OVERLOOKED GEMS: NEW DIRECTIONS FOR GIFTED

IDENTIFICATION

E. Camille Fears Floyd, PhDGifted Coordinator

Macon County Schools

ALSDE MEGA Conference

July 17, 2014

Mobile, Alabama

I. Housekeeping/Welcome

II. Embracing & Nurturing Diversity

III.Cognitive and Affective Gifted Characteristics

(Frasier’s TABs)

IV. Dispelling Myths Associated with Gifted and

Talented Students

V. Discovering Gems

VI.Parking Lot

AGENDA

Developing talent among gifted African American students in schools requires educators and communities to overcome a legacy of deficit thinking about intelligence among African Americans. 

Embracing the changing racial composition of rural classrooms in today’s society is also critical.  Educators must be culturally responsive to the diverse needs of African American children who are gifted.

SESSION BACKSTORY

This session will focus on the cognitive and affective characteristics, strengths, and differences of gifted African American students. Myths and truths regarding gifted students will be shared.

Diversity initiatives and guidance for the recruitment and retention of African American students will be provided.

Recommendations for future research on talent development and educational opportunities for gifted African American children will also be shared.

SESSION OVERVIEW

DIVERSITY

Celebrates differences instead of trying to hide or change them

Teachers are charged with ensuring that each student maintains his or her uniqueness while focusing on the mission and goals of gifted education

HOW DO WE NURTURE DIVERSITY?

Directly engage in differences as key issues for creating

inclusion

Think critically about diversity, how it affects us, and

what we can do about and with it

Immerse in diverse cultures

WHAT DIVERSITY IS

Building broad scoped inclusive organizations

Learning to use all human capacity for individual

and group

performance

Valuing, respecting, and including every member

WHAT DIVERSITY IS NOT

•About quotas (counting the numbers of one type of person or another)

•About highlighting cultural or ethnic differences as negative attributes

•A “quick fix” or a quickly mastered solution

DIVERSITY TRAININGInitiatives must be grounded conceptually in the principle of inclusion.

Inclusion must serve as the fundamental unifying principle in diversity

Diversity initiatives fail when: • they are implemented improperly• they do not incorporate the perspectives

and concerns of diverse individuals

INCLUSION

Opens the pathway for a variety of different individuals to marshal their personal resources to do what they do best.

Helps students feel validated, accepted, heard and appreciated

Happens at two levels (individual and organizational)

Developing it is everyone’s responsibility

How may I increase my knowledge about various cultural groups so that I do not rely on biased and stereotyped information?

BRIGHT VS. GIFTED VS. CREATIVE

W H A T ’ S T H E D I F F E R E N C E B E T W E E N A

Bright Child Gifted Learner Creative LearnerEnjoys school Enjoys self-directed Enjoys creating

learning

Knows the answers Asks questions Sees exceptions

Is interested Is highly curious Wonders

Is attentive Is mentally involved Daydreams, may seem

off task

Advanced ideas Complex, abstract ideas Overflows with ideas

Works hard Knows without Plays with ideas &

working hard concepts

Answers questions Discusses in detail, Injects new possibilities

elaborates

Top of the group Above & beyond the group Is in own group

Bright Child Gifted Learner Creative Learner

Listens with interest Shows strong Shares bizarre, feelings/opinions conflicting opinions

Learns with ease Already knows material Questions: What if….

6-8 reps for mastery 1-3 reps for mastery Questions need for

mastery

Understands abstractions Constructs abstractions Overflows with ideas

Enjoys peers Prefers adult Prefers creative peers, works alone

Understands complex, Creates complex Relishes wild, off-the wall abstract humor abstract humor humor

Completes assignments Initiates projects Initiates more projects

than will ever be completed

ALSDEGIFTED IDENTIFICATION

Second Grade Gifted Child Find Procedures

Standard Referrals

Referral Process

Observation of StudentsTABs Evaluation (Matrix)

DR. MARY F. FRASIER( 1 9 3 8 - 2 0 0 5 )

Nationally recognized scholar and researcher in gifted

educationFounder of the Torrance Center for Creativity and

Talent Development in the UGA College of Education. President of the National Association for Gifted

Children (NAGC) from 1987-89NAGC's Distinguished Service Award in 1991, and the

Ann F. Isaacs Founder's Memorial Award for her work

with NAGC. Created the TABs and granted Alabama the use of a

modified form.

