1. Gifted and Talented (G/T) Parent Meeting
Woodland Hills Elementary
September 27, 2016

2. Extended Learning Teacher District Elementary GT Coordinator
Principal
Debi Beard
Extended Learning Teacher
Betsy Duplechain
District Elementary GT Coordinator
Diane Sconzo
Humbleisd.net – Departments-
Advanced Academics - Gifted and Talented

3. Definition of a G/T Student
Texas Education Code (TEC) §29.121, "gifted and talented students" means a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who:
exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area;
possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or
excels in a specific academic field.

4. Federal Definition of Gifted and Talented
"The term ‘gifted and talented,” when used with respect to students, children, or youth, means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in such areas as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities." (No Child Left Behind Act, P.L (Title IX, Part A, Definition 22) (2002); 20 USC 7801(22) (2004))

5. Dr. Joyce Juntune Texas A&M
Gift is a term used to describe people’s best qualities.
Giftedness is a technical, professional term that educators use to describe high ability kids who REQUIRE differentiated educations.
Dr. Joyce Juntune Texas A&M
They require differentiation because of Asynchronous Development – development is “out of sync” or uneven.
Asynchronous Development refers to uneven intellectual, physical, and emotional development. In average children, intellectual, physical, and emotional development progresses at about the same rate. That is, the development is in "sync." An average three-year-old has the intellectual and physical abilities as well as the emotional maturity most other three-year-olds have. However, in gifted children, the development of those areas is out of "sync." They do not progress at the same rate. A gifted three-year-old child's developmental profile could look like this:
Intellectual ability -- age 6 Physical ability -- age 3 Emotional maturity -- age 2
Or this:
Intellectual ability -- age 7 Physical ability -- age 3 Emotional maturity -- age 4
Intellectual ability -- age 6 Physical ability -- age 4 Emotional maturity -- age 3
Or any other combination of the three, although the intellectual ability is always advanced. (Some believe that it is possible to advanced physically, but not intellectually.)
The higher a child's IQ is, the more out of sync his or her development is likely to be.

6. State Goal for G/T Students
Students who participate in services designed for gifted students will demonstrate skills in self-directed learning, thinking, research, and communication as evidenced by the development of innovative products and performances that reflect individuality and creativity and are advanced in relation to students of similar age, experience, or environment. High school graduates who have participated in services for gifted students will have produced products and performances of professional quality as part of their program services.

7. What it should look like
Grade 1 – Earthworms
Grade 4 – Innovation Celebration – The Triple Sip -
Grade 6 – Bluetooth Technology -
Exit Level – Realities of Immigration Detention Centers -
The first grade project is the best video. You can use one or more as you see fit.

8. Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted/Talented Students
Student Assessment
Service Design
Curriculum and Instruction
Professional Development
Family and Community Involvement
Humble ISD District Plan is based on the Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted/Talented Students.
The five parts of the State Plan. Each part has “In Compliance”, “Recommended”, and “Exemplary”. “In Compliance” is what is required by the State.

9. Student Assessment Two Quantitative Measures Two Qualitative Measures
Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)
Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS)
Two Qualitative Measures
Parent Survey - SIGS
Teacher Survey - SIGS
New assessments for the school year. Preponderance of the evidence. Both of these tests are norm-referenced tests
What is CogAT? The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) assesses learned reasoning abilities of students. CogAT focuses on three areas of reasoning that research shows are closely related to success in school. (1) The Verbal Battery measures students’ ability to reason with words and solve verbal problems. (2) The Quantitative Battery assesses their ability to organize and reason with quantitative concepts. (3) The Nonverbal Battery tests students’ ability to reason with figural drawings and invent strategies to solve novel problems. Since cognitive growth is a developmental process, performance on CogAT can be given meaning by comparing an individual’s scores to those of a representative sample of peers who are the same age or who are in the same grade in school. Even though it measures reasoning abilities that are a critical component of all definitions of intelligence, CogAT is not an intelligence test.
What is ITBS?
Group administered achievement test
Provides a comprehensive assessment of student progress in major content areas
ITBS is a standardized achievement test. The purpose is to provide information that can be used to improve instruction and monitor student progress.
ITBS is a “norm-referenced” test that compares a student’s performance to others who have taken the same test under the same conditions.
The test is a “snapshot” which indicates a student’s performance at a specific time.
Results expressed in percentiles.
Norm-referenced refers to standardized tests that are designed to compare and rank test takers in relation to one another. Norm-referenced tests report whether test takers performed better or worse than a hypothetical average student, which is determined by comparing scores against the performance results of statistically selected group of test takers, typically of the same age or grade level, who have already taken the exam. Both CogAT and ITBS are norm-referenced.
Criterion-referenced test results are based on the number of correct answers provided by students, and scores might be expressed as a percentage of the total possible number of correct answers. These tests generally test the content learned. The STAAR and EOC exams are criterion referenced tests.

