Creativity & Instructional Strategies:
Differentiating for Gifted Students
in the Mixed-Ability Classroom
Carol Curtiss
512/919-5288
carol.curtiss@esc13.txed.net
www.esc13.net/gt
Good Morning
• Materials check
• Schedule for the day
8:30-3:30
11:30 Lunch
Smile and say good
morning to the person to
your left and your right.
Shake hands with a
person next to you. That
is your partner for pair
activities during this
session.
Welcome
• Spend a minute conversing
with your partner.
• When you introduce your
partner to the group, include
a color.
Workshop Goals
• Better understand the elements
of creativity
• Better understand the
components of differentiation
• Examine selected strategies for
differentiating instruction for
gifted students
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Learn specific facts,
vocabulary,
ideas, andand
• Knowledge
Communicate
knowledge
reiterate
them
interpret
previous
learning
• Comprehension Use
learned knowledge,
rules,
Take apart or break down a
ideas, methods in new
• Application
thing
or idea
into
itsinparts
Use
elements
or
ideas
new
situations
• Analysis
and perceive
theand
and original
patterns
• Synthesis
interrelationship
Make decisions
or judgments
relationships
• Evaluation
based on chosen criteria or
standards
Bloom’s Taxonomy
• Questioning Strategies
– Bloom’s Question Handout
– Q-Matrix
– Cube
Label the Sides
Cube 1
–
–
–
–
–
–
Who
What
When/Where
Why
How
Which
Cube 2
–
–
–
–
–
–
Is/Are
Might
Did
Will
Can
Should/Would/Could
Bloom’s Taxonomy
• Integrating Bloom’s
– Apply to a lesson
• Think about a lesson you teach
• Decide what students should
– Know
– Understand
– Be Able to do
• Design an assessment
• Create activities for each level of Bloom’s
Taxonomy
Activity
• Tell your partner 2 important things
about Bloom’s Taxonomy.
• Tell us 1 thing your partner said.
DC1
Identification Measures
for Creativity
quantitative TTCT - (Torrance Test of Creative Thinking)
SOI - Creativity Test
GATES - Creativity Checklist
qualitative Renzulli - Creativity Character Checklist
Williams’ “How Do You Really
Feel About Yourself?” Inventory
Adapted from J. Juntune, Texas A&M University, 1998
Creative Thinking
Possessing outstanding
imagination, thinking ability,
innovative or creative reasoning
ability, ability in problem
solving, and/or high attainment
in original or creative thinking
Creative Thinking Characteristics
• Independent thinker
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Exhibits original thinking in oral & written expression
Generates several solutions to a given problem
Possesses a sense of humor
Creates and invents
Challenged by creative tasks
Improvises often
Does not mind being different from the crowd
Exhibits a sense of play
William’s Taxonomy of Creative Thinking Skills
Cognitive
Affective
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Fluency
Generate many ideas, related
Change
everyday
objects to
answers,
or choices
Flexibility
generate a variety of
Originality SeekStretch
newcategories
ideas
by expanding,
by suggesting
unusual
enlarging,
twists
enriching,
and clever
or
Elaboration
embellishing
responses
Risk Taking
Deal with
the unknown by
taking chances or
Complexity
Create structure in an
experimenting
Follow
a hunch,setting
question
Curiosity
unstructured
alternatives,
ponderbuild
possibilities,
Imagination Visualize
outcomes,
andmind,
thinkorabout
images
in the
reach
options
beyond
the limits
William’s Taxonomy of Creative Thinking Skills
F
• Activity Examples for fluency
– “What’s Hot?”
– Brainstorming
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Turn the censor off in your brain
Say each idea out loud as it occurs to you
Hitchhike or piggyback ideas
Suspend all judgment
Encourage a free, uninterrupted flow of ideas
Expect to be outrageous
– Creative Explanations activity in packet
William’s Taxonomy of Creative Thinking Skills
F
• Activity Examples for flexibility
– Free Associations
– SCAMPER
William’s Taxonomy of Creative Thinking Skills
O
• Activity Examples for originality
– Forced Association
• Glue, umbrella, toilet, restaurant, tulip
– “Squiggle”
William’s Taxonomy of Creative Thinking Skills
E
• Activity Examples for elaboration
– Menu Item
• Example:
Tongue Twisting Taco
Tasty, Toasty, Tantalizing Taco Treat
Tempts, Tickles the Tongue
Tears the Tummy
Take Two Tums Tonight
– Tall Tales (in packet)
William’s Taxonomy of Creative Thinking Skills
• Questioning Strategies
Activity
• Integrating Creativity
– Apply to a lesson
• Think of a lesson you teach
• Decide what students should
– Know
– Understand
– Be Able to do
• Design an assessment
• Create activities for several areas of
creativity
Questions about
Creativity?
