SCENARIO ASSESSMENT EDCI 623 Models and Strategies for Teaching the Gifted Professor Sheree Harnagel Susan

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THE SCENARIO
You have been invited in as a consultant to help a small rural district (850 kids) begin to service those students who the administration thinks needs more interesting things to do. The administration consists of a superintendent and a curriculum specialist. The school district consists of one elementary school which really spans K8th and a High School. There are a total of 40 teachers at the elementary school and approximately 18 teachers at the High School.

What if there were to be a program dedicated to the advancement of gifted education opportunities for disadvantaged youth? What if that agency were to recruit rural, suburban, and urban children with potential and shepherd them along in the process of realizing their potential? What if this program gave away millions of dollars a year to students who have loads of potential but no or little means of fulfilling their dreams through education? There is. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation (JKC) gave away millions through grants and scholarships last year and will continue to do so this year. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has a mission to find, mentor, and procure college admission for exceptional children who have few resources. Locally, the Foundation also partners with the Center for Talented Youth (CTY) in the recruitment, selection, and service to children through their Young Scholars Program. Overall, the Foundation seeks to help children of promise fulfill their dreams through education. I was attracted to my particular scenario because I had the pleasure of meeting the mother of my sons new best friend. It turns out that this boys mom (Janefor our purposes) works at JKC and when we met she was reviewing grant proposals for the coming year. She spoke of a girl in very rural Kentucky who attends a school where grades K-12 are housed in one building. The problem was, for this exceptional teen, was that she wasnt being challenged. Her school in Kentucky had allowed her to skip eighth grade but the work she was doing in ninth grade was similar to the work she would have done in seventh or eighth grade in a similar school in a larger metropolitan area. She attends school in a building that houses K-12. The challenge for JKC is how to mentor this girl in such a manner where she can be successful and achieve her dreams through academic success. According to Jane there are tremendous issues for bright teenagers who are not being challenged at their home school. If a bright child is disadvantaged at their home school then JKC tries to encourage that child to do three things: go to boarding school, participate in online programs, and/or attend summer programs such as those offered by CTY. The challenges are many. These are children that have high achievement despite the disadvantage of their circumstances. Some of these children have chaotic or provincial home lives but are still unwilling to walk away from all they know. In fact, Jane spoke of the difficulties of persuading many of these children to be special and all they can be. One girl in

rural Colorado has been going to school with the same three people her whole life and doesnt want to make herself stand out. In this regard, online courses work very well for these learners since there is the distance issue and because it can be done in secret. Further, online programs work well because there are obviously concerns on the parents part. Jane said that it is immensely difficult to convince the parents to send their bright children to summer programs. Many of these families live long distances from the airport and are concerned that a larger city may have values that contradict the values that their children have been taught at home. And really, how do you convince a parent who may not have gone to college that their child would be better off to go to college without offending the parent? To summarize, the problems are as follows: Difference issue. The talented child does not want to be different or be seen as different. Betterment issue. The talented child does not want to be seen as wanting to be better than their friends or family and the family does not want to be told that the collegeeducated are better. Long bus rides Parents. They dont want: o their kids far away o a contradiction with their family values o family push back Lack of money

GOALS and ROLES

1. So, my answer to the scenario is two-fold. One, it is my belief that the rural child can have their needs met through several of the models with one or two working particularly well to address the problems listed above. Two, great organizations like JKC are doing very well. However, they are not finding these kids until middle school. What model can work with rural children prior to middle school? Jane says that one of the goals of JKC is to reach students with potential in even earlier grades. 2. My role for our purposes would be as a consultant to or from JKC that would work as a point of contact within the very rural Kentucky school district named above, and to expand the role of organizations like JKC down to the lower grades in that same school district.

What model is the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation using now???