DR. MARY M. FRASIER

As a researcher, scholar and advocate, Dr. Frasier

had a profound effect on changing the way children

are assessed for gifted services.

Designed the Frasier Talent Assessment Profile (F-

TAP), a comprehensive assessment system with

multiple indicators that is much more effective in

assessing the gifts and talents of low-income and

minority children than single-indicator tests

previously used.

Trai ts , Apti tudes, and Behaviors

Identification of gifted children from varying cultural and economic groupsTen (10) TABs which have been found through research to be consistently associated with the psychological construct of giftedness. Core attributes of the giftedness construct Foundation for creating a sufficient knowledge

base about the characteristics a student demonstrates so that appropriate referrals, placements and programming decisions can be made.

TABS

Traits-A relatively persistent and consistent behavior pattern.

Aptitudes-The capacity to perform in the future or some future ability.

Behaviors-Any response made by an organism.

Motivation

Interests

Communication

Skills

Problem-Solving

Ability

Inquiry

FRASIER’S TABs

Leadership

Insight

Reasoning

Imagination/

Creativity

Humor

WHAT DO THE TABs L K LIKE IN STUDENTS?

MEMORY WALK

Think about the brightest children you have ever taught (or your own children).

I n what ways were they different from their age peers?

What did they do that amazed, surprised, puzzled or maybe even concerned you?

+ demonstrate persistence in pursuing and/or completing self-selected tasks. Tasks may be culturally influenced.

+ focus motivation on non-school activities rather than school activities.

+ be an enthusiastic learner of non-school or school subject matter.

+ aspire to be somebody, do something.

M O T I VAT I O N - E v i d e n c e o f d e s i r e t o l e a r n

―Easily bored with routine assignments and repetitions.―May want to do things her/his own way.―Sometimes does not want to stop one project to start the next.―Dislikes interruptions.―May be overly aggressive―Challenges authority

+ demonstrate unusual or advanced interests

+ in a topic or activity. + be a self-starter.+ pursue an activity unceasingly.+ be beyond age group in

activities/interests.+ show concern for local and global

issues

I N T E R E S T S - A f e e l i n g o f i n t e n t n e s s , p a s s i o n , c o n c e r n o r

c u r i o s i t y a b o u t s o m e t h i n g .―Reads constantly often at inappropriate times―Dominates discussions; may extend comments with details beyond the comprehension of age-mates―Goes on tangents with no follow- through―Loses other students by explaining or over-analyzing issues―Neglects other responsibilities

+ demonstrate unusual ability to communicate verbally,

+ physically, artistically, or symbolically.

+ use particularly apt examples, illustrations, or elaborations.

+ use this ability in or out of the classroom.

C O M M U N I C AT I O N S K I L L S – H i g h l y e x p r e s s i v e a n d e f f e c t i v e u s e o f w o r d s ,

n u m b e r s , s y m b o l s .

―Shows off.

―Invokes peer resentment.

―Constantly talking to and

monopolizing the time of the teacher.

―Losing or “turning off” students with

high level of vocabulary

+ have keen sense of humor which

could be gentle or hostile.

+ have exceptional sense of timing

+ in words or gestures.

P R O B L E M - S O LV I N G A B I L I T Y – E f f e c t i v e , o f t e n i n v e n t i v e , s t r a t e g i e s f o r r e c o g n i z i n g

a n d s o l v i n g p r o b l e m s .

―Is out-of-sync with classmates

and becomes socially isolated.

―Makes jokes at adults’ or

classmates’ expenses.

―Plays cruel tricks on others

―Class clown

+ ask unusual questions for age.

+ play around with ideas.

+ demonstrate extensive exploratory

behaviors directed toward eliciting

information about materials,

devices, or situations.

I N Q U I RY – Q u e s t i o n s , e x p e r i m e n t s , e x p l o r e s .

―Goes on tangents

―No follow-through

―Dominates discussions

―Impolitely correct teacher or other

adults

―Can become a “pest”

+be quick to help others.

