1. Teacher Professional Development Proposal Increasing the Identification of Gifted Students from Underrepresented Populations
Jeanette Lukens
March, 2013

2. Learning Objectives
Participants will understand the core attributes of giftedness as they are expressed in different cultural and environmental contexts
Participants will increase their recognition of cognitive, physical, and affective characteristics of diverse gifted students
Participants will understand their role in the screening and identification process

3. Agenda Gifted Eligibility Criteria
Sample County Gifted Identification Data
Target School Demographics
Concept of Giftedness
Characteristics of Diverse Gifted Students
Specific Domains for Diverse Gifted Students
Student Vignettes
Current Plan B Process and Adaptations
Participant Role in Identification

4. The underrepresentation of minority children in classes for the gifted has been and continues to be one of the most important problems facing educators of gifted students.
As of 1993, the U.S. Department of Education reported that Black, Hispanic, and Native American students were underrepresented by 50-70% in gifted education programs. (Naglieri& Ford, 2003)
Despite recent efforts to address this problem, the underrepresentation of minority students in gifted programs has been persistent and, for some groups, has increased.
(Ford, 1998 as cited in Naglieri & Ford, 2003)

5. Gifted Eligibility Plan A
Education for learners who are gifted has been included within Florida’s Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Programs since The first state mandate for gifted education was State Board Rule 6A , FAC, which became effective July 1, This State Board Rule defined the gifted student as “one who has superior intellectual development and is capable of high performance” further defining the criteria for eligibility to include an intelligence quotient of two standard deviations or more above the mean on an individually administered standardized test of intelligence, a majority of characteristics of gifted children according to a standard scale or checklist, and a need for a special program (Special Programs, 1977).
Plan B:
In 1991, as a result of the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act, the State of Florida revised their gifted rule to include specific criteria for traditionally underrepresented students. Section B of Board Rule 6A (2)(b)1., FAC, provided greater flexibility in identifying students who are members of an underrepresented group, including limited English proficient (LEP) students and students from low socioeconomic status (SES) families, as measured by the student’s eligibility for the government-subsidized free and reduced lunch program. This section, which became known as Plan B, provided school districts with guidelines to develop a plan for increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in programs for gifted students.
Information from Dade Presentation…need references.

6. Sample County Gifted Identification Data
Gifted and District Student Membership by Racial/Ethnic Category
See next slide
Limited English Proficient (LEP) Student Participation in Gifted Programs
Insert graph
Free/Reduced Lunch Student Participation in Gifted Programs
Selective referral is one of reasons for underrepresentation of minority students in gifted education programs.
Referral rates for gifted eligibility of students from culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged homes are significantly lower

7. This graph indicates the total Elementary School and Gifted student membership by racial/ethnic distribution thus far in the school year. The District student population is represented by red bars while District’s Gifted population is represented by blue bars. District wide, the data indicates significant disproportionality with regards to the ethnic distribution of students in the Gifted program.
Black and Hispanic students are underrepresented, while White and Asians are overrepresented, when compared with the District’s student population.
For example, while 20% of the District’s student population is Hispanic, Hispanic students only make up 10% of the District’s Gifted population.
Ideally, the participation of Black and Hispanic students in the Gifted Program would align more closely to the percentage of students in these categories attending Sample County Public Schools’ Elementary Schools.
Data generated from Skyward on 3/8/2013

8. Target School Demographics
Specific demographics per targeted school
Insert graph

9. Concept of Giftedness
Concept of giftedness as a psychological construct
Core traits, aptitudes and behaviors
handout, see next slide
Classroom behaviors of Gifted Students

12. Characteristics of Diverse Gifted Students
Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Students
Definition
Gifted Characteristics (handout, see next slide)
Low SES Students
Venn Diagram: overlapping characteristics of
Traditional Gifted Students
Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Gifted Students
Low SES Gifted Students
The identification of gifted minority students is a problem because these students often do not exhibit behaviors and characteristics which are recognized as manifestations of talents and gifts by the dominant culture (Leung, 1981).

15. Traditional Gifted Students
Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Gifted Students
Low SES Gifted Students

16. Specific Domains to Consider for Diverse Gifted Students

17. Specific Domains to Consider for Diverse Gifted Students, cont.

18. Specific Domains to Consider for Diverse Gifted Students, cont.

19. Specific Domains to Consider for Diverse Gifted Students, cont.

20. Student Vignettes Vignettes of target student population
Opportunity for participants to identify gifted characteristics

21. Current Plan B Process and Adaptations
Current Plan B identification process
Specific adaptations for targeted schools

22. Participant Role in Identification of Diverse Gifted Students
Specific roles in identification
Based on audience:
Teacher
Guidance Counselor
Staffing Resource Specialist
School Psychologist

23. References
Castellano, J. (2006). Bilingual education issues: Haitian and haitian-american students in gifted education. In B. Wallace & G. Eriksson (Eds.), Diversity in gifted education (9-20). New York, NY: Routledge. Clark, B. (2013). Growing up gifted: Developing the potential of children at school and at home (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children (1990). Giftedness and the gifted: What’s it all about, what does giftedness mean. ERIC EC Digest #E476. Retrieved from: Frasier, M. M., et. al. (1995). Core attributes of giftedness: A foundation for recognizing the gifted potential of minority and economically disadvantaged students. Storrs, CT: The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. Nielen, E. (1994). Characteristics of twice-exceptional children. University of New Mexico.