It is difficult to say which model the Foundation is using now. Careful reevaluation of all the models has led me to believe that there are most closely following Susan M. Baums Talent Centered Model for Twice Exceptional Students. JKC is heavily invested in talent development but seems to understand that these children are at a many disadvantages due to circumstance and income level. Remediation may be necessary for these students since there is little indication that most gifted students are globally gifted. Differentiation is addressed by online courses and the promotion of private boarding schools for their students. There are no models in place in the childrens home schools. There are five main elements of the model. JKC seems to do very well with most of these but is lacking in mentorship and internships.

Twice Exceptional Model Summary What works

There are six main elements to this model: Talent development Challenging curriculum Differentiation and accommodation Social and emotional support Targeted remediation and learning support This is one of the few talent development models that have some emphasis on emotional support and mentoring.

What doesnt
As utilized by JKC there is a lack of home school help. Little mentoring from experts in the field. Tremendous emotional support.

Applicable?
Very much so. Grants could be put in place to expand the focus of the program out into the childrens home schools. This would necessitate greater mentoring programs and more internships. This may be beyond the focus of the Foundation due to expense.

What Should Jack Kent Cook Foundation Use?

Two separate models should be used to give greater focus to the Foundation and lead to greater success amongst the students. One, the WICS Model of Giftedness as proposed by Robert Sternberg has been used effectively through The Rainbow Project and has shown to be

effective in identifying those who have been successful in their application of their intelligence. Psychometrics makes many people comfortable because they are understood to measure something but they lack on many levels including predicating future success. Sternbergs Rainbow Project evaluates the analytical, creative, and practical skills necessary to be successful in all the school grades. It builds on the shoulders of already existing predictors while also building on the necessary elements of successful intelligence and creativity that are better at showing future achievement and college success. Two, because of the Curriculum of Connections and the Curriculum of Identification a student identified using the WICS model would not only be well served by WICS but the Identification component of the Parallel Curriculum Model makes it highly worthwhile. The lack of mentorships and internships makes most models lacking for the rural, or urban for that matter, incomplete. These are advanced learners that are highly sensitive to their difference and ability and need the community of peers that these two models can provide together.

WICS Summary
WICS is: Wisdom Intelligence Creativity Synthesized Sternberg says, ..."giftedness is, in large part, a function of creativity in generating ideas, analytical intelligence in evaluating the quality of these ideas, practical intelligence in implementing the ideas and convincing others to value and follow the ideas, and wisdom to ensure that the decisions and their implementation are

What works
Prediction of freshman year success in college A broader test for identification like this seems to increase diversity in talent development programs. Creativity component is essential to predicting success in life through academics (see

What doesnt
Wisdom component hard to teach. May be expensive to implement. May be difficult to explain to stakeholders.

Applicable?
Aurora Project still in beginning stages. This project seeks to identify children ages 912. May hold promise for the future to increase the scope of JKC into lower grades before there is a danger of diminished returns from underachievem ent.

for the common good of all stakeholders. " In the WICS model creativity (C) can be: relatively novel, high in quality, and appropriate to the task at hand. In the Sternberg model creativity is a decision and there are many types of creativity. The right attitude is what will motivate the gifted individual to keep working until they get it right. A gifted individual must indeed work since no one will be creative in all areas. Giftedness, at its core, (I-in WICS) is successful intelligence. Sternberg maintains, that this is seeing your weak areas and compensating for these while capitalizing on strengths. Talent, according to Sternberg, is tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is more important to job performance. IQ or a g factor will only get an individual so far; he says.

Sternberg, Runco, Rimm, Callahan, and others) Wisdom component encourages awareness of the responsibilitie s of the gifts of giftedness.