FFOE
Fairness and
Differentiation
• Graphing activity…
The Best
OK
Pitiful
Organized
Desk
Checkbook
Directions
Graphing Activity
• In your packet…
The Best
OK
Pitiful
Organized Balanced Giving
Following Exercising
Desk
Checkbook Directions Directions Regularly
Why Differentiate?
• “One size fits all” instruction
does not address the needs
of many students.
• Kids come in many shapes
and sizes as well as
interests, learning profiles
and readiness levels.
Assumptions: Beliefs about
teaching and learning…
1.Students differ in their learning
preferences and need multiple and
varied avenues to learning.
2. All students can learn what is
important for them to know.
3. Teachers make the difference.
Assumptions: Beliefs about
teaching and learning…
4. Instruction must be meaningful.
5. Curriculum, assessment and instruction
are all of a piece
Align what is Written-Taught-Tested.
6. Diversity should be valued and respected.
Differentiation is not…
• Individualized instruction
• Homogenous grouping
• “Tailoring the same suit of
clothes”
• More faster
Differentiation is …
• Proactive
• Qualitative
• Rooted in Assessment
• Student Centered
• Organic
Differentiate …
Students differ
(1) in their readiness to work with a
particular idea or skill at a given
time,
(2) in pursuits or topics that interest
them, and
(3) in learning profiles that may be
shaped by gender, culture, learning
style, or intelligence preference.
Differentiate …
– Content
– Process
– Product
– (Affect)
Differentiate …
• Content (Input)
– The content should …
• Be broad in scope.
• Be organized around a major and
substantive issue, problem, or theme.
• Allow for the integration of multiple
disciplines.
Content (Input)
• Pacing
– The rate at which students
advance through the content is
modified
• early introduction of algebra or
geometry
• student given more time to
study a topic in-depth
Content (Input)
• Enrichment or Depth
– An elaboration on the basic concepts
taught in the standard program
• In U.S. history, student reads specific
short stories to provide more
information about the Westward
Movement
Content (Input)
• Sophistication or Complexity
– Allowing students to see the larger
systems of ideas and concept
related to the basic content
• In a study of the American
Revolution, the student relates that
war to the nature of revolutions and
movements
Content (Input)
• Novelty
– Introducing completely different
material that would not be
provided to the average student
• The student takes part in a minicourse in archaeology
Activity
• Round Robin Brainstorming
• With your partner, take turns naming
things you know about differentiating
using content.
• In 1 minute, how many can you name?
Differentiate …
• Process (How)
– How the Input comes in
– How the Input is learned
– How the Input is used
Process (How)
• Skills related to the subject or
course of study that includes but is
not limited to basic skills, creative
and critical thinking skills, research
skills and affective skills
Carol Ann Tomlinson’s Equalizer
•
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Foundational – Transformational
Concrete – Abstract
Simple – Complex
Single Facet – Multiple Facets
Small Leap – Great Leap
More Structured – More Open
Less Independence – Greater Independence
Slow - Quick
Differentiate …
• Products (What is produced)
– Products should be included as a
means by which students
communicate the
reconceptualization of existing
information and/or generation of
new information.
California Association for the Gifted. Improving Differentiated
Curricula for the Gifted/Talented: A Reference and Workbook for
Educators and Parents, 1981
Product
• Synthesis and application of the
knowledge, concepts, and skills to
communicate what is learned
Product Differentiation
“Many times, the demonstration of what has
been learned is assessed through paper and
pencil tests. Designing and developing
products goes way beyond this method and
combines much more, such as advanced
content, process skills, and organizational
aspects. One or all areas of content can be
combined into product development: language
arts, social studies, mathematics, arts,
technology, and others.”
The Ultimate Guide for Student Product Development & Evaluation
State Goal for Gifted Services
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
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.
Consider …
• How do practitioners organize their
knowledge and skill in this field?
