[gklemm]

in reply to: 3.1 – Differentiation Strategies #3747

In your own words, what is differentiation and how might it make a difference in your classroom?

Differentiation is meeting students where they are. Differentiation is understanding that each student has unique abilities, interests, and goals, and finding ways to engage each student to promote individualized growth. As a parent of gifted children, one of my biggest struggles is hearing a teacher say my kid doesn’t need any help because they already understand the content. I would hope that the teacher could give my children tasks they haven’t yet mastered so they can grow at the same pace as the typical students.

[gklemm]

in reply to: 2.1 – Equitable Identification Methods #3669

Share some of your thoughts about equitable identification methods on the discussion board titled, Equitable Identification Methods. Consider how your concerns about equity in gifted education are or are not reflected in your school’s or district’s policies or practices.

Equitable identification is necessary to ensure students needs are met, regardless of background. Unfortunately, different populations do not have equal access to information regarding giftedness, gifted testing, highly trained educators, strong advocacy skills for student needs (either from the student or the home).

As a small private school for gifted students, most of our students come to us already identified. However, we are not immune to the struggles of reaching diverse students. Many, if not most, of our students come from upper-middle class families or higher. Most have highly educated parents with lots of free time and years of experience advocating for their students needs. Being a private school has been an obstacle in reaching underserved populations. Cost is prohibitive, and even with financial aid options, sticker shock is off-putting. Additionally, school districts feel threatened we will take the high test scorers and/or highly qualified teachers. I have found that homeschooler families are against school structure and don’t want to lose the autonomy of choice offered by the homeschool laws in Arizona. Finally, transportation is a barrier for students who do not have a full-time stay-at-home parent or do not live in the neighborhood where our campus is located.

[gklemm]

in reply to: 2.1 – Quantitative vs. Qualitative Assessments #3662

What benefits and limitations do you foresee in using quantitative assessments for identification of gifted learners? What benefits and limitations do you foresee in using qualitative assessments for identification of gifted learners?

Both methods of assessment have potential to identify students with high ability in one or more domain. However, it is important to remember, and account for, bias in the assessments.

Standardized testing has inherent bias that favors middle-class native English speakers. Threshold scores should not be generalized or even, in some cases, district set. Individual neighborhoods with discrete cultural differences and unique socioeconomic levels should not be compared to schools in neighborhoods where circumstances are different.

Qualitative assessments made by instructions can also carry inherent bias. Undertrained teachers can easily mislabel a student as difficult or troublesome when really the child is gifted, and bored. Also, school culture can influence a gifted students propensity to display traditional gifted behaviors. In schools where it is ‘uncool’ to be smart, students mask their high ability under more acceptable behaviors.

In a perfect world, qualitative assessment would support quantitative assessments and help to inform educators, schools, and parents about academic pathways most appropriate for every child.

[gklemm]

in reply to: 1.5 – Gifted Education in Six Words #3658

Nurturing gifted minds requires specialized pedagogy.

[gklemm]

in reply to: 1.4 – Is It a Cheetah? #3657

What are the implications of not identifying or misidentifying a gifted child?
I think the article clearly articulates the implications of improper identification or failure to identify that a student possesses a high ability in one of the domains, but here goes; if we fail as educators to identify our students who have exceptionalities, we will inadvertently restrict their growth and ultimately prevent a little human from reaching their full potential, which could have severe negative impacts on society as a whole.

What might you add to this article as you consider underserved populations in gifted education?
African cheetahs vs. Asiatic cheetahs. Asiatic cheetahs are smaller in stature that their African relatives. Each were raised in unique conditions to their populations and developed strengths commensurate with the environment. And even though the Asian version are still cheetahs, they cannot be measured against or compared to the African cheetahs. The same goes for gifted students and gifted identification. We cannot compare IQ or Abilities scores between subsets of our populations that have no basis for comparison. We cannot compare students from low income or predominantly ESL learner neighborhoods to students from more affluent neighborhoods with significantly higher average outcomes. With different opportunities for stimulating growth comes different scales to measure ability. In short, we have to compare apples to apples.

How can we “remove the bars,” “broaden the enclosures,” and provide “lively, challenging mental prey” for gifted students?
By developing specialized programs/offerings for those students who have demonstrated high ability in any domains. This process has to start with the classroom teacher. No one in the world knows an early school aged child better than their k-6 teacher. Training teachers how to identify giftedness, how to engage the gifted mind, and how to differentiate lessons would catalyze change in a school or district. However, to be truly effective, teachers need resources. Resources must come from the school/district and/or the local and state governments. Until gifted children are provided as many supports as their counterparts on the opposite end of the IQ spectrum, change and funding is needed.

[gklemm]

in reply to: 1.3 – Supporting Gifted Children #3656

Reply intended for phoenix.michael’s post on November 3, 2022 at 2:33 pm.

I have found finding challenging assignments challenging. That is to say that true differentiation is necessary to fully engage each learner at their level and pace.

[gklemm]

in reply to: 1.3 – Supporting Gifted Children #3654

Do Aliyah and Christopher remind you of any students in your classroom? What special support would you say your gifted students need right now?

Because all of my students are identified gifted learners, Aliya and Christopher are examples of several students over the years. Every gifted student is unique and their needs for support vary. All students can benefit from SEL supports, and that is what I will submit for this question.

[gklemm]

in reply to: 1.2 – Misconceptions About Gifted Education #3653

I found myself in gifted education because of my experiences looking for something more appropriate for my son. At the time, I was advocating for my own child and struggled, as many parents do, trying to have my complex polygon of a child fit into the round hole of traditional public education. I have been working in a private gifted education program for 9 years now and and find myself as the director of admissions and advising, explaining and advocating for gifted programming from the other side. Even in a small school with a wide range of resources and capabilities, our opportunities for gifted learners are not limitless. Additionally, students outside the ‘average’ still struggle with typical gifted issues in our population or right shifted learners. Balancing capabilities and student/family wishes has been a constant struggle.

The misconception of acceleration as the answer to solve the ‘boredom’ problem encountered by so many gifted learners causes me the most frustration in approaching my job. Many parents arrive on tour day and want to know how young their child can graduate. Gifted learners need autonomy, interdisciplinary connections, deeper and more meaningful opportunities to engage with content, and, most importantly, time to develop skills to be successful in an adult world. My goal as an admissions officer is to hopefully educate students and parents that graduating high school at 16 or younger is not necessarily the most appropriate way to approach their educational path.

I have found the best way to dispel misconceptions about gifted education is to allow my students to engage with prospective students and parents. Parents of gifted children seem to be more receptive to hearing their children’s gifted peers talk about their experiences more than listening to me

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