10. G/T Program Delivery
The HISD G/T Program is a 5-day a week program.
Classroom teachers provide differentiated instruction in the core subjects.
G/T students participate in cluster and/or pull-out programs with the Extended Learning Teacher (ELT).
Students have the opportunity to participate in the Gifted/Talented Expo which highlights an independent study project that has been completed.
Kindergarten G/T services begin by March 1, 2017

11. GT Program Delivery
GT students are responsible for mastery of all grade level concepts, but classroom teachers may compact the curriculum for GT students by pre-testing, shortening assignments and/or using individual learning contracts.

12. Professional Development
4.1.1C A minimum of thirty (30) clock hours of professional development that includes nature and needs of gifted/talented students, identification and assessment of gifted/talented students’ needs, and curriculum and instruction for gifted/talented students is required for teachers who provide instruction and services that are a part of the district’s defined gifted/talented services. Teachers are required to have completed the thirty (30) hours of professional development prior to their assignment to the district’s gifted/talented services (19 TAC §89.2(1)).

13. Professional Development
4.1.2C Teachers without required training who are assigned to provide instruction and services that are part of the district’s defined gifted/talented services are required to complete the thirty (30) hour training within one semester (19 TAC §89.2(2)).
Numbers refer to the section it is found in the State Plan.

14. Professional Development
4.2C Teachers who provide instruction and services that are a part of the district’s defined gifted/talented services receive a minimum of six (6) hours annually of professional development in gifted/talented education that is related to state teacher education standards (19 TAC §89.2(3) and TAC §233.1).

15. Family/Community Involvement
5.2C An array of learning opportunities is provided for gifted/talented students in grades K - 12, and parents are informed of all gifted/talented services and opportunities (19 TAC §89.3).
5.3C The effectiveness of gifted/talented services is evaluated annually, and the data is used to modify and update district and campus improvement plans. Parents are included in the evaluation process (TEC §§ ).

16. Bright Child / Gifted Learner
Gifted Learner
Knows the answers
Asks the questions
Is interested
Is highly curious
Is attentive
Is physically and mentally involved
Has good ideas
Has wild, silly ideas
Works hard
Plays around, yet tests well
Answers the questions
Discusses in detail, elaborates
Top group
Beyond the group
Listens with interest
Shows strong feelings and opinions

17. Bright Child Gifted Learner Learns with ease Already knows
Already knows
6-8 repetitions for mastery
1-2 repetitions for mastery
Understands ideas
Constructs abstractions
Enjoys peers
Prefers adults
Grasps the meaning
Draws inferences
Completes assignments
Initiates projects
Is receptive
Is intense
Copies accurately
Creates a new design

18. Bright Child Gifted Learner Is receptive Is intense Enjoys school
Is intense
Enjoys school
Enjoys learning
Absorbs information
Manipulates information
Technician
Inventor
Good memorizer
Good guesser
Enjoys straight forward,
sequential presentation
Thrives on complexity

19. In an article written for the Gifted Development Center in Denver, Colorado, which she directs, Dr. Linda Silverman offers parents comfort and reassurance. We will end with her wise words1:
“Gifted children are expensive and time-consuming. They usually need less sleep than you do, ask more questions than you can answer, want 100 percent of your attention 24 hours a day, are obsessive about their hobbies, may be un-stimulated by the regular school curriculum, react intensely to everything, endlessly long for a best friend who understands them completely, hold perfectionistic standards for themselves and you, and many keep their bedrooms in a condition you can never show company. They may want to know the meaning of life when other children only

20. 1Used with permission from Linda Silverman, Ph.D.
want to know how to tie their shoes. In order to be the perfect parent, you need unlimited funds, unlimited patience, an encyclopedic mind, and someone to sleep for you.
If you find yourself exhausted, remember that someday your daughter the doctor or your son the artist will have you to thank. No matter what schools you put them in, it is their home life that largely determines what they do with their lives. Trust your intuitive judgment about their needs; no one knows them better than you do.”
1Used with permission from Linda Silverman, Ph.D.
Chapter 10: Parenting Gifted Children 9

21. IIM Independent Investigation Method http://iimresearch

22. TPSP Texas Performance Standards Project http://www.texaspsp.org/

23. Questions and Answers