What Gifted
Students Need
Jeff Danielian
MAGE 2015 Annual Conference
jdanielian@nagc.org
The consequences of failing to meet the needs of
gifted and high-potential students.
For The Individual
Underachievement
Loss Of Interest in School
Academic Failure
Social Isolation
Lack of Motivation
Boredom
Mis-Diagnosis
Misunderstanding of Self
Pressure to be good at
Everything
For the Entire Population
Achievement Gap
Less Identified
Students
Loss of Social Capitol
Propagation of Myths
Test-Driven Academics
Watered Down
Curricula
Lack of Creative
Producers
Decrease in Global
Competitiveness
Social and Emotional
Issues Facing Gifted Adolescents
• Underachievement
• Bullying
• Peer / Family (Relations/Pressure)
• Identity Formation
• 2E (ADHD/ODD/LD)
• Sensitivity/Over excitability
• School Climate
• Stereotyping
• Sibling Differences
• Multicultural
• Low SES
• Perfectionism
• Sports vs. Smarts
“The journey is
difficult, immense.
We will travel as far
as we can, but we
cannot in one
lifetime see all that
we would like to see
or to learn all that
we hunger to
know.”
- Loren Eiseley
“Dreams begin at home or
in the classroom.”
-
The Child
+
•Interests
• Life experiences
• Strengths & weaknesses
•Abilities
• Attitudes
• Hopes & dreams
• Adhere to School policies
• Take part in Curriculum & content
•Exposure to a variety of Teaching methods
• Multitude of Peer interactions
+ The Student _
• Classroom “Time”
• Development
We, as educators and parents:
 Need to be attentive in our attempts to pass on the
knowledge that we have, the events we have experienced,
and the personal stories we have.
 Need to expose our students to the global community,
which is quite larger than the neighborhoods, the towns, or
even the states where the students live.
 Need to teach the skills used for problem solving, decision
making, and creative production in our classrooms.
 Must not forget that our students our humans, living on this
earth, sharing resources and interacting with each other
on a social level.
Conversations @ School
 Has your child asked for assistance from a member
of the faculty?
 Let your child know that each of his/her teachers
cares about their learning.
 Have them make an appointment to see a teacher,
or simply stop them before or after class, or in the
hall.
 Have you contacted your child’s teacher?
 Most importantly, make “them” aware of what you
observe at home. After all the child you send is the
student they see.
Conversations @ Home
Have you talked about classroom activity or homework
with your child?
If you’re encountering resistance from your child, find out
why.
Is it the sheer volume of work?
Is it the level of difficulty?
Is it a matter of clearly defined expectations?
Are you asking to see their work too often?
Answers to these questions can serve
as a basis for a conversation with the teacher.
Interests
What are they
and how to find out?
The Interest-a-Lyzer
developed by Joseph Renzulli
http://www.gifted.uconn.edu
An important tool.
Can be adapted in a variety of ways, for a variety
of populations, to gather focused or diverse data
and information.
Interest-A-Lyzer Family of Instruments: A Manual for
Teachers
“If it is skills you are evaluating,
give them choice of content.
If it is content, give them choice
of product.”
The Content / Skill
Connection
• If understanding of
content is your main
goal try to offer a
variety of product
choices so students
can exhibit the
common principles
and concepts though
an interest area of
their choosing.
• If skills acquisition is
your main goal, try to
offer a wide open
selection of content
choices so students
can exhibit skills
through an interest
area of their
choosing.
Assessments Along the Way
• Calendars
• Planning Sheets
• Reality Checks
• Note Sheets
• Research Portfolios
• Scattered Due dates
• Rough Draft Submissions
• Faculty Sign-ups / Consults
More responsibility on the student!
“Educators and Parents can
only guide children in the
right direction, offering
suggestions and ideas along
the way.
The rest is up to them.”
Creativity
“Jane Raph –
An inspiring
Teacher in my masters
degree program at
Rutgers University
asked me to read a prepublication manuscript
of this book. By the
time I finished I was
hooked on the subject
of creativity and
wanted to study it
more than anything
else I was doing. This
led to a lifelong interest
in creativity and related
cognitive processes.”
JSR
Prompt: Picture of a Man On An Airplane
The High IQ Subject
Mr. Smith is on his way home from a successful business
trip. He is very happy and he is thinking about his
wonderful family and how glad he will be to see them
again. He can picture it, about an hour from now, his
plane landing at the airport and Mrs. Smith and their
three children all there welcoming him home again.
