JOYCE VAN TASSEL-BASKA, ED.D. COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY HAIFA UNIVERSITY WORKSHOP APRIL 10, 2011 Key Essentials of Curriculum Development for the Gifted

Purpose of the workshop Participants will be able to: --understand what differentiation for the gifted is and is not -- apply principles of differentiation to selected curriculum areas, and --remodel activities to make them more differentiated. 2

The Landscape of Education Standards, Assessments, and Accountability Teacher Quality Time for Learning World-Class Science and Mathematics Literacy for Learning Equity and excellence ---National Academy of Education,

How People Learn New knowledge is constructed based on existing conceptions and beliefs Usable knowledge is connected and organized around important concepts that support transfer of learning The use of deliberate learning strategies to scaffold instruction - National Research Council,

Gifted Achievement Gap cont. Performance on NAEP across ten years of high stakes testing remains “languid” for the gifted while all other groups show growth (Fordham Foundation, 2008) Teachers report spending less time and attention on high performers in the classroom than on low performers (Fordham, 2008) 5

REDESIGN CURRICULUM GOALS, OUTCOMES, ACTIVITIES, CHOICE OF MATERIALS, AND ASSESSMENTS IN RELEVANT CURRICULUM AREAS. Design Matters 6

CURRICULUM DESIGN ELEMENTS 1 Learner Characteristics & Needs 2 Curriculum Goals 3 Outcomes/Objectives 4 Activities/Task Demands/Questions 5 Teaching-Learning Strategies 6 Materials & Resources 7 Assessment of Outcomes 8 Evaluation of Curriculum/Revision 7

Sample curriculum goal: To develop critical thinking Sample outcomes and objectives Analyze different points of view on a given issue Draw appropriate inferences, given a set of data Forecast consequences and implications of a given decision or action Center for Gifted Education The College of William and Mary 8

Sample Activities Read Moliere’s The Misanthrope and discuss the following questions: What characterizes a misanthrope? How does Moliere satirize the character? How is this play similar to others by Moliere? *************************************************** Using the following criteria, create a model of an aquarium and explain its make-up: Specifications of tank size Number and type of fish and plants Light & water filtration system Setting What variables are most important to consider in constructing your aquarium. Why? How would you describe your aquarium as a living system? 9

A Sample Task Demand Incorporating Multiple Standards Across Content Areas Ask students to design an experiment to test a question of interest to them: Examples: A. Do people prefer Product X over Product Y? B. Are ants attracted to sugar? C. Are girls more addicted to computers than boys? A research report must be prepared and presented, using technology applications. Be sure to address your hypothesis,your data collection techniques, appropriate data tables, your conclusions, and your implications of the findings based on your original question. 10

Sample Outcome and Assessment Outcome: Students will be able to analyze different points of view on a given topic or issue. Assessment: (Controlled setting response: 50 minutes) Given the issue of human cloning, identify three different stakeholder groups in society who would have different perspectives on this issue; analyze each of their perspectives and the reasons behind it in a well-developed essay. 11

Student Outcomes related to NAGC Curriculum Standards Demonstrate growth commensurate with aptitude during the school year. Develop their abilities in their domain of talent and/or area of interest Use critical and creative thinking in solving problems within their talent domain 12

Student outcomes cont. Transfer advanced knowledge and skills across environments that lead to creative, productive careers in society Become more self aware from their engagement in curriculum and evidence-based instructional practices Believe in their ability (i.e. self efficacy) 13

Curriculum Standards Elements Alignment with relevant content standards Comprehensive scope and sequence of opportunities in all curriculum areas Use of acceleration techniques, including preassessment, formative assessment, and pacing Use of differentiation strategies 14

Standards Elements cont. Adaptation or replacement of the core curriculum Use of culturally sensitive curriculum approaches leading to cultural competence Use of inquiry-based strategies Use of research-based materials Use of strategies that teach critical and creative thinking, research, and problem-solving skills 15

Standards Elements cont. Use of information technologies Use of metacognitive strategies Use of community resources Career development Talent development in areas of aptitude and interest in various domains (cognitive, affective, aesthetic) 16

What is Differentiation? The process of differentiation is the deliberate adaptation and modification of the curriculum, instructional processes, and assessments to respond to the needs of gifted learners. 17

What is Appropriate Curriculum for the Gifted? Advanced and accelerated Complex In depth Challenging Creative Conceptual 18

What are appropriate instructional models? Inquiry (shared, PBL, project-based) Critical thinking (Bloom, Paul) Creative thinking (CPS, SCAMPER) Problem-solving (scientific method, PBL) Research (experimental design, social science models) 19

Differentiation Feature: Acceleration Fewer tasks assigned to master standard Assessed earlier or prior to teaching Clustered by higher order thinking skills Center for Gifted Education – School of Education – The College of William and Mary 20