Sternberg breaks down intelligence into academic and practical intelligence. Practical intelligence is what enables a gifted individual to apply their knowledge to solve problems by adapting, shaping or selecting an environment. This tacit knowledge is, at its core, practical. This operational behavior increases with experience, correlates minimally with scores on tests, provides significant incremental prediction over conventional intelligence measures, and, as stated above, predicts job performance; significantly. Wisdom (W) is when creativity and knowledge are merged with successful intelligence in such a way where values moderate decisions by balancing: a common good; intrapersonal, interpersonal, and extra personal goals

over the short and long-term to change an environment. Essentially, one can be brilliant and still make poor choices due to many variables. This causes the gifted person to be unsuccessful using their intelligence. Finally, he describes synthesis (S). Synthesis is the ability to meld all three branches of the WISC model into a coherent idea or innovation. An individual cannot have intelligence without wisdom, or be a great leader without creativity.

Parallel Curriculum Model Summary What works

There are four main components to the Parallel Curriculum Model. They are: Core Curriculum Curriculum of Connections Curriculum of Practice Curriculum of Identity The Core Curriculum is similar to many other models but few models ask the learner to make the content personally meaningful to them, and for the learner to apply the content they are learning towards the real world.

What doesnt
Community push back. Lack of technology for online distance learning. Expense Students can use this is their

Applicable?
Just about anywhere.

This is not a program model and is more of a curriculum model and so WICS should work as a means if identification. This model is based on using representative topics across the disciplines. Process is central and is utilized to cement curriculum in a students mind. Knowledge is used to extend the material beyond its boundaries to produce new knowledge. This curriculum is product oriented. Curriculum is used as a means to propel the learner closer to a time where they move from novice to expert in a given field. All six of these underlying principles are reinforced by a concept called Ascending Intellectual Demand or AID. In order to move a learner to expert level in a field the tasks required become increasingly challenging. CORE: The framework. Representative topics.

This model can work very well with WICS since WICS requires a student to find their own means of successful intelligence that enables them to achieve despite whatever areas may need remediation. PCM can be used with students K-12 and so is applicable to a students home school. The addition of online courses can remedy the lack of role models necessitated in the Curriculums of Practice and Identity. Further, summer programs such as CTY, which JKC already uses, can provide for Practice opportunities. Currently, JKC is based in Northern Virginia. Many teachers and others who are familiar with PCM can train teachers in rural areas using this method. Or, these same teachers can train mentors within JKC.

home schools but Curriculums of Practice and Identity still may require travel.

Fundamental information and concepts. How content is organized. CONNECTIONS: How the fundamental information and concepts are tied across topics, time periods, cultures, people, and events. PRACTICE: The information learned is enables the student to start to become a practitioner of that subject. The learner becomes part of the subject matter at hand. IDENTITY: Content now becomes a catalyst for students to develop personal meaning through the curriculum. How does the curriculum influence who they are and where they will go?

MODELS First, other models that could be used or are being used to identify and support the rural gifted learner.

Problem based learning Summary What works

The central theme of the PBL approach is the ill-structured problem and its relation to the core curriculum that must be taught. There are nine characteristics to an ill-structured problem within PBL. The problem must be: mysterious, authentic, flexible, ambiguous, interdisciplinary, intentional, productive, illuminating, and appropriate. Essentially, PBL delivers content in a way that courts other affective outcomes and can lead to differentiation. The flow of the problem necessitates that PBL remain largely a classroom strategy. There are five phases of progress to the problem that require individualized attention by one teacher or a small group of team teachers. One, is problem engagement. This part of the progression is where a student or group of students is introduced to the problem. This is where the students recognize their prior knowledge through a modified K-W-L. This is where the students pick a question. Two, is inquiry and investigation. Three, is problem definition. The question picked in step two becomes further defined through the investigation done in step two. Four, is problem resolution. This would be called the final product in most models. All the research and work comes together with a concluding activity.

What doesnt
Tremendous teacher preparation makes it difficult to implement in a school district with one curriculum specialist. This is mostly due to its heavy amount of front load work by teachers and metacognitive, and metamemory skills not always seen among students.

