Group items tagged

From a parent's perspective (and sometimes from the child's), this can seem like we are "de-gifted" the child.

The most important thing is that you have the "data" that shows what the student needs and that you are matching this with an appropriate service.

Be very explicit with what the differentiation is and how it is addressing the needs

A major shift with RTI is that there is less emphasis on the "label" and more on the provision of appropriate service.

When a child has met all the expected benchmarks

independent reading

reading log

small group for discussions using similar questions.

long-term solutions might include forming a seminar group using a

program like "Junior Great Books."

Ideas for differentiating reading for young children can also be found at: http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/readingdifferentiation.asp http://www.appomattox.k12.va.us/acps/attachments/6_6_12_dan_mulligan_handout.pdf

enrich potential

to plan appropriate instruction, based on data that show the learners' needs.

additional enrichment and challenge in their area(s) strength.

Tiers 2 or 3

As the intensity of the needs increase, the intensity of the services also increases.

our ability to nurture potential in students prior to formal identification

appropriately scaffolded activities through Tier 2 support.

, with high-end differentiation and expectations, we are able to support the development of potential in all students.

This body-of-evidence can be used to support the nomination process and formal identification when appropriate.

likely to be of particular benefit for culturally and linguistically diverse, economically disadvantaged, and twice exceptional youngsters who are currently underrepresented within gifted education.

Tier 1 include:

Tier 2 include:

Tier 3 include:

universal screening

Aspergers

gifted children with learning disabilities?

If we provide enrichment activities for our advanced students, won't that just increase the acheivement gap?

Educational opportunities are not a “zero sum” game where some students gain and others lose.

the needs of all learners.

One is focusing on remediation, however the second approach focuses on the nurturing of potential through creating expectations for excellence that permeate Tier 1 with extended opportunities for enrichment for all children who need them at Tier 2. With the focus on excellence, the rising tide will help all students reach their potential. This is the goal of education.

make sure that the screener is directly related to the curriculum that you are using and that it has a high enough ceiling to allow advance learners to show what they know.

recognizing that students who are above grade level, or advanced in their academics, also need support to thrive

all students deserve to attend a school where their learning needs are met

seek out ways to build the knowledge and skills of teachers to address the range of needs

This includes learning about differentiated instruction within Tier 1and creating additional opportunities for enhancements and enrichments within Tier 2.

first

This often means that the district views the school as a “high-needs” school and does feel that many children would qualify for gifted education services (thus no teacher allocation is warranted). If this is the case, then this is a problematic view as it perpetuates the myth that some groups of children are not likely to be “gifted”.

These five differentiation strategies are as follows: Curriculum Compacting (pre-assessment of learners to see what they know)  The use of Tiered Assignments that address: Mastery, Enrichment, and Challenge  Tiered Learning Centers that allow children to further explore skills and concepts  Independent and Small group learning contracts that allow students to follow area of interest  Questioning for Higher Level thinking to stretch the minds of each child.

RTI was,

first proposed as a way to help us better identify students who continue to need additional support in spite of having appropriate instructional opportunities to learn.

The primary issue is the need for measures of potential as well as performance.

an IQ measure

portfolio

that sometimes occur outside of school

children with complex sets of strengths and needs require a comprehensive evaluation that includes multiple types, sources, and time periods to create the most accurate and complete understanding of their educational needs.

a "diamond" shaped RTI model

confusing

use the same icon to represent how we address the increasing intensity of academic and behavioral needs for all learners.

English Language Learners?

Differentiated instruction is part of a strength-based approach to Tier 1, providing enriched and challenging learning opportunities for all students. However, a comprehensive RTI approach for gifted learners will also need strong Tier 2 and 3 supports and services.

