What Does It Mean To Be a GATE Student at MVHS?

Presentation and Workshop

by Mr. Kahl, GATE Coordinator

& Mr. Farrell, AP History Teacher

Objectives

• To understand what it means to be gifted and/or talented

• To recognize how the MVHS GATE program can support your educational needs

• To recognize how gifted and talented education can prepare you for university success

Who are Gifted and Talented Kids?

Gifted and talented children are “children who give evidence of high performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership capacity, or special academic fields, and who require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop such capabilities.” (US Congress, 1981)

What Kinds of Talent Are There?

• Athletic

• Artistic

• Theatrical

• Oratorical

• Mechanical

• Musical

• Leadership

• Creative

• Humorous

• Writing

• Dancing

• Helping

• Listening

• Entertaining

• Teaching

• Intuiting

• Arranging

• Organizing

How Were Gifted and Talented Kids Identified?

1. Some were identified by a test they took in the third grade.

2. Others were identified by California Standards Test Scores sometime after the third grade.

3. Others were identified after being nominated by teachers and/or parents.

Please complete the survey you have been provided.

When finished, please begin to study (silently and independently) the

“Characteristics of the Gifted” on pp. 4-5 of your large handout.

How Many in U.S. Dominant Culture See Giftedness

• Individual, competitive, conspicuous achievement

• Verbal assertiveness

• “Standing out”

• A strong work ethic in classroom work

How Many in Latino Culture See Giftedness

• Use of the arts as a means of expression rather than as performance

• Humility

• Quality support of family members

How Many in African American Culture See Giftedness

• Selfless service to the community

• Handiwork

• Oral language skills

How Many Asian American Immigrants See Giftedness

• Assimilation into the American educational system

• Excellent grades in school

How Many in Low-Income White Culture See Giftedness

• Nurturing of Children

• Service to Others

• “Non-bookish” wisdom, not knowledge

What Are the Rights of Gifted Students? (Clark)

• To engage in appropriate educational experiences even when other kids of the same age are unable to profit from the experience.

• To be grouped and to interact with other gifted children for some part of their learning experience so that they may be understood, engaged, and challenged.

• To be presented with new, advanced, and challenging ideas and concepts regardless of grade level.

Important Questions for GATE Kids

• How accurately do grades reflect your knowledge, your intelligence, your hard work, your wisdom, and your motivation?

• If our school decided not to give grades, how would that affect your performance?

• For what do you hope to be recognized?• How do you want to see yourself and how

can you make sure that happens?

Six Types of GATE Kids in High School: Which Are You?

• Successful: Does well academically, accepts and conforms, avoids taking risks

• Challenging: Corrects teacher, questions rules, is creative, has poor self-control, has mood swings

• Underground: Denies talent, resists challenges, wants social acceptance, drops out of GATE and advanced classes

• Dropouts: Has poor attendance, does inconsistent work, is disruptive, seems average or below, is defensive

• Double-Labeled: May have learning disabilities or be an English learner

• Autonomous: Socially mature, develops goals, works independently, follows through, follows areas of passion

Four Elements of Giftedness Converge to Promote Creativity

• Cognitive Domain: Logic & Reasoning

• Affective Domain: Feeling & Compassion

• Physical Domain: Sensing, Spatial, and Body Awareness

• Intuitive Domain: Ability to Predict and Interest in the Future

Dr. Carol Dweck’s“Growth Mindset” and “Fixed Mindset”

• Desires to learn

• Embraces challenges

• Persists in the face of setbacks

• Sees effort as the path to mastery

• Learns from criticism

• Finds lessons and inspiration in others’ successes

• Desires to look smart• Avoids challenges• Gets defensive• Gives up easily• Sees effort as fruitless• Ignores useful

negative feedback• Feels threatened by

others’ success

Gardner’s Eight Intelligences

• logical/mathematical• verbal• kinesthetic• musical• interpersonal• intrapersonal• spatial• naturalistic

Student Learning Profiles: 4-MATBernice McCarthy (University of Chicago)

TYPE 4 LEARNERS

Learn by creating something new. (Inventors, Artists) PROJECTS!

TYPE 1 LEARNERS

Learn when it’s personally meaningful. (Philosophers)

Relevant DISCUSSIONS!

TYPE 3 LEARNERS

Learn from “hands on” practice. (Scientists, Athletes)

LABS, PRACTICE, & ACTIVITIES!

TYPE 2 LEARNERS

Learn from systematic presentations of information. LECTURES, NOTETAKING, & READING!

What Can a High School GATE Program Do for Me?

• Train teachers in research based methods for educating gifted students

• Provide mentorship opportunities in areas of academic and professional interest

• Provide GATE counseling and guidance to individual students

• Offer extra-curricular activities for gifted students

• Support students with social and emotional needs in workshops

NOVELTY: Making Learning Meaningful

• Connecting the area of study to prior knowledge• Connecting the study to varied