Example of differentiated task Phase I Pretest student knowledge and skills of statistics. Group students by results of the pretest in groups of 4. Provide streamlined instruction for the top group. Provide task demands for the top group, using a problem solving approach. 21

Example of differentiated task Phase II Assignment of task demand to the top group: Use statistics (ie.mean, median, mode, frequencies and percentages) to analyze one of the following data sets, prepare graphs to illustrate your understanding of the data, and present findings in a presentation to the school at a science symposium. 22

Options for Phase II Health care expenses for people in each decade of life from 10 to 90 years for the years , OR Auto sales in the US by car type across 10 years compared to world sales for those same car makes, OR Ten year trends in salary for different sectors of the US economy for

Example of differentiated task Phase III Follow-up questions to consider:  What would you predict would be the trend for your data over the next 5 years?  How would you estimate it?  What factors would influence it? 24

Problem Using acceleration strategies, how could we differentiate a spelling program, the measurement strand in math, or the teaching of biology for the gifted? 25

Differentiation Feature: Complexity Used multiple higher level skills Added more variables to study Required multiple resources Center for Gifted Education – School of Education – The College of William and Mary 26

Example of differentiated task Analyze the social, political, and economic issues that influenced three ancient civilizations: Egyptian, Greek, and Roman. Synthesize their influence on each culture and evaluate how each issue contributed to the decline of each culture. Use at least 3 sources (one primary) to substantiate your claims in a 6-page research paper. 27

Problem How can we make the following activity more complex? Read one text on World War II and answer the following questions: Who was involved? What were the causes and results?. 28

Differentiation Feature: Depth Studied a concept in multiple applications Conducted original research Developed a product Center for Gifted Education – School of Education – The College of William and Mary 29

Example of differentiated task How could the concept of systems help us understand the following 3 applied scientific topics: swine flu, animal extinction, and weather patterns? Diagram the elements, interactions, boundaries, inputs and outputs affecting each of the three and compare. Choose one of these topics and research key questions of interest. Develop a brochure to share with the general public on your findings. 30

Problem How can we deepen student understanding of the concept of change as it applies to scientific topics? 31

Differentiation Feature: Challenge Advanced resources employed Sophisticated content stimuli used Cross-disciplinary applications made Reasoning made explicit Center for Gifted Education – School of Education – The College of William and Mary 32

Example of differentiated task Read selected works by 3 Nobel prize winners in literature and research how the theme of (wo)man’s inhumanity to (wo)man is used How can this theme be applied to art of the period, to world political upheavals, and to social injustice in the writer’s country of origin? What evidence exists to show how the author was influenced by these cultural connections? 33

Problem How can we challenge students in their understanding of the concept of leadership? 34

Differentiation Feature: Creativity Designed/constructed a model based on principles or criteria Provided alternatives for tasks, products, and assessments Emphasized oral and written communication to a real-world audience Center for Gifted Education – School of Education – The College of William and Mary 35

Example of differentiation Design an art product (your choice of a vase, a painting, or a collage of found objects) to demonstrate your understanding of the elements of color, balance, perspective, and theme. Write an artist’s statement about your art object that synthesizes its features and situates it in an artistic tradition. Exhibit your work at a local museum. 36

Problem How could you design a product demand for the gifted in your classroom that incorporates the design features of creativity? 37

Differentiation feature: Abstraction  Organize curriculum by abstract concepts, linked to specific topics  Focus student work on creating generalizations, based on data  Focus on themes, archetypal problems, axioms, theorems, laws, etc. rather than specific applications 38

Examples of differentiation Analyze the theme of “power” in three pieces of literature and in three visual art pieces. Compare and contrast how the theme is explicated in each piece. OR Create a set of three real world problems that require the use of proportional reasoning. OR Explain the theory of gravity as it applies to three aspects of working in space. 39

Problem How could we organize one or more of the following topics around a higher level theme or concept or theory? the study of magnets cells quarks plant growth animal habitats 40

Remodel the following project to make it more differentiated for the gifted: Author Study Contract Select a book to read by a given date and provide me with the name of the book. Choose two among the following activities to do: 1. Create a mindmap of a character in respect to personality, appearance, preferences etc. 2. Choose a passage from your book and explain its meaning in your own words.\ 3. I will draw a comic strip or story map, outlining the plot. 4. I will design a poster on the computer to advertise my book. 5. I will write a dialogue that I will role play. 41

What Differentiation is NOT Choice alone Project work for its own sake Independent student contracts that are ill-conceived 42

What Makes Differentiation Work? Diagnostic assessment of functional level of skills and resultant modification of curriculum Grouping gifted learners using a research-based approach Using research-based materials Assessing advanced learning 43

Reflections on curriculum development— How would learning for students change because of the modifications suggested ? How has your thinking about curriculum for the gifted changed? 44