Applicable?
Yes, some evidence is presented to assert that PBL works well with the general population but this is quantified by a discussion of planning for specific learning outcomes. Thinking skills are also highlighted in this model and seem to be strengthened by this method. The authors say that differentiation is seamless within their model and that may be true. What was of particular interest to me is how Dr. Gallagher maintains that the use of PBL, with the use of portfolios as assessment, may be worthwhile as a means for identification of talent for gifted programs. This may hold a great deal of promise and may make the use of PBL, on a small, manageable scale, as a way to identify underachievers, or the twice exceptional student not identified by testing. In conclusion, PBL can be used within the general population on a small scale.

No mentoring is explicit in the model. Some subjects may not lend themselves an overriding theme.

Trifocal Model

Summary
The first step in remediating underachievement is assessment. Assessing an underachiever is difficult since an external locus of control and many years of underperformance can actually decline a bright childs IQ scores to where they have indeed squandered their earlier advantage. However, assessment must be done to see the extent of the problem and to determine what kind of underachiever they are. This is done formally and informally. Assessment and identification of an underachiever can be most successfully done when a portfolio assessment is done longitudinally for a student in a district over time. This can pinpoint when the child started to falter and can show that the child does indeed have aptitude that went off track at some point. This is in combination with Dr. Rimms suggestions. Two, is communication. Communication between parents, teachers, and the student must be

What works
Assessment is key to finding the underachieving student no matter where they live. Traditional psychometrics may not always work. The parameters of our scenario where the child does not want to seem better or different can lead to underachievem ent; on purpose.

What doesnt
The norms of the community may not match the norms of the colleges that this child could be eligible for. The may be a lack of challenging classes (AP, IB) in her later years.

Applicable?
Yes, the problem that all stakeholders may have is this situation is not so much the student as it is the district. In our example, the girl from very rural Kentucky was skipped a grade. According to the norms of her milieu she was not underachieving. The challenge as a liaison to these partied would be to encourage the girl to go further without offending the school, parents, or teachers.

No mentoring is explicit in the model.

established. This is not easily addressed by me and is more suited to seasoned psychologists adept at handling family dynamics. Basic communication skills on the part of the teacher when dealing with parents should be addressed by administration. Three, changing expectations. Often a child with underachievement has an external locus of control. It is essential for that child to learn that hard work will result in improvement. Parents and teachers need to make sure that their expectations are not too high or too low. Rimms suggestions and the help of a professional are essential in this arena. Four, role model identification is paramount. This area need not be fancy. A teacher can stand as a role model for an underachiever and in fact, aside from communication, may be the most effective thing we do. Are we conveying our love of learning? Do we desire to be in the classroom? Is learning and achieving fun? Can we encourage the parents to model positive attitudes for school and

encourage them to work with us? As Dr. Rimm says in her book, Successful men and women typically attribute part of their success to the teachers who encouraged them. Five, correcting deficiencies can be the least difficult step. Again, even a gifted child who has not been performing up to their potential will see their basic skills deteriorate over time to where they may be of average or below average ability. Therefore, if a child has been underachieving for a long time they will need a tutor and support in basic skills. The last step involves steps specific to each kind of underachievement. A teacher can support the efforts of a counselor or parent in their attempts to change longentrenched behavior. For example, if a child misses school because they refuse to get themselves up in time for the bus then the teacher should support that the next day by making that child stay in at recess to complete their class work from the day before.

Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent--Gagne Summary What works What doesnt
Talent, to Gagne, Measurable with designates the psychometrics. superior mastery of systematically developed abilities (or skills) and knowledge in at least one field of human activity to a degree that places an individual at least among the top 10% of age peers who are or have been active in that field or fields. Talent is subject to various catalysts. They are: intrapersonal (I-Gagne), environmental (E), developmental (D), and chance (C). This is where skills can be built. An individual with advanced potential can be shaped within this domain. Parents, teachers, and the individual themselves can be shepherded through this catalyst in such a way where their natural abilities can be optimized. Positive feedback loops can be set in place to evolve a childs interests and Doesnt guarantee success and can lead to bad investment decisions on the part of Jack Kent Cooke where they apply money towards a student that may have the right numbers but is lacking in other skills to succeed academically. No mentoring is explicit in the model.

