1. No category

in Young
Scholars
Finding
Gifted
Potential
and
Nurturing
Carol V. Horn cvhorn@fcps.edu
Kirsten Maloney knmaloney@fcps.edu
Advanced Academic Programs
Fairfax County Public Schools
Do students identified for your current
GT program represent the
demographics of your school/district
population?
Select a number between 1 – 10 to represent
how close of a match you believe there is.
(1 – no match, 10 – strong match)
1
2
3
4
5
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7
8
9
10
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Philosophy for FCPS
Advanced Academic Programs
What educators and psychologists
recognize as giftedness in children is
really potential giftedness, which
denotes promise rather than
fulfillment and probabilities
rather than certainties about future
accomplishments.
How high these probabilities are in any
given Case depends much on the
match between a child’s budding
talents and the kinds of nurturance
provided.
Dr. Harry Passow 1985
http://www.fcps.edu/is/aap/index.shtml
4
Underrepresentation of Economically
Disadvantaged and Culturally Diverse Students
Issues and Recommendations
Biased assessment
measures
• Multidimensional assessments
• Portfolios, case studies, anecdotal records
Low expectations
(self and others)
• Raise expectations through more rigorous
and challenging curriculum
Few parent/guardian
referrals
• Increase communication
• Teacher referrals
• Parent advocacy training
Who are the Young Scholars?
Students with gifted potential who may need:
Advocates
Affirmation
Access
Short Term
To identify students who may not be considered for
advanced academic programs using traditional methods of
identification, and who, without that opportunity, are less
likely to pursue advanced levels of learning on their own.
L o n g Term
To nurture high academic
potential at an early age so that
students who have historically
been underserved in advanced
academic programs will be
prepared to engage in
challenging subject matter and
rigorous courses in upper
elementary school, middle
school, and high school.
Four Principles of Systemic Change
Change comes from
within
Change will not
necessarily cost more
money
There are no quick fixes
There is no one best
way
10
Committed Professionals
The greatest barrier to learning is not what the student
knows,
but what the teacher believes!
Dr. Wade Nobles
Challenging Deficit Thinking
Challenging deficit thinking is key to seeing
our students in a different way
Fostering the strengths assumption
challenges us to differentiate for individual
needs to promote achievement and success.
Each child has a
unique profile of
strengths and it is
our challenge as
educators to help
students develop
those strengths.
Which do you believe?
How children may
think …
FIXED
GROWTH
I was born this way and it
won’t change
I want to improve and grow
If I am “smart” I should be
able to do tasks with ease
I like challenges and I like to
look for my own solutions
If a task is difficult, I may
avoid it
I understand growth
requires effort and practice
Find / Identify
Intelligence is
emergent.
Intelligence is
fluid.
Culture may
influence how
intelligence is
expressed.
Intelligence is
complex.
This student does not
belong in this class.
Intelligence is emergent
What will it take to draw this student out?
This is not a gifted student.
Intelligence is Fluid
What is this student’s strength?
This student does not have
the background knowledge
to be an advanced
academic student.
Cultural influences
How does this student think?
Advanced students should read
and write faster,
better, and more independently
than their peers do.
Intelligence is
complex