+carry out responsibilities well.

+lead others on the playground or in

other unstructured situations (could be in

a negative or positive way).

L E A D E R S H I P – D i s p l a y s l e a d e r s h i p a m o n g h i s / h e r p e e r s .

―Becomes “bossy”

―Unwilling to listen to classmates

―Lead others into negative behavior.

―Can be too authoritative.

―Impatient with others

+ show sudden discovery of correct solution following

+ incorrect attempts based primarily on trial and error.

+ display high ability to draw inferences.+ appear to be a good guesser.+ possess heightened capacity for

seeing unusual & diverse relationships.

+ integrate ideas and disciplines.

I N S I G H T – Q u i c k l y g r a s p s n e w c o n c e p t s a n d m a k e s c o n n e c t i o n s ;

s e n s e s d e e p e r m e a n i n g s ..

―May overlook details

―Out-of-sync with classmates

―Appears to be showing off or makes

other students feel inadequate

―Impolitely corrects adults

+ make generalizations.+ use metaphors and analogies.+ think things through in a logical

manner.+ think critically.+ think things through and come up

with a plausible answer.

R E A S O N I N G – L o g i c a l a p p r o a c h e s t o f i g u r i n g o u t s o l u t i o n s .

―Notices too much in classroom and

may appear off-task

―Does not readily follow directions

―May overlook details

―May tell teacher better ways to do

things.

+ show exceptional ingenuity in using everyday materials.

+ have wild, seemingly silly ideas. + solve problems through non-traditional

patterns of thinking.+ produce ideas fluently/flexibly.+ be highly curious.+ display figural or verbal creativity.

I M A G I N AT I O N / C R E AT I V I T Y – P r o d u c e s m a n y i d e a s ; h i g h l y o r i g i n a l .

―Gets lost in own thoughts

―Appears to be daydreaming or

inattentive

―May not have follow-through

+ use effective & often inventive strategies for recognizing and solving problems.

+ be able to change strategies if selected solution does not work.

+ create new designs, invent.+ use this ability in or out of the

classroom.

H U M O R – B r i n g s t w o h e r e t o f o r e u n r e l a t e d i d e a s o r p l a n e s o f

t h o u g h t t o g e t h e r i n a r e c o g n i z e d r e l a t i o n s h i p .

—Interferes with others

—Perfectionistic

—Avoids reflective, divergent

responses.

—Sometimes, too innovative.

—Stubborn

OTHER ‘D IFFERENT’ MANIFESTATIONS

―Finds it difficult to wait for others―Learns at faster rate―Unwilling to show work or details―Refuses to do assignments because “already know it”―Low self-image about academic performance―Over-concern for social problem―Bored by simple things in life―Unwilling /unable to follow basic rules or requirements―Constantly doodling or drawing

COMMON MYTHS IN GIFTED EDUCATION

MYTH:

That student can’t be gifted, she’s receiving poor gradesTRUTH:

Underachievement describes a discrepancy between a

student’s performance and her actual ability.  Gifted

students may become bored or frustrated in an

unchallenging classroom situation causing them to

lose interest, learn bad study habits, or distrust the

school environment.  Other students may mask their

abilities to try to fit in socially with their same-age

peers.  No matter the cause, it is imperative that a

caring and perceptive adult help gifted learners break

the cycle of underachievement in order to achieve

their full potential. 

MYTH: Gifted students are like cream that

rises to the top in a classroom.TRUTH:

Not necessarily. Gifted children can have hidden

learning disabilities that go undiscovered

because they can easily compensate for them in

the early years. As time goes on, it becomes

harder and harder for them to excel, which can

lead to behavior problems and depression.

MYTH: Gifted students are so smart they do fine with

or without special programs.

TRUTH:

They may appear to do fine on their own. But

without proper challenge they can become

bored and unruly. As the years go by they may

find it harder and harder as work does become

more challenging, since they never faced

challenge before.

MYTH:

This child can’t be gifted, he has a disabilityTRUTH:

Some gifted students also have learning or other

disabilities. These “twice-exceptional” students often go

undetected in regular classrooms because their disability

and gifts mask each other, making them appear

“average.” Other twice-exceptional students are

identified as having a learning disability and as a result,

are not considered for gifted services. In both cases, it is

important to focus on the students’ abilities and allow

them to have challenging curricula in addition to

receiving help for their learning disability. 

