ODE Breakout: Differentiation for Gifted Students

1. ODE Breakout: Differentiation for Gifted Students Beth Hahn Office for Exceptional Children Gifted Services Carrollton Exempted Village Schools January 7, 2011

2. Learning is not attained by chance.  It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.       - -Abigail Adams

3. Getting To Know You… • What is differentiation? • How do you determine appropriate differentiated activities for gifted learners? • Which strategies work best?

4. Thinking About RtI for Gifted in Ohio

5. Fitting RtI and Gifted Together • Gifted students often need early intervention • All students learning • Data-driven instructional decisions • Rigorous curriculum is central to differentiated instruction • Partnerships in planning for student needs in instruction

6. RtI • http://www.rti4success.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

8. Thinking about Progress Monitoring for Gifted Students • Enough “ceiling” that gifted students can show what they know (sometimes above grade level) • Gifted identification testing • Running records, checklists, work samples, performance tasks, achievement tests, portfolios • Frequent (gifted students often learn in 3-5 repetitions compared to typical 12-15)

9. Progress Monitoring • http://www.studentprogress.org/

11. Thinking about UDL for Gifted Students • Gifted students are more diverse in achievement from one another than typical students • Gifted students often have asynchronous development

13. Who I See When Looking at UDL • Bo and his expressive skills • Kyle and his executive functioning • Matt and his personal goals and expectations • Monica and her need for language syntax understanding in second language • Lucky and a need for coping skills and strategies

14. Universal Design for Learning • http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl

16. ODE - Designing Performance Tasks for ALL Students (with specific suggestions for English Language Learners) • How does the task permit differentiation so that it is appropriately challenging and meaningful for every student? • Where are there opportunities for students to pursue individual interests within the task? • How does the task elicit the background knowledge of the student? • What options are provided to allow students to explore learning objectives through different modalities? • How does the task allow students to “show what they know” in a variety of ways?

17. Differentiation for Written Education Plans for students identified as gifted is based on the work of VanTassel-Baska and refers to the conceptual framework upon which instructional strategies and classroom activities are designed. The purpose of this list is to identify the cognitive level at which the student can operate with regard to the content and skills listed in the goal. • Acceleration refers to the pace at which students can learn. Acceleration is commonly applied to whole grade or subject specific areas but it can also be used within a unit or lesson. Some students may benefit from a faster paced curriculum than is provided at a traditional grade level. • Complexity is generally measured by the level of higher thinking required by the tasks. Complex tasks are layered, requiring advanced thought processes and allowing for multiple solutions. • Depth of understanding requires the student to understand and apply the concepts and principles of the field of study from which the content emanates. • Challenge refers to the sophistication of the content and requires the student to use advanced reasoning skills or resources to accomplish the goal. • Abstractness is defined by the interdisciplinary nature of thinking required by the tasks. To think abstractly, the student must transcend the singularity of one content area to view issues and problems more globally. • Cognitive Creativity is similar to general concepts of creativity but applied to academic or cognitive tasks. Creativity in this way asks students to be fluent and flexible in their thinking and to explore multiple pathways to understanding tasks and formulating solutions.

18. Principles of a Differentiated Classroom (Tomlinson, 1999) • The teacher is clear about what matters in the subject area – GUIDED BY STANDARDS • All students participate in respectful work. • The teacher adjusts the content, process, or product in response to learner readiness, interests, or learning profile.

19. What Differentiation is NOT • Multiple lesson plans • A set of activities without scope & sequence • Student choice void of an adjusted/ accelerated curriculum

20. Curriculum should be differentiated at all levels of design: • Goals • Outcomes • Activities & projects • Strategies • Materials • Assessment

21. Differentiation Features: Questioning In Practice • Acceleration • Complexity • Depth • Challenge • Creativity • Abstractness Center for Gifted Education – School of Education – The College of William and Mary

22. Differentiation Feature: Acceleration • Fewer tasks assigned to master standard • Assessed earlier or prior to teaching • Clustered by higher order thinking skills

23. Implement a math curriculum objective for the gifted by… Multiplying by 1 digit Multiplying by 2 digits Multiplying by 3 digits Complete word problems using multiplication Implement a math curriculum objective for the gifted by… Computational procedures as a tool for problem solving Using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to solve multi-step problems Differentiation Examples

24. Differentiation Feature: Complexity • Used multiple higher level skills • Added more variables to study • Required multiple resources

25. Discuss plot, setting, and characters in the short story “A Rose for Emily.” Compare and contrast the plot, setting, characters, motivation, theme, and climax of “A Rose for Emily” and “The Bear.” Differentiation Examples

26. Differentiation Feature: Depth • Studied a concept in multiple applications • Conducted original research • Developed a product

27. Choose one of the following topics and prepare an oral presentation using at least four library sources: The use of technology Science discoveries of the past Mathematics in everyday life Debate one of the following resolutions. Mankind is on a path toward human progress. Studying our past will help us cope with the future. Use multiple sources including surveys, interviews, and library sources in your preparation. Differentiation Examples

28. Differentiation Feature: Challenge • Advanced resources employed • Sophisticated content stimuli used • Cross-disciplinary applications made • Reasoning made explicit

29. Joe invested $1,000 in stock in January. When he sold it in December, the price was up 12% from his purchase price. What was his profit on this stock? Which would you rather choose? a) 80% profit in year 1 and 50% loss in year 2. b) 5% profit in year 1 and 5% profit in year 2. Explain your reasoning. Differentiation Examples

30. Create a timeline to illustrate the most important events of WWI from America’s perspective. Justify why those events were most important to the outcome of the war. Analyze political cartoons, art, music, and literature published during WWI. Create a document or presentation that illustrates the changes over time in America’s perspective from the beginning to the ending of the war. Differentiation Examples

31. Differentiation Feature: Abstractness • Focused on macro concepts, themes or ideas (e.g., systems models) • Required the formation of generalizations • Required students to move from concrete examples to abstract ideas

32. On a timeline, chart the evolution of atomic theory. Describe each major model of the atom according to its major features. Using generalizations derived around the concept of models, evaluate each major model of the atom over time. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each, and create a visual to demonstrate how each model influenced the models succeeding it. Differentiation Examples

33. Differentiation Examples Describe the character from the story. State two generalizations about the main character and justify why those are generalizations using evidence from the text.

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

35. Conduct an experiment on plant growth by measuring weekly progress of two sets of seeds, one in artificial light indoors and one outside in shade. Design an experiment on one of the following questions and share your results in an oral and written presentation: Are bees attracted to diet cola? Are earthworms attracted to light? Are boys more interested in computers than girls? Your own question Differentiation Examples

36. Reflection • What process/models do you use to determine appropriately advanced task demands for gifted learners (e.g., those that incorporate abstractness, acceleration, complexity, challenge, depth, and creativity)?

37. Research-based Tools for Gifted Students • Van Tassel-Baska Integrated Curriculum Model (http://cfge.wm.edu/) • RenzulliSchoolwide Enrichment Model (http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/sem/) • Betts Autonomous Learner Model • Project U-STARS

38. It’s really quite simple. Learning is hard work. People learn better when they feel valued and supported. To value and support learners we must know them. - - Carol Ann Tomlinson

39. References • Heacox, D. (2009). Making differentiation a habit. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing. • Tomlinson, C. A. (2003). Fulfilling the promise of the differentiated classroom. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. • Van Tassel-Baska, J. & Stambaugh, T. (2006). Comprehensive curriculum for gifted learners. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.