• How does a practitioner sense
whether approaches and methods are
effective in a given instance?
• According to what standards does
the field measure success?
What questions would you add?
Questions adapted from: The Parallel Curriculum
Activity
• Describe a product that would be
“advanced” compared to others for your
class/content.
– Describe the expectations of the student in
creating this product.
– What components would be included?
– How would the students present their product?
• What makes this product advanced for a
G/T learner?
Affect
•
•
•
•
Risk Taking
Complexity
Curiosity
Imagination
Consider …
• What are the need of the students?
• What is the teacher doing in the
classroom?
• What are the students doing?
• With whom are the students interacting?
• What kind of atmosphere is created?
How is the class differentiated?
Questions about
Differentiating?
Content, Process, Product
According to Readiness, Interest, Learning Style
Activity
Fairness and Differentiation
– Describe “fair.”
– How might you discuss fairness and
differentiation in your classroom?
– Create a chart that would assess
information you need in a meaningful way
for your students.
Strategies
Activity
• Differentiating in Your Classroom:
The Forest and the Trees
Sometimes the use of new vocabulary can
throw you off … think of activities or
lessons you are already doing in the
classroom that implement at least one of
the ideas discussed so far.
– Share your ideas
Strategies for Differentiating
• Interest and Readiness
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Choices of Books
Homework Options
Student/Teacher Goal Setting
Varied Computer Programs
Independent Study
Learning Contracts
Mentors
Interest Groups
Strategies for Differentiating
• Creativity
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Brainstorming
Open-ended assignments
Divergent questioning
Creative Problem Solving
Simulations
Contracts
Differentiated products
Problem-Based Learning
WebQuests
Strategies for Differentiating
• General Intellectual/Specific Academic
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Compacting
Acceleration
Depth & Complexity
Independent Research
Contracts
Higher Level Thinking
Differentiated Products
Tiered Assignments
Cubing
Mentors
Advanced Resources
Curriculum Compacting
1. define the goals and outcomes of a
particular unit or segment of instruction
2. determine and document which students
have already mastered most or all of a
specified set of learning outcomes, and
3. provide replacement strategies for
material already mastered through the
use of instructional options that enable a
more challenging and productive use of
the student's time.
Curriculum Compacting http://www.sp.uconn.edu/%7enrcgt/sem/semart08.html
Curriculum Compacting
Pinpointing students for pre-testing
• Look at academic records, standardized tests,
class performance, evaluations from former
teachers.
• Watch for students who complete tasks quickly
and accurately, finish reading assignments ahead
of their peers, seem bored or lost in daydreams,
or bring extra reading from home.
• Use achievement and aptitude tests and focus on
sections where the students scores are “above
average.”
Curriculum Compacting: Reis, Burns, Renzulli
Curriculum Compacting - http://www.sp.uconn.edu/%7enrcgt/sem/semart08.html
Curriculum Compacting
Pre-Test Options
– Mastery
– Partial mastery
– Study guide
Curriculum Compacting
• Study Indicates
– 95% of the teachers were able to identify high ability
students in their classes and document students' strengths.
– 80% of the teachers were able to document the curriculum
that high ability students had yet to master, list appropriate
instructional strategies for students to demonstrate
mastery, and document an appropriate mastery standard.
– Approximately 40-50% of traditional classroom material
could be eliminated for targeted students in one or more of
the following content areas: mathematics, language arts,
science, and social studies.
– The most frequently compacted subject was mathematics,
followed by language arts.
Science and social studies were compacted when
students demonstrated very high ability in those
areas.
Curriculum Compacting Study- http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/reiswest.html
Curriculum Compacting
• Decisions regarding replacement
activities should be based on:
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Time
Space
Resources
School policy
Help from other faculty
“If students understand that by
demonstrating proficiency they will earn
some time to pursue their own interests,
they will often work to earn this
opportunity.”
Curriculum Compacting: Reis, Burns, Renzulli
Sandra Kaplan’s Depth and Complexity
Language of the Discipline
Details
Patterns
Trends
Rules
Ethics
Big Ideas
???
Unanswered Questions
Over Time
Different Perspectives
I-Search
• Research, but with focus on the
process
• Eliminates cut-and-paste reports
• Interview/communication skills
• Clearly defined rubric
• Choice
Ken Macrorie, The I-Search Paper
I-Search
1.