Tracking, or the fixed stratification of children into learning levels based on limited data (placing children in fixed learning groups based on a single reading score), is the opposite of RTI.

off grade level trajectories

this may includ

assess the slope and speed of learning and plot the target from there.

content acceleration and content enrichment.

independent or small group project of their choice.

renzullilearning.com.

additional learning opportunities that both challenge the learner and address high interest learning topics.

less jargon

thesaurus-itis

While the students are ending up with As, many of them are doing so only because they redid assignments that were judged not sufficient to the task on the first try

didn't complain,

They reworked their essays,

"peer pressure

changed the dynamic from "a single teaching-student interaction to multiple teacher-student/student-student interactions

equal plane."

I wanted to give the feedback." But reducing the feedback to a letter grade? "It's intellectually stultifying.

How to teach quality commenting Kathleen teaches commenting skills through: Modelling and composing comments together with students on the interactive whiteboard. Teaching students about the “letter” format and editing process during writing lessons. Giving examples of a poor/high quality comments and having students vote whether the comment should be accepted or rejected. Example of a Sorting blog comments activity devised for our students here. Having students read and comment on a post on our blog as part of a literacy rotation on the computer each week. Taking students to the ICT room once a week to work on composing a quality comment with a partner. Emailing parents and encouraging them to write comments on the blog with their child.

Activities for developing student commenting skills

own or facilitate a collaborative discussion with students to create together (you could include this video as part of the process). Develop a quality comment evaluation guide.  Refer to Linda Yollis’s Learning how to comment. Write a blog post about commenting and what you define as a quality comment. Have your students practise leaving a “quality” comment on the post.

Create a commenting guideline poster (see poster example below) – develop your

“quality” comment on the post.

Create a commenting guideline for your blog.  Here’s an example.

attention due to their high levels of youth engagement that contribute to substantial learning, enhanced critical thinking

such as heightened confidence and sense of agency

Decades of research findings link adolescent engagement, efficacy, and responsibility with opportunities for immersion and mastery, connection in a community of practice, embracing youth voice, and cultivating youth leadership with adolescent engagement, and non-school settings have emerged as crucial developmental and learning environments for youth

Throughout the United States, teen participants in CYD programs assert that the programs saved their lives, putting them on positive trajectories and away from gangs, drug use, crime, and ennui.

The creative process at the center of CYD programs contributes to profound personal growth for youth participants

And as they experience the creative process over an extended period, they learn that they can use it to express their own identities, understand and change the world around them, and connect to the greater human experience.”

community of practice of youth artists and their artist mentors, the paid, professional artists who comprise the full-time faculty. SAY Sí boasts a 100% rate of graduation and pursuit of higher education in a community with a 45% dropout rat

hese programs had a central belief in the ability of young people to achieve and grow artistically and personally through creative expression and skill building in the arts.

impact of arts-based youth programs in reducing risk factors and building protective factors in a study conducted in three American cities

She also catalogued characteristics of effective CYD programs, such as supporting risk within a safe space (

Teens develop intrinsic motivation as they immerse themselves and develop competence in a topic, connect with others who share this interest, and work with educators positioned as senior collaborators—

Developing students who are flexible and willing to continually learn is the best we can do to insure their future.

One facet of our reading instruction that cannot be overlooked is the importance of teacher readers in building a classroom reading community. According to Morrison, Jacobs, and Swinyard (1999), "perhaps the most influential teacher behavior to influence students' literacy development is personal reading, both in and out of school."

If we don't read, why should our students?

Share your reading life with your students. Show your students what reading adds to your life. If you are reading a nonfiction book at the moment, tell them what you are learning. Pass the children's books you are reading to them when you are done. Describe the funny, sad, or interesting moments in the books you read. When you read something challenging, talk with your students about how you work through difficult text. It will surprise them that you find reading hard at times, too, but choose to read, anyway.

Many students in today's world do not read books outside of school. When they do read, it is text-messages, web pages or homework assignments. For students who did not grow up in homes with books, with adults who read and who read to them, this time to read in school is both necessary and pleasurable. Many of my students need catch-up time when it comes to "hours-in" reading. The 10 minutes at the beginning of each period that I allow my juniors each day equals hours of reading across the months of the school year. My most dedicated readers begin books in the classroom, finish them at home, and return to the classroom/school library to check out new books.