Gifted Resources at HB Woodlawn

Gifted Resources at HB Woodlawn

TOPICS TONIGHT:1. County model for gifted services2. How that translates to instruction at our alternative school3. Fixed vs. Growth Mindset4. County programs and resources for gifted students5. HBW programs and resources for gifted students


1. County model for gifted services

Gifted Identification in the County

Students in APS may be identified as gifted in one or more of the following areas:

• English• Social Studies• Math• Science

• Visual Arts • Music

Gifted Services in Arlington County

New elementary model matches current Secondary model for Gifted Services…with the addition of: • Intensified, AP, IB levels • Dual enrollment college courses• Additional electives in Arts, Math,

Science, English, Social Studies (e.g. Robotics, Creative Writing, Economics, Engineering, Psychology, Directing…)


2. How that translates to instruction at our alternative school

Gifted Services at HB Woodlawn

HB Woodlawn is a little different, and that’s why you chose it for your child.


In keeping with this vision of alternative education, and because of the small size that makes the magic of our program possible, we do things a little differently.

FOR EXAMPLE…


*however*Because an unusually large proportion of our students are identified as gifted in one or more academic areas, and in the arts,

we do effectively have clusters of gifted students in our academic classes.


Arlington county requires all teachers who teach gifted students– which at HB is almost all teachers– to have training in gifted education… typically in differentiating instruction for gifted learners.


Teachers might modify instruction in any / all of the following ways:• Content (what students learn)• Process (activities used to direct /

assist learning)• Products (how students

demonstrate what they have learned)


And what about the Resource Teacher? With teachers, I…• Co-plan and co-teach lessons• Research and create alternative assignments for

students• Design ways to compact curriculum and provide

enrichment for advanced students• Design & monitor independent projects for

students• Work with teams & individuals on special

projects• Advocate for individual needs of gifted students

with & without disabilities


And what about the Resource Teacher? With individual students, I…

• Help with independent studies• Serve as Mentor Teacher• Match students and support application processes• Frequently attend Student Studies, IEP meetings, etc


And what about the Resource Teacher? With whole staff, I…• Advertise and encourage participation in

professional development opportunities

• Help lead planning and implementation of Professional Learning Communities

• Help design & deliver professional learning courses & conversations at HB-W

Gifted Services at HB Woodlawn / Dweck

HB-W and APS are also talking about…

4. Carol Dweck’s research on fixed vs. growth mindsets• FIXED mindset = Intelligence is a fixed trait. All

people fit somewhere on a continuum of “smart.” You’ve got it or you don’t.

• GROWTH mindset = Intelligence is malleable and can be developed through education and hard work

There is a fixed intelligence thatcan be measured using an IQ test

No matter how much you learn or how hard you work your intelligence staysthe same.

Alfred Binet Invented the first useable IQ test

THE OLD SCHOOL: WE ARE BORNWITH FIXED INTELLIGENCE

INTELLIGENCE IS COMPLEX - OTHER FACTORS MATTER AS MUCH, IF NOT MORE

• Hard work, persistence and focus all play a role

• Research shows that these traits are by-products of something else

Focused on:

• Why people succeed at what they do

• How to foster success

Carol Dweck Professor of Psychology – Stanford University

Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University

Reaction to Failure

Students given impossible-to-solve math problems fell into two groups: • Fearful of mistakes• Easily discouraged and defensive• Fearful of not looking smartA second set of students reacted differently• Said “I love a challenge”• Said “I learned something, I can solve it next time”• Enjoyed the experience of failing

THE STUDENTS HAD A DIFFERENT MINDSET

Mindset:

A mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to challenging situations.

• Fixed Mindset: Intelligence is a fixed trait

• Growth Mindset: intelligence is a quality that can be changed and developed

MINDSET STEP # 1 : LEARN, LEARN,LEARN

• Fixed Mindset: • “Look intelligent at all costs” • “The main thing I want to do in

school is to show others how good I am ”

• Growth Mindset: • “Learn, learn, learn”• “It’s much more important for

me to learn than to get top grades”

EVEN GENIUSES WORK HARD

2. The way in which they identify, confront, and take pains to remedy their weaknesses

IN OTHER WORDS

• It matters less what you are born with; it matters more what your mindset is

The most distinguishing features of highly successful people:

1. Their passion and dedication to their craft

• Better transition from elementary to middle school

• Were less intimidated when work got harder.

• Willing to put in more effort

• Earned better grades

• Better social relationships

• More willing to admit to mistakes

• Willing to broach problems

• Less defensive

• Mindset and the achievement gap (research studies)

• Girls taught growth mindset did as well as boys on challenging math problems

• A group of at-risk students showed sharp improvement when taught growth mindset

Growth Mindset

Fostering Success

• Many students misunderstand how the brain works• Media messages often emphasize talent over hard work

• Dweck: students were ‘galvanized’ when told hard work makes you smarter; “you mean I don’t have to be dumb?”