Prompt: Picture of a Man On An Airplane
The High Creative Subject
This man is flying back from Reno where he
has just won a divorce from his wife, He
couldn't’t stand to live with her anymore, he
told the judge, because she wore so much
cold cream on her face at night that her head
would skid across the pillow and hit him in
the head. He is now contemplating a new
skid-proof cream.
Positive Characteristics
of Creativity
• aware of their own
creativeness
• original
• independent
• willing to take risks
• energetic
• curious
• keen sense of
humor
• attracted to
complexity and
novelty
• artistic
• open-minded
• need for privacy,
alone time
• perceptive
Negative Characteristics
of Creativity
• questioning rules
and authority
• stubbornness
• low interest in
details
• forgetfulness
• carelessness and
disorganization
with unimportant
matters
• absentmindedness
• indifference to
common
conventions
• tendency to be
emotional
Creative Thinking
Fluency – the production of a great number of
ideas
Flexibility – producing a variety of categories of
ideas.
Originality – production of ideas that are unique
or unusual.
Elaboration – production of ideas that display
detail or enrichment..
Creative Problem Solving
The CPS technique encourages students to answer,
consider alternatives, and create solutions to
problems by formulating an action plan.
Morphological Matrix
Students list the attribute of two or more related
topics in order to create a new product, story,
etc.
“SCAMPER”
In 1977, Bob Eberle rearranged some common
divergent thinking questions into the acronym
“SCAMPER” to help students create new ideas by
systematically modifying something already existing.
Classroom Implications
Many Routes and Considerations
Strategies: Scamper, CPS, and Morph Matrix
1. Sketches and possible images of your product, wrapped and
unwrapped.
Appeals to the Artists and Photographers!
2. A written description of your product, with a special emphasis on
descriptive words.
Appeals to the Writers!
3. Complete advertising plan, including marketing information and print
and/or media ad example.
Appeals to the Artist, the “Business Person” and the voice
talent and possible Videographers!
4. Consumer trial data or comments based about the areas listed in #’s
1-3.
Appeals to the Scientists and Public Speakers (My follow-up
would include a presentation to me in class)
Rubrics,
Comments,
Support
and
Alternative
Assessment
Alternative Assessment
Any form of measuring what students know and
are able to do other than traditional standardized
tests.
Alternative forms of assessment include portfolios
that are collections of students' work over time,
performance-based assessments, and other
means of testing students such as open-ended
essays with no single correct answer, and project
work that involves collaboration with peers.
Authentic Learning: Projects with a Focus
 Research Papers
 Collections of Artwork
 Newspaper Editorials
 Lesson Plans for a Classroom
 Pamphlets or PowerPoints
 Oral Presentations
 Films, Videos, Photo Stories, and Podcasts
 Awards & Contests
 Photographic Collections
 Essays
 Poem Collections
Evaluating Authentic Learning
 In order to ensure a careful evaluation of the authentic
learning process in your classroom, carefully crafted
rubrics are a must.
 In my years of teaching I have come to embrace rubrics,
using them every chance I get.
 Rubrics offer students a glimpse into how they will be
assessed and allow for a range of comments concerning
effort, creativity, skill acquisition, and demonstration of
ability.
 Students are able to see areas of strength while focusing
on areas needing improvement.
Areas of Information on a Rubric
1. The Criteria, or skill areas to be evaluated.
2. The Descriptors of these criteria, longer
statements about each criterion.
3. The Levels of Performance, that illustrate
the highest and lowest levels of
understanding.
4. Comments
Criteria To Be Evaluated
• METHODOLOGICAL SKILLS -displays correct format in field
notes-field notes are organized -field notes are correctly labeled,
containing sketches and relevant information
• CONNECTIONS WITH NATURE -understandings and essential
questions are addressed -product displays sense of connection
with nature
•
• SENSE OF PERSONAL VOICE -student understands voicestudent was able to find his/her voice-voice was evident-voice
was unique and genuine
• PRODUCT COMPLETION -directions and outline was followed regular consultations were made between teacher and student work was completed with a high amount of creativity, task
commitment, and ability
• AUDIENCE FINDING AND ACCEPTANCE -audience was
located -audience was contacted-presentation planned audience acceptance and evaluation
Descriptors for Criteria
Rubric Levels of Performance
I do not use the words
Excellent, Good, Fair,
and Poor for levels of
performance.
I relate them to the
subject or discipline.