•
•
Ask
What do I know?
What do I want to know?
2. Plan
•
How can I find out? What resources
can I use?
3. Search
4. Produce
•
•
•
What did I learn?
About the search process
About the topic
DBQ
•
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•
Focused
Big, open-ended question
Primary sources
Scaffolding questions
Vary to meet individual needs
Maintain high rigor
Graded with rubric
•
•
http://www.esc13.net/ships/
http://regentsprep.org/Regents/ushisgov/essays/index.htm
Learning Contracts
“Learning contracts … support differentiation
by organizing students’ responsibilities for
replacement tasks and documenting the
customized learning plan and process.
Contracts provide opportunities for students
to work independently with some freedom
while maintaining the teacher’s instructional
objectives.”
Dr. Bertie Kingore – Differentiation: Simplified,
Realistic, and Effective
Learning Contracts
Contracts can be used for a variety of
reasons, including students who are
compacting out of the regular
curriculum.
• Communicate what is expected
• Encourage students’ responsibility for
learning
• Specify positive work behaviors
Dr. Bertie Kingore – Differentiation: Simplified,
Realistic, and Effective
Learning Contract:
Unit/Lesson:
Dates:
Student Name:
Pre-assessment:
Required Concepts:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Extension Options:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Working Conditions:
Teacher’s Signature
Date
Student’s Signature
Date
Parent’s Signature
Date
Learning Contracts
• More information on contracts can be found in …
– Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular
Classroom by Susan Winebrenner
– Differentiation: Simplified, Realistic, and
Effective by Bertie Kingore
Tiered Lessons/Activities
• Addresses a particular standard, key
concept, and generalization, but allows
several pathways for students to arrive
at an understanding of these components,
based on the students’ interests,
readiness, or learning profiles.
Critical Questions About Tiered Lessons http://www.bsu.edu/teachers/services/ctr/javits/Instruction/criticalquestions.htm
Tiered Lessons/Activities
• Used when the teacher wants all
students to focus on the same
essential ideas and key skills.
• The use of tiered assignments
maximizes the likelihood that:
– each student comes away with key skills
and understandings.
– each student is appropriately challenged.
http://www.rockwood.k12.mo.us/curriculum/staffdev/diff/tiered_files/frame.htm
Tiered Lessons/Activities
• What can you tier?
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Activities
Lessons
Homework
Learning centers
…
Tiered Lessons/Activities
Steps
1. Identify the grade level and
subject
2. Identify the standard being
targeted
3. Identify key concepts and
generalizations
Tiered Lessons/Activities
4. Be sure students have the
background necessary to be
successful
5. Develop the assessment
6. Create one activity that is
interesting, requires high-level
thinking and is clearly focused on
the key concept, skill or
generalization.
Tiered Lessons/Activities
7. Determine what you will tier
(content, process, product)
8. Determine how you will group
(readiness, interest, learning style)
9. Determine the number of tiers
necessary (based on the students in
your classroom)
Critical Questions About Tiered Lessons http://www.bsu.edu/teachers/services/ctr/javits/Instruction/criticalquestions.htm &
http://www.rockwood.k12.mo.us/curriculum/staffdev/diff/tiered_files/frame.htm
Movie
Middle School Examples
Activity
• Investigate a Tiered Assignment
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•
Group according to level (h.s., m.s., elem.)
Read packet
Discuss what and how lessons are differentiated
Thoughts, Feelings, Ideas, etc.
Be prepared to give a brief explanation of lesson and
summary of discussion to the whole group
Samples Online:
– http://ideanet.doe.state.in.us/exceptional/gt/tiered_curri
culum/welcome.html
Tiered Lessons/Activities
• Things to consider
– Scaffolding
– Equally Engaging Activities
– Flexible Grouping
• Groups can and should change depending on the
activity.
• Does grouping mean that students have to sit
together?
Cubing
• Cubing has many of the same
functions as tiered lessons for
differentiation
• Primary difference is the hands-on
nature
Cubing
• Each side of the cube has a prompt
…
The words themselves can vary for
different activities as long as every
cube has the same prompts …
Cubing
• Each prompt has an activity geared
toward the student’s readiness,
interest, or learning profile…
Illustrate the similarities.
Create a T-chart listing the
similarities.
Describe the similarities in a short
paragraph.