In what ways does this
student’s ideas show
originality or novelty?
Intelligence
is to
not
So . . . if we want
develop
children
how much
youwho
think
must
knowcritically,
or howwefast
present curricular
you
learn
but
problems, challenges,
discrepancies
or
how you behave
dilemmas for which the
when you don’t
answers are not easily
know
the answer.
accessible.
If you set up the right
conditions, try as best you
can to cross class and cultural
boundaries, figure out what’s
needed to encourage
performance, and if you
watch and listen, again and
again there will emerge
evidence of ability that
escapes those who dwell on
differences.
Lives on the Boundary by Mike Rose
27
Nine Strategies for Teaching
Critical and Creative Thinking
adapted from the work of . . .
Dr. Edward de Bono
Dr. Richard Paul
Level I Nine Thinking Strategies
Point of View
Analyzing how different people might look at the same idea, issue,
and/or situation
Fluency, Flexibility, Originality & Elaboration
Think
Pair
Share
Production for many ideas, expression of new ideas, and the
recombination of existing ideas
Share your ideas with
another pair.
How do you define
giftedness?
Visualization
Turn to your shoulder
partner and share your
thinking. images
forming mental
Consciously
in the senses
How do you know if a
present
child has advanced
academic potential?
How many of you agreed?
of something that is not actually
What different
perspectives were shared?
29
The visualization process can
help students plan out an
experience before execution.
Students can “see” roadblocks
or problems before
encountering them and
improve planning, goal-setting,
and organization.
How might visual thinking
strategies might be used by
teachers to improve problemsolving and goal setting for
students.
Kindergarten
Critical and Creative Thinking Lesson
Circles in Your Imagination
• State Standard:
• The student will identify
representations of plane geometric
figures regardless of their position and
orientation in space.
• The student will compare the size and
shape of plane geometric figures.
• Materials: circular objects, circles,
paper, crayons
Accommodations for ESOL students: Visual aids provided for the LINK portion of the lesson.
LINK
• What shapes can you find in our classroom?
• Use your hands to make a circle.
• Look through your circle lens.
• What round things do you see?
• What is the biggest circle you can find?
Smallest?
• Can you name circles that people use? (wheel,
sun, pizza, globe, etc.)
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33
34
35
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Thinking Strategies (continued)
Encapsulation: Stating ideas in precise and concise form
In ten or fewer words write a sentence to encapsulate your
understanding of the term “gifted”.
Decisions and Outcomes: Understanding that choosing
from alternatives affects events which follow
By a show of hands, how many of you have made a decision that
you wish you could change? Did you make your decision before
you gathered all the facts or was your decision based on impulse/
reaction to the situation?
Plus, Minus, Interesting: Framing the consideration of positive,
negative, and intriguing aspects of an idea into one picture
Think about a school in which all students are encouraged to be
critical and creative thinkers. Complete a PMI chart for this school.
37
What Works
GT resource teacher
teaches a lesson and
the classroom
teacher observes
and takes notes.
Classroom teacher
teaches a lesson and
the GT resource
teacher observes
and takes notes.
The two teachers
discuss and share
observations.
38
Information Considered by FCPS
in Placement Decisions (K-8) Levels II- IV

