Highly Capable and Advanced Learners Stephanie Bradshaw 3

Highly Capable and Advanced Learners Stephanie Bradshaw 3 rd grade teacher Franklin Elementary

Agenda Welcome/Introduction Gifted characteristics Goals/Myths Successes/difficulties with advanced learners Assessment overview Types of assessments Pre-tests/Post-tests Using data to group students Documentation Next session/exit ticket

Gifted Characteristics 1 minute - Jot down “typical” characteristics you have seen in gifted students Share with your group Share with the whole group Myths video (8 minutes): https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=MDJst-y_pt. I

Goal Every student learning something new Statistics Share page successes and/or difficulties you have experienced while teaching gifted or advanced learners.

Types of Assessments District and State level assessments (MAPS, DIBELS, MSP/SBAC) Initial grouping Monitoring for progress Curricula assessments (Storytown, Envisions) Quick checks Weekly tests Benchmark tests Use for keeping groupings flexible Interest Inventories Engage students using their interests

Pre-tests Pre-test Either give to all students or offer to all students Quickly share what will be assessed so students can judge if they feel they have mastered that content yet or not Use the same test as the Post-test to eliminate score variability based on question type or wording (not shown to students or only shown quickly to avoid skewing the data) “Challenge group” – weekly test – 90% or better; unit test – 80% or better Go over results for all who opted to take the pre-test so they know why they are in the group they are in. TIP: create “benchmark” tests on the Envisions website to not have so many assessment days.

Post-tests Same test as the pre-test Students who scored 100% on the pre-test do an alternate activity during the post-test. Looking for growth in all other students from pre-test score to post-test score.

Student Grouping Use pre-test data to group students Walk-to Independent contracts Centers Differentiate instruction in some way for students who have mastered 80 -90% of the material you are about to teach as they will not be learning something new Include “challenge” students for lessons they did not master based on the pre-test Keep Next session will be spent on many differentiation ideas and methods groups flexible from unit to unit! Not all gifted/high achieving students are experts at everything you will teach! There may be holes that need to be filled.