•School culture can foster success: • Value taking on challenges even if you get a lower grade• Repeated message - hard work makes you smarter • School is not a place that judges you

• Students performed better in classes when teachers possess and communicate a growth mindset

The brain is like a muscle that gets stronger and works better the more it is exercised.

Too often students believe the brain is static, leading them to think talent and giftedness are permanent, unchanging personal attributes that automatically bring later success.

Everytime you work hard, stretch yourself and learn something new your brainforms new connections and over time you actually become smarter.

THE BRAIN IS MALLEABLE

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset

You’d think a fixed mindset would benefit gifted kids, who see themselves as smart.

On the contrary: Dweck’s research has shown that for gifted children who believe that intelligence is innate, expending effort on schoolwork feels dangerous: the need to put in effort is proof that they aren’t so smart!

In their attempts to look smart and always be successful, gifted kids fear taking risks, & only want to participate in activities they’re immediately good at.

Fixed vs. Growth MindsetHow this may impact the transition from elementary to middle, or middle to high school:

Students who have been successful with little effort begin to struggle in the more demanding environment.If they believe they’ve done well in school before because they were smart… now they begin to think they weren’t so smart after all.

If their grades begin to slip, they may never recover, because they are likely to see the path to improvement– expending effort– as more proof of their failure.

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset

WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP?

Praise students for their effort rather than their intelligence. Emphasizing effort gives them a variable they can control.

Teach students that as they exercise their brains they are forming new neural connections… the capacity to learn and remember grows along with these new neural pathways.

Fixed vs. Growth MindsetEXAMPLES OF PRAISE… for effort, strategies, focus, persistence, willingness to take on challenges:

• You really studied for that test– you read the chapter, you outlined it, you tested yourself on it– and it worked!

• I like the way you tried a lot of different strategies on that math problem until you finally solved it.

• It’s great that you took on that challenging project for your science class! It will take a lot of work– doing the research, designing and building the model– you’re going to learn a lot of great things!

Fixed vs. Growth MindsetTEACH THE JOY OF LEARNING AS A PROCESS… express positive views of challenges, trial & error, mistakes:

• This is hard– this is fun!

• Hm, that was too easy. Let’s find something more challenging so you can learn something.

• Mistakes are interesting… they show how your mind works. Let’s find a good mistake and see what we can learn from it.

… more information about DWECK / MINDSETS in these handouts… this research is informing conversations among staff at HBW and in APS Gifted Services this year.


4. County programs and resources for gifted students

Enrichment Opportunities for Gifted Students - APS

• Junior Honors Band & Orchestra (6th grade)• Honors Band & Orchestra (7th-8th grades)• Honors Chorus (6th-8th grades)• Regional & State Honors Ensembles (HS)• Fine Arts Apprentice Program (HS)• P.R.I.M.E. (HS)• Governor’s School (Academic, Mentorships, Arts,

Foreign Language) (HS)• Superintendent’s Seminar (HS)


5. HBW programs and resources for gifted students

Enrichment Opportunities for Gifted Students - HBW

Middle School• Elective courses in Robotics, Creative Writing, Economics• AMC “Math Counts” and Math League Competitions

(Michelle Meehan, Mark Dickson)• TAB (book club producing reviews for public library)

(Margaret Staeben, librarian) • Bee Keepers (Neal Payne)• Needle Art (Peggy Gaines)• VJAS (regional science fair) – your child’s science teacher• Geography Bee (Eleanor Reed)• Junetime (Liz Waters)• National History Day (Dan Paris)• Odyssey of the Mind (Patty Healy, parent)

… and much more! See HB’s website. Students are encouraged to propose and run interest clubs themselves! Very much part of the culture of student-directed learning at HBW.


High School• Elective courses in Engineering, Filmmaking, Social

Sciences, Computer Science • Chess Club, Bridge Club (Mark Dodge)• Math Team & VA Math League (Mark Dickson)• National Honor Society (Jennifer Goen)• VJAS (regional science fair) (your child’s science teacher)• Scholastics Writing Awards (Catherine Frum)• Scholastics Art Awards (Faylinda Kodis)• Student-proposed elective courses (e.g. Art History)• Student-proposed English electives• Outside teacher funds• CAS (Community as School) elective credit for internships

(Kristale Grant)


• Almost monthly student-directed plays in our Black Box

• Annual musical (this year: Footloose!)

• Annual middle school play (this year: Lysistrata!... Adapted by 8th grade scriptwriters to involve protest against school policies…)

Students direct, design and hang lights, design & build sets, design and create costumes, write and play music… often with support but very little direction from adults

Vibrant theater department!

Henry 8, Middle School Production

Les Misérables, whole-school production


Questions?Please fill out a card with individual questions or concerns about your child, and leave me your phone number or email address… and I will get back to later this week!

Liz Waters, [email protected]

Gifted Resources at HB Woodlawn

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