Ability test scores

Achievement test scores (if available)

Gifted Behaviors Rating Scale with Commentary

Progress Reports and Comments

Additional information (optional)
 Parent/Guardian Questionnaire
 Work samples (5 pgs) plus one – at least one from school
 Certificates/Awards/Letters (5 pgs)
 Additional testing
39
Assessment of Observable
Behaviors
Critical and
Creative Thinking
Lessons
GBRS
Gifted Behaviors
Rating Scale
• Provide ongoing
opportunities for observable
behaviors
• Assesses 4 areas:
• Exceptional Ability to Learn
• Exceptional Application of Knowledge
• Exceptional Creative/Productive Thinking
• Exceptional Motivation to Succeed
Ratings
Each category is
assigned a rating based
on how often behaviors
are observed
1 Rarely
2 Occasionally
3 Frequently
Highest score = 16
Lowest score = 4
4 Consistently
Anecdotal Records
• Uzair – applies learning to his life, makes connections,
shares in small group settings, likes “smart books”,
highly creative, may not have opportunities at home,
draws detailed pictures but does not have good
handwriting, things that help me learn – drew a brain
• Rudy – highly motivated, knew no
English in kindergarten and learned rapidly, mother was
a teacher in El Salvador, advanced reader, explains to
others
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Screening Committees
School administrator
GT resource teacher
Guidance counselor
Reading specialist
Special Education Teacher
Teacher who works with English Learners
Art, music, PE, etc.
43
Nurture Guide Support
The Model in Schools
Each school tailors the
model to the individual
needs of the school and
community:
• Cluster the students in classes and coteach
• Multi-age groupings
• Small group meetings, weekly or monthly
• Looping
• School-wide enrichment challenges
• After-school programs
45
Interventions for Young Scholars
Concept-based Instruction
patterns, systems, change, and
cycles
William and Mary Language Arts Units
and
Jacobs Ladder
Project Clarion Science Units
Reading Above SEM-R
National Geographic Jason Curriculum
http://www.jason.org/public/whatis
/start.aspx
Library of Congress Resources
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/tps/
Elementary is Engineering EIE
Project M2 and Project M3
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Summer School
Two - Three week session for students
who have been identified as Young Scholars and/or twice
exceptional
Multi-age Classrooms/Investigations/Field Trips/Guest
Speakers
High School student volunteers and mentors
Concept-based curriculum with focus on STEM
47
Summer School
YS Primary Curriculum
Wetlands, Body Systems, Cycles, Plants, Your Story My Story, Project
Clarion Units (How the Sun Makes Our Day, Water Works, Budding Botanists, Dig It)
YS Upper Grade Curriculum:
Chesapeake Bay, Acid Acid, Digging in the Past,
Investigating Patterns, Individuals Make a Difference, Math 411, NASA Space Academy
Nat’l Geo JASON Units (Monster Storms, Resilient Planet, Infinite Potential, Terminal Velocity, Tectonic
Fury)
Field Trips provide powerful
learning experiences
Summer School Students
Learn about Archaeology
Summer School Students
Investigate the Pohick Bay
50
High School Volunteers
Essential Elements
Professional Development for K- 12 Teachers
“Research-based Practices” that promote continuous
academic achievement for all students
Curriculum and instruction that nurture advanced
academic potential
Professional development for teams of teachers
Job-embedded staff development
54
Parents Outreach
• Bilingual books
• Parenting/curriculum
resources:
games/books & DVDs
• Parent coffees
• Computers for parent
use for email, etc.
What do elementary
teachers say about
the impact of Young
Scholars?
Summer school provided the Young Scholars
the opportunity to shine
in a smaller
group setting. They additionally
participated in self-reflection which
boosted their confidence in their
abilities.
Since I’ve worked with Young
Scholars, my expectations have been
broader; I
have higher
expectations for children who
are able to perform better. Everyone
has an idea of what giftedness is, but
Young Scholars has broadened
my perspective about who is
brought into that category.
Students are immersed in
learning sessions that go
deep
rather than surface and
they can develop inquiries that
truly interest and engage
them.
TOTAL
TOTAL ALL SCHOOLS Grades K-8
Number
of YS
Schools
White
2000
1
school
5
11
12
2
5
0
35
2001
16
schools
117
196
104
84
18
3
522
2014
83
schools
659
994
2,069 1,193
264
Year
Black
Asian/
Hispanic Pacific
Islander
Multiracial
Other
15 5,194
57
5,194 Young Scholars in Grades K -8
Level IV Services 27.5%
Total
White
14.5%
Black
19.5%
Asian
30.8%
Multi
Racial
6.8%
Total
1428
Hispanic
40.7%
Asian
22.1%
Multi
Racial
5.2%
Total
1217
Hispanic
45.9%
Asian
MultiRacial
18.9%
4%
Hispanic
28%
Level III Services 23.4%
Total
White
14%
Black
17.5%
Level II Services 49.1%
Total
White
10.9%
Black
19.6%
53.7% on free and reduced price lunch
Total
2549
Grade
07
08
09
10
11
12
Total
Total Young
Scholars
1,022
982
868
771
705
590
4,938
MS
Honors
20132014
68%
Young Scholars
in Grades 7 - 12
Center
HS Honors
Level IV
16%
61%
IB/AP
Total Young
Scholars in
Advanced
Courses
56%
95%
79% of grades are A’s and B’s
What do Young Scholars who are now in
high school say about how it impacted
them?
Being [a] Young Scholar [gave] me a
boost of confidence. I feel that I
had been specifically chosen and
given special opportunities to
improve my knowledge and skills.
From the group projects, to the
individual activities, being a Young
Scholar has shaped me for the better.
Young Scholars has helped boost
my confidence, which has
encouraged me to try harder over the
years. I feel more resilient and
more likely to take on
challenges, such as AP classes,
thanks to Young Scholars.
Handbook and Sample Newsletters
http://tinyurl.com/YSresources