Cubing
• Things to consider (again)
– Scaffolding
– Equally Engaging Activities
– Flexible Grouping
• Groups can and should change depending on
the activity.
• Does grouping mean that students have to
sit together?
Activity
Your Turn to Plan
• Compacting
• Contracts
• Tiered Lessons
• Cubing
Which is most appropriate for you?
• Use it? Modify it – Make a hybrid…
Things to Consider
• What do you want the student to
know and be able to do?
• What resources and support are
available?
• Pre-assessment?
• …
(See handout)
Will my plan work?
• Does the content show …
– Authentic skills
– Increasing depth and complexity
– That all levels of the assignment are equally
challenging.
• At each level are there …
– Significant opportunities for higher-level
thinking, complex problem solving and/or
open-ended response
– Thinking skills that are taught in an authentic
context
Adapted from: Proposed Rubric for Self-Reflection of Tiered
Assignments by Sally Simon - http://170.161.50.3/Goals2000/rubric1.htm
Will my plan work?
• Student products would …
– Show a synthesis of learning and express
that learning in a complex way
– Be based on authentic professional models
– Be presented to an authentic, appropriate
audience for critique
• Pre-assessments …
– Pre-assessment matches the content and
task on many levels of complexity
Adapted from: Proposed Rubric for Self-Reflection of Tiered
Assignments by Sally Simon - http://170.161.50.3/Goals2000/rubric1.htm
Will my plan work?
• Instruction …
– A variety of learning styles are addressed in
instruction
– Anchor activities are available
– Student grouping is flexible
• Assessment
– Clear expectations for quality are established and
communicated to students prior to assessment
– Students have an opportunity to self-evaluate
their work and get feedback from peers.
Adapted from: Proposed Rubric for Self-Reflection of Tiered
Assignments by Sally Simon - http://170.161.50.3/Goals2000/rubric1.htm
Assessment
State Goal for Gifted Services
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.
Assessment
…”In a differentiated classroom,
students often work at different paces
and are assessed according to varied
learning goals. Two important features
of a differentiated classroom are
students’ rights to ‘begin where they
are’ and to expect to grow as learners.”
- Carol Ann Tomlinson
How to Differentiate Instruction in
Mixed Ability Classrooms
Assessment
• “Assessments are tasks assigned to
students in order to determine the
extent to which they have acquired
the knowledge and/or skills
embedded within a performance
standard or content goal.”
Adapted from: The Parallel Curriculum pp. 48-52 – Corwin Press
Assessment
“A good assessment instrument can be a learning
experience. But more to the point, it is extremely
desirable to have assessment occur in the context of
students working on problems, projects, or products
that genuinely engage them, that hold their interest
and motivate them to do well. Such exercises may not
be as easy to design as the standard multiple-choice
entry, but they are far more likely to elicit a student’s
full repertoire of skills and to yield information that
is useful for subsequent advice and placement.”
-Howard Gardner
From Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice
Assessment
• Rubrics
• Many FREE sites are available on
the Web
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Teach-nology.com
School.discovery.com
Rubistar.com
4teachers.org
Assessment
• Classroom Based Informal Assessment
– Reflective Journals and Logs
•
•
•
•
•
•
The main thing I’ll remember is…
A new insight or discovery is…
I really understood…
I’m really confused about…
Something I can use beyond school is…
Connections I’m making with other things I
know are…
David Lazear: Multiple Intelligence Approaches to Assessment
Assessment
• Before-and-After Scenarios
– Analyze the impact of the unit or lesson on
yourself using this chart
Before
After
Feelings about it
Thoughts about it
Associations with it
Images or pictures
in mind
• Now write “How I’m different as a result of
this unit or lesson.”
David Lazear: Multiple Intelligence Approaches to Assessment
Considerations for
Lesson Development
• State Goal for Gifted Services
– Students who participate in services designed for
gifted students will demonstrate skills in selfdirected learning, thinking, research, and
communication as evidenced by the development of
innovative products 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.
Have we met the
Workshop Goals?
• Better understanding of the
elements of creativity
• Better understanding of the
components of differentiation
• Examine selected strategies for
differentiating instruction for gifted
students
Contact Information
Susan Maxey
919-5285
Susan.Maxey@esc13.txed.net
Carol Curtiss
919-5288
Carol.Curtiss@esc13.txed.net