Deficit Thinking • Low expectations• Viewing cultural behaviors

as deficits

Cultural Mismatch• Immersion in the dominant

culture• Cultural Discontinuity • Educator prep program

deficiencies• Field experiences,

curriculum

CHALLENGES FACING GIFTED AFRICAN AMERICAN

STUDENTS

Identification of CLD

Students• Gatekeepers• Teacher pleasers• Traditional ID

Measures-IQ tests, cutoff scores

• Presumed Gifted Behavior Manifestations vs. uniqueness and creativity of culture

THE CHALLENGES OF BEING GIFTED

In the words of gifted children….

“Sometimes it’s hard to talk to people. My vocabulary is a bit bigger than others. I get the ‘what?’ look all the time. I also get teased and questioned and poked and picked by teachers and kids!”~ Lillian, 5th grade

“The teachers stop calling on me because they know that I know all the answers.”

~Charles, 7th grade

"People expect so much more of me than I can do. I'm not smart in every single category in school.”

~Kaitlyn, 3rd grade

"Sometimes when I ask people what we're doing, they say, 'You're in GT, you're smart... Figure it out for yourself!' -- and I don't like that."

~Chad, 4th grade

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't so smart because then the teachers wouldn't always expect so much out of me. They wouldn't always expect straight A's and nothing less. It is also kind of annoying sometimes when kids ask you 'what's the answer to this problem?' or 'can you help me?' even when the answer is so simple if they would just take the time to do it."

~James, 8th grade

"I get taken advantage of. People ask to be my partner or work with me on a paper and I am stuck doing all the work. The only thing they do is make sure their name is on the paper or project."

~Charlotte, 11th grade

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR DISCOVERING GEMS

Teacher/Staff Training

• Cultural identity and awareness

• Classroom Interactions• Gifted Education Program • Perceptions of students• Nontraditional Identification

Methods

Curricular Delivery Options

• Acceleration• Honors, AP courses• Early entrance programs• International Baccalaureate• Pull-out programs, Gifted

Centers, Schoolwide

Dynamic Thinking

Multiple Criteria

for

Identification• Frasier’s Four

As

NEW DIRECTIONS…

Teacher Advocacy

&

Training

Additional Support

• District• Experts• Parents

DR. FRASIER’S FOUR As

Dr. Frasier synthesized research related to problems

associated with the identification of culturally and

linguistically diverse students for gifted programs and

concluded that there are four persistent issues.• ACCESS• ASSESSMENT• ACCOMMODATIONS• ATTITUDE

ACCESS

The ways in which CLD students become

considered for gifted

program placement

Teachers have the privilege and responsibility

of creating new

conversations in our classrooms which go

beyond a

description of risk and capacity to actually

demonstrate and

develop them.

ACCOMMODATIONSProgram design and curricular experiences to

support the

needs and interests of CLD students

Valuing difference initiatives motivates every

individual within

the group to perform more effectively in the

service of the

goals of the group whether that individual is from

a

traditionally disenfranchised group or from a

traditionally

privileged group.

ASSESSMENTThe entire process of evaluating the presence of

and degree of

giftedness

Human propensity to categorize others on a

variety of

dimensions and then make judgments based on

those

subjective categorizations is a well documented

phenomenon in

the social psychological literature.

ATTITUDE

A mental position, feeling, or emotion toward

CLD students

Cultural Competence- self awareness, sensibility

to differences,

and the ability to see issues from another’s

perspective

Do not expect others to be just like you, rather,

expect and value

difference.

“There is something that is much more scarce, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability.”

—Robert Half

Remember…

CAN ONE PERSON MAKE A DIFFERENCE?...

YES!....... And that person is YOU!!

WHAT ROLE WILL YOU PLAY IN THE LIFE OF A GIFTED AFRICAN

AMERICAN CHILD?

CONTACT INFORMATION

DR. CAMILLE FLOYDPO BOX 831045

TUSKEGEE, AL 36083DRCAMILLEFLOYD@GMAIL.COM

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