Science Study
BACKYARD NATURALIST
STUDENT NATURALIST
UNIVERSITY NATURALIST
EXPERT IN THE FIELD
Newspaper Writing
SCHOOL NEWSPAPER
LOCAL PAPER
STATE PAPER
NATIONAL PUBLICATION
Art Work
SCHOOL WALL
LOCAL GALLERY
STATE MUSUEM
NATIONAL MUSUEM
Putting it All Together
Technology
Formative Assessment
Socrative
Electronic
Note
Taking
Google Forms
Evernote




Screencasting
Screencastomatic
Camtasia
Explain Everything



Blogging
Edmodo
Kidblogs
Edublogs
Ning
Wordpress









“Just as the handyman seeks a home
improvement blog for answers about
a leaky pipe, or the gardener seeks
out advice on planting lettuce, the
educator, faced with students of high
ability on a daily basis, should seek
out resources for information, insight,
and advice.”
A Few of My
Favorite Things
Or
All the rest
• Academic Competitions—provide opportunities for the growth
and development of a variety of skills (i.e., creative problem
solving, critical thinking, communication, leadership, etc.) in an
array of academic areas.
• Independent Study—an individual, in-depth study of a topic.
Students usually work with a teacher or other adult to set an
appropriate pace for covering work in the subject.
• Learning or Interest Centers—a designated area or portable
center designed to enrich a student's interest in a given content
area. These centers can supplement curriculum covered in the
classroom, as well as provide information on a variety of topics not
formally covered.
• Field Trips—a group excursion that extends learning beyond the
classroom into the community allowing students to engage in
firsthand observation and experimentation.
• Mentorships—an enrichment program that pairs an individual student
with someone who has advanced skills and experiences in a particular
discipline. This mentor can serve as an advisor, counselor, and role
model to the student.
• Summer and Weekend Programs—enrichment classes or courses
during the summer months. Such programs are often available
through colleges and universities as well as public and private
organizations
• Problem-Based Learning—type of problem solving in which students
are presented with an "ill-structured" problem that resembles a real-life
situation. Students are responsible for identifying additional data and
resources that they need and for deciding how to present their findings
and demonstrate their learning.
• Seminars—a small groups of students meet to learn more about
topics that are not covered in the regular classroom or to expand on a
topic that they have learned about in class.
•
Tiered Assignments—assignments within the same lesson plan which are
structured at varied levels of complexity, depth and abstractness to meet
the need of students with diverse abilities.
•
Learning Contracts—give students freedom to plan their time and yet
provide guidelines for completing work responsibly.
•
Curriculum Compacting—allows highly able students to "compact" or
eliminate material already mastered from the curriculum, thus allowing
them to complete subject material in a shorter time span.
•
Flexible Pacing—students are allowed to work at the level most
appropriate to their abilities.
•
Self-Directed Learning—students make decisions about what they would
like to learn, set goals and assume responsibility for completing their work,
resolve problems that arise during the experience, and evaluate their own
work.
•
Learning Centers—a designated area or portable center designed to
enrich a student's interest in a given content area.
“The ability to identify
potential, offer differentiated
curriculum (process and
product), and assess with
individuality are three tools I
continue to refine year after
year.”
Use Your Tools
NAGC Resources for Educators and Parents
For Educators and Parents
NAGC has resources to make any and all situations
as comfortable as possible for all parties involved.
Teaching For High Potential
Parenting For High Potential
Connecting for High Potential
Resources for Educators
Use Your Tools
NAGC Resources for Educators and Parents
For Educators and Parents
NAGC has resources to make any and all situations
as comfortable as possible for all parties involved.
Teaching For High Potential
Parenting For High Potential
Connecting for High Potential
Resources for Educators
Use Your Tools
NAGC Resources for Educators and Parents
For Educators and Parents
NAGC has resources to make any and all situations
as comfortable as possible for all parties involved.
Teaching For High Potential
Parenting For High Potential
Connecting for High Potential
Resources for Educators
Use Your Tools
NAGC Resources for Educators and Parents
For Educators and Parents
NAGC has resources to make any and all situations
as comfortable as possible for all parties involved.
Teaching For High Potential
Parenting For High Potential
Connecting for High Potential
Resources for Educators
The
Myths
Key Reports
“Never give children a
chance of imagining
that anything exists in
isolation. Make it plain
from the very beginning
that all living is
relationship. Show
them relationships in
the woods, in the fields,
in the ponds and
streams, in the village
and in the country
around it. Rub it in..”
- Aldous Huxley
Gifted programs allow our brightest students
to achieve their true potential.
Thanks
jdanielian@nagc.org