Instructional Planning for gifted and Talented learners
Candidates develop differentiated long-range plans for gifted and talented learners anchored in both general and specialized curricula.
5.1: Align
differentiated curriculum with instructional plans to meet local, state, and
national curricular standards appropriate to the assessed academic strengths of
the gifted and talented learner.
1. The "Geography and Tools of History" unit plan that I developed for the Differentiation course (and then implemented during my field study), shows how I can plan a differentiated unit that still meets the standards and requirements determined by the state of Washington and the Issaquah School District. The rigor of the unit is increased, and there are differentiated work times, projects, and assignments described in the unit plan. This unit plan demonstrates my ability to plan a unit for gifted and highly capable learners.
5.2: Design differentiated learning plans/curriculum for gifted and talented learners.
1. The article "The Use of Independent Study as a Viable Differentiation Technique for Gifted Learners in the Regular Classroom" explores how beneficial independent study projects can be when teachers are trying to challenge gifted learners within the confines of the general education classroom. The article discusses the impact that independent study projects have on the motivation and critical thinking skills of gifted learners. This article demonstrates my knowledge of strategies that can be used to challenge gifted students who may already know the material being taught.
2. The PowerPoint "Assessment and Management in a Differentiated Classroom," by Jann Leppien, defines differentiated education, explains how to use assessment to inform instruction, and provides a multitude of formative assessment ideas for use in a gifted classroom. I can use ideas from this PowerPoint to design curriculum that is differentiated and based on pre-assessment.
5.3: Develop scope and sequence plans for gifted and talented learners.
1. The "Geography and Tools of History" unit plan that I developed for the Differentiation course (and then implemented during my field study), shows how I can plan a differentiated unit that still meets the standards and requirements determined by the state of Washington and the Issaquah School District. This unit plan demonstrates my ability to create a scope and sequence for a unit for highly capable and gifted learners.
2. I used the Study Guide Method, as described in Winebrenner's book, Teaching Gifted Kids in Today's Classrooms, to create a independent learning plan for gifted students. This demonstrates my ability to determine the important standards of a chosen unit and create a plan for gifted students, so they can work through the unit at their own pace and document mastery in their own ways.
5.4: Select
curriculum resources, strategies, and product options that respond to cultural,
linguistic, and intellectual differences among gifted and talented learners.
1. I used the Study Guide Method, as described in Winebrenner's book, Teaching Gifted Kids in Today's Classrooms, to create a independent learning plan for gifted students. Part of this plan included a product choices chart, that was handed out to students choosing this plan; so they could choose their own product options to demonstrate mastery.
2. Post #2 from the "Strategies" course discusses the primary reasons I believe that compacting is necessary for gifted students. Compacting and extension work allows students to meet required standards more quickly than the regular pace of the class. It can also provide for use of resources that might be in a child's native language or allow students to work with materials related to their own culture (in extension work).
5.5: Integrate
perspectives of diverse groups into planning instruction for gifted and
talented learners.
1. Teaching for High Potential (Fall, 2011) has an article titled, "Benefits of Providing Enrichment to High-Potential Students from Low-Income Families." This article states that students from low-income families who score at the 75% percentile are comparable to other students who score at the 95% percentile, and that they posses the same levels of motivation and engagement. This idea may impact the way that we identify and plan for gifted students who come from low-income backgrounds.
5.6: Select and adapt a variety of differentiated curricula that incorporate advanced, conceptually challenging, in-depth, distinctive and complex content.
1. The article "The Use of Independent Study as a Viable Differentiation Technique for Gifted Learners in the Regular Classroom" explores how beneficial independent study projects can be when teachers are trying to challenge gifted learners within the confines of the general education classroom. The article discusses the impact that independent study projects have on the motivation and critical thinking skills of gifted learners. This article demonstrates my knowledge of strategies that can be used to challenge gifted students who may already know the material being taught.
5.7: Integrate
academic and career guidance experiences into the learning plan for gifted and
talented learners.
1. The "Geography and Tools of History" unit plan that I developed for the Differentiation course (and then implemented during my field study), shows how I can plan a differentiated unit that still meets the standards and requirements determined by the state of Washington and the Issaquah School District. Within the unit plan, there is one lesson where an archaeologist comes to the classroom to talk to the students about archaeology and what it means to be an archaeologists. This offers highly capable and gifted students the opportunity to see where the content of the class meets with the career world.
5.8: Develop
differentiated curriculum-based assessments for use in instructional planning
and delivery for gifted and talented learners.
1. The PowerPoint "Assessment and Management in a Differentiated Classroom," by Jann Leppien, defines differentiated education, explains how to use assessment to inform instruction, and provides a multitude of formative assessment ideas for use in a gifted classroom. I can use ideas from this PowerPoint to design curriculum that is differentiated and based on pre-assessment.