Applicable
Is being applied in both rural and urban school districts. Not always effective. Gagne is not eliminating the need for an environmental influence. Merely, he is asserting that IQ is the raw material that brings environment to fruition.

talents over time.

Second, these are models that can work in most classrooms.

Integrative Education Model Summary What works

The Integrative Education Model (IEM) is a brain-based curriculum model that should address all the four major functional areas including: the cognitive processes of the cortex, the physical and sensing processes of the brain stem and cortex, the emotional and affective processes of the limbic area, and the intuitive processes of the prefrontal cortex. There are seven components to this model. The seven components are: A responsive learning environment including the physical, instructional, and socioemotional environment. A complex and challenging array of cognitive activities. LEARNING ENVIRONMENT COMPLEX and CHALLENGING ARRAYS OF COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES EMPOWERING LANGUAGE AND BEHAVIOR CHOICE and PERCEIVED CONTROL RELAXATION and TENSION REDUCTION

What doesnt
MOVEMENT and PHYSICAL ENCODING

Applicable?
Absolutely applicable in both rural and urban settings depending on teacher training and resources. This model can work with all learners.

(this may work better in a rural setting because the other teachers are close in proximity, but this also may fail due to the fact that certain subject areas may not be represented.) No mentoring is explicit in the model.

(often forgotten with the gifted learner, but a critical component)

INTUITION and INTEGRATION

Empowering language and behavior. Choice and perceived control. Relaxation and tension reduction. Movement and physical encoding. Intuition and integration. Each of the seven components of this model should integrate the four main processes of the brain in order to effectively address the needs of the students. In order to simplify this model I outline below those pieces of their model that I could use in my classroom to engage the whole brain in each component.

Differentiation Summary
This is a large model area that can include: Socratic Questioning, JIGSAW, Tiering, Anchoring, Learning Contracts, Learning/Interest Centers, and Cluster Grouping. These are some of the examples of

What works
JIGSAW, Independent Study, and Learning Contracts work very well in a rural setting and would work well within Jack Kent Cooke

What doesnt
Socratic Questioning will not work in these circumstances. These are children desperately trying not to draw attention to themselves.

Applicable?
Each method must be analyzed for its applicability under each circumstance.

differentiation that we have studied. However, this is by no means an exhaustive list. Differentiation is probably the least expensive, and most tried way of meeting the standards laid out by the National Association of Gifted Children in regards to meeting the needs of advanced students in mainstream classrooms. That being said, Cluster Grouping is what is most often used in Fairfax County, for example, and is not cost effective in most rural areas given transportation needs unless it is done across grade levels.

parameters since students pursue a topic independently . This meshes well with online learning. Tiering works well in all settings since the material is suited to the childs ability level. Anchoring and Learning Interest/Cente rs can be done in all classrooms due to its flexibility to suit the classrooms and students needs.

Cluster Grouping can work in a rural setting if it is done across grade levels. Otherwise, the problems outweigh the benefits. No mentoring is explicit in the model.

DISCOVER and Multiple Intelligences (MI) Summary What works What doesnt
The DISCOVER model seems to center mostly around six basic principles. PRINCIPLE ONE: This principle focuses most on trying to This model is very effective for all populations given the familiarity that most teachers have with MI theory and the flexibility of this

Applicable?
Can be. This model would require extensive teacher training but given what is currently available at the university level for

Very frontloaded. The teacher has tremendous preparation tasks. Reliance on

apply Howard Gardners Multiple Intelligences Theories. This principle relies heavily on learner interests and strengths. This is an opportunity to differentiate within the classroom. Tasks are varied and students are more engaged. This may be the easiest principle to implement since so many stakeholders in the students development may be familiar with MI theory. This is a relatively easy way to differentiate but could be cumbersome if centers within the classroom, for example, were rotated with each unit. PRINCIPLE TWO: This principle is frontloaded. Meaning, a teacher has to prepare the environment in such a way that a students learning is personalized using a matrix but the teacher is directing the choice. Over time, as students become more familiar with the matrix, they

model. Theoretically, this model can be applied almost anywhere at any time.

