretesting Select materials that address the intent – not just content – of the standard

This requires… …the use of effective teaching and learning models e.g., Richard Paul’s Reasoning ModelReasoning Model …flexible grouping practices

Using the Reasoning Model Triads Apply Paul’s Reasoning Model to the issue/problem of quality curriculum for the gifted.

What is the issue? Quality curriculum for gifted learners Why are we reasoning about it? (purpose/goal) What are the points of view? What are the assumptions people make? What are the important concepts? What evidence supports the point of view? What inferences can we make? What would be the consequences of different actions? --based on Paul (1992) Center for Gifted Education The College of William and Mary

Gifted educators will be able to defend their practice only when they thoughtfully implement a standards-based curriculum that is adapted and modified for gifted learners. When such action is taken, gifted education becomes a part of general education reform rather than an endeavor separate from it. --VanTassel-Baska, p. 51

Curriculum Framework A strategic plan for curriculum –Overall goals and outcomes across all areas and grade levels –Links goals and outcomes to strategies for accomplishing them –Assessment approaches that measure outcomes

Curriculum Framework Purposes/Benefits –Creates consensus on what a gifted curriculum is supposed to be –Provides a specific tangible product that answers the question of what a district’s curriculum for the gifted is –Brings teachers and administrators into curriculum planning in a meaningful way –Represents a communication tool –Captures distinctive features and reveals balance.

Curriculum Framework Review Fairfax County Curriculum Framework (Ch. 4, p ) –What do you notice about this document? –What are its essential features? –What purposes might it fulfill? Review p See “Student Goals and Outcomes” found on the Wiki. –How would turning this into a curriculum framework document make it more meaningful and useful?

Thoughts on a Curriculum Framework Document Outlines what students will gain from gifted programming and services Integrates gifted into general education Applicable to all content areas Your thoughts?

Scope and Sequence Scope – expansiveness and comprehensiveness of a curriculum Sequence – organizing and ordering of curriculum experiences to maximize learner effects In what ways – if at all – might scope and sequence for gifted learners be different from that for typical learners?

Scope at the Course Level 7 th Grade8 th Grade Typical LearnersPre-AlgebraAlgebra I Gifted LearnersPre-Algebra/Algebra IAlgebra II College Algebra or other advanced topic Comprehensive Curriculum for Gifted Learners, p. 47

Sequence Considerations Comprehensive Curriculum for Gifted Learners, p. 49 IssuesQuestions Differentiation for gifted learnersCould all learners do this task at the cited stage of development, or is the task demand more advanced, complex, or conceptual?all learners Progressive development of learning How are the objectives more sophisticated as they move through the grades? Can you track such progression? ScopeAre the objectives sufficiently broad-based and inclusive of underlying knowledge and skills necessary to address the goal? Logical orderingIs there a logical sequencing of knowledge and skills necessary to attain the goal? Developmental appropriatenessAre the objectives developmentally appropriate for gifted learners? Do they account for the readiness of gifted learners for advanced content earlier?

Start Doing!

Team Planning Develop student goals & outcomes as the beginning of a curriculum framework document. Begin work on a scope and sequence for these goals.

Home Play Finish curriculum framework document. Read Chapters 7, 8, & 9 in Curriculum Planning & Instructional Design for Gifted Learners and respond to Moodle forum. For next time bring a literacy or math unit, instructional materials, and district standards/benchmarks.

Curriculum for the Gifted Acceleration Complexity Depth Challenge Creativity Five Key Features

Could, Should, Would Could all kids do this? Should all kids do this? Would all kids want to?