AIG Teacher at Balfour:
North Carolina Definition of Giftedness:
North Carolina Definition of Giftedness
Academically and/or intellectually gifted students perform or show the potential to perform at substantially high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience or environment. Academically and/or intellectually gifted students exhibit high performance capability in intellectual areas, specific academic fields or in both intellectual areas and specific academic fields. Academically and/or intellectually gifted students require differentiated education services beyond those ordinarily provided by the regular education program. Outstanding abilities are present in students from all cultural groups, across all economic strata and in all areas of human endeavor.
Philosophy
We are committed to providing quality learning opportunities for all students. We acknowledge our responsibility to discover, nurture and develop the potential of each student.
We recognize that:
- Gifted students have exceptional abilities, talents, and strengths
- Gifted students come from diverse families and cultures
- Gifted students have unique cognitive and affective needs which may require differentiated programs and services
We believe that:
- Our responsibility is to provide an array of services that maximize the potential of each of these students
- These services should be provided by well qualified, knowledgeable staff
- Continuous communication and collaboration among teachers, parents, administrators and community members are essential to meet the needs of all students
Goals
- Utilize multiple criteria to appropriately identify academically and intellectually gifted students who may require differentiated learning opportunities
- Offer a continuum of services designed to enhance and to nurture all students and to provide opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate gifted behaviors and become confident, productive members of society
- Improve communication among Asheboro City Schools gifted education program, the home and school communities in order to strengthen a positive vision of its purposes and goals
- Continue a comprehensive and ongoing staff development program for classroom teachers, administrators, counselors and specialists in order to better provide differentiated learning for gifted students
- Integrate gifted education into the school environment through collaboration among all educators, parents and community members
- Implement evaluation strategies to assess and document the impact of the program for gifted, advanced and talented students through a variety of formal and informal measures
Student Search: A student search will be conducted annually to create a pool of students. Each student will be reviewed for nomination.
- Systemwide screening of all:
- Aptitude: Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)
- Achievement: Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS)
- Nomination made for >85 percentile on test scores
- Teacher checklist
- Standardized test scores third and seventh grade students
- Teacher nomination
- Parent nomination
Recognition of Student Need in Math and/or Reading:
There are six indicators of giftedness, but not every piece of information has to be collected for every child. Sufficient information is needed to verify that a particular student needs a particular service option.
- Student Observable Behavior
- Student Performance
- Student Achievement
- Student Aptitude
- Student Interest
- Student Motivation to Learn
- Teacher/Parent Checklists
- Grades/Work Samples
- Standardized Testing
- Student Inventory
- Teacher/Parent Checklists
Student Service Match - Service Options for Math and/or Reading: The School-Based Committee for Gifted Education will use specific criteria for service options to match the student's need with the appropriate options.
Learning Environment
- In-Class Flexible Grouping
- Cross-Grade Flexible Grouping in Specific Subjects
- Cluster Grouping Within a Regular Class
- Cross-Team/Subject Grouping with Collaboration
- Cluster Grouping Within Teams
- Subject Advancement
- Residential High School
Content Modification
- Appropriate classroom grouping strategies
- Increased pace of instruction
- Differentiated units
- Content modification
- Alternative products
- Enrichment opportunities
- Curriculum compacting
- Individual projects/contracts
- Challenging subject classes in math and language arts
- Independent options
Definitions for Learning Environment
In-Class Flexible Grouping: Students in each class are assigned to a small group for instruction. These groups may be heterogeneously or homogeneously grouped according to skill level.
Cross-Grade Flexible Grouping in Specific Subjects: Depending on their skill level and performance, students are grouped within the school for specific subjects. This is particularly appropriate for primary grades.
Cluster Grouping Within a Regular Class: A cluster group (4 to 6 in elementary or 8 to 12 in middle school) of gifted students is assigned to a regular heterogeneous class. The cluster group teacher receives extensive training in gifted education and works closely with a gifted specialist to design appropriate, differentiated curriculum for this group. This includes both resources and teaching strategies.
Cross-Team/Subject Grouping with Collaboration: Two sections of the same subject are taught at the same time, allowing students to be grouped and regrouped between the classes for skills and enrichment. This works well within a team situation and adapts to unit teaching following a Mastery Learning Model.
Cluster Grouping Within Teams: Students are assigned to teams heterogeneously. The academically able students within each team are reassigned to one or more teachers for a specific block of instructional time. Placement within this group is flexible, based on student performance, and teams meet on a regular basis to review student progress. This is particularly appropriate for middle school students.
Subject Advancement: Based on assessment, students are allowed to test out and bypass specific subjects or skill levels. They might receive instruction at a higher level with another group of students, yet remain with their peer group for most of their instruction.
Grade Skipping: Students move ahead one or more years, skipping levels in the normal sequence of promotions. This has traditionally been used successfully with highly gifted students as a method of acceleration.
Residential High School: Such schools offer advanced courses or specialized curriculum not available in most high schools. Examples include North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and North Carolina School of Performing Arts.
Definitions for Content Differentiation
Differentiated Units: One of the most effective ways to deliver differentiated curriculum to gifted students is through designing differentiated units that incorporate individual learning abilities and levels of content and skill.
Content Modification: This option allows the classroom teacher to use different levels of activities within a class to accommodate the needs and prior knowledge level of the student. Students may explore basically the same content but at different levels of complexity.
Curriculum Compacting: Curriculum compacting is modifying or streamlining the regular curriculum in order to eliminate repetition of previously mastered material, upgrade the challenge level of the regular curriculum, and provide time for appropriate enrichment and/or acceleration activities while ensuring mastery of basic skills.
Contracts: Learning contracts are agreements made between teachers and students that allow students to work independently on either accelerated or enriched materials related to a unit of study. To be effective, it is important that contract goals be realistic and that teachers meet with the students on a regular basis and review their progress.
Independent Study: This may be used as a way to either accelerate or enrich learning. Students displaying content mastery or having a special interest may contract with the teacher for an independent study project. This works best for students who are self-directed, have strong interests, and a clear idea of what they would like to investigate