Ravens teachers it could Matrices. The easily be taught Raven there. Standard Progressive Matrices have been shown to score children artificially high in intelligence and so may not be reliable. (Lohman, Korb, and Lakin, 2008). No mentoring is explicit in the model.

can self-select within the classroom and can see where their strengths and weaknesses. This is an area where student choice can be initiated in the upper elementary grades and above. This leads to the very important metacognition strategies needed for abstract thinking at the top of Blooms taxonomy in addition to more positive transfer. PRINCIPLE THREE: The collaboration involved in this part of the model is whole brain based and may lead to a feeling of empowerment within the classroom. This bottom to top approach can be utilized within the context of unit work and I would use it for extension activities to encourage differentiation. PRINCIPLE FOUR: This part of the model is like most models in that it revolves around a central theme, problem, question, or some content. These big ideas are a common

theme in brain-based teaching and are woefully underutilized. I would use this to address the underlying themes within a given subject matter for the year, or better yet, throughout the subject matters in a spiraling curriculum. PRINCIPLE FIVE: This part of the model is probably the most creative piece. In fact, the model encourages the use of arts integration as a means of processing and transforming information. Like many models this part of DISCOVER requires planning across the grade-levels and throughout the building. PRINCIPLE SIX: This principle may be called the multicultural piece of the model. This part encourages the teacher to take less of a tourist approach to other cultures and actually fully integrate other cultures, ethnicities, languages, and generations into the classroom.

Integrated Curriculum Model Summary What works

The Integrated Curriculum Model, or ICM, developed by Joyce Van-Tassel-Baska at the College of William and Mary, has three basic dimensions. The first dimension addresses concepts, issues and themes. These are the big ideas around which teachers should structure their curriculum, using these bigger concepts to connect various disciplines and content areas. The second dimension, advanced content, demands that

What doesnt
No mentoring is explicit in the model.

Applicable?
This model can be used well in most disciplines but in a rural school district that has only one curriculum specialist it could be tough.

Accelerated content ProcessProduct Dimension

Some subjects
may not lend themselves an overriding theme. Can take several years to implement effectively.

Overriding
theme is applicable to all grades and disciplines.

teachers give students challenging materials that are above gradelevel or more demanding than typical curricular materials. Examples of advanced content include the use of materials that are indepth, require advanced reading or interpretive skills and the use of primary sources where possible and appropriate. The third dimension, process-product, requires that teachers give students reasoned, authentic assessments where possible, that reflect the learning process. Since the learning process itself is

complex, assessments should also require complexity over the simplicity of multiple choice or either/or tests. (Group ProjectBaska, 2011)

Lastly, models that cannot used or identify and support the rural gifted learner.

MODEL NAME GRID

WHY IT DOESNT WORK

Too big and impractical to be useful to a small school district.

The same objectives of this model are better met by PBL. A worthwhile model School Wide Enrichment Model that is being used effectively in the Hartford Public Schools, but is too expensive and requires too much staff training for a rural district. Consultations with a Johari practicing child

Autonomous Learner Model

TABA

psychologist in the area revealed that the Johari window is never used with children. Johari is used to treat adult alcoholics. Currently used in the Loudoun County School District for enrichment. Not applicable due to its history in addressing the needs of high school students. May be used by JKC presently but would not be advisable if JKC would like to expand its focus into lower grades. The metacognitive strategies utilized in this model are worthwhile but given the rural students desire to remain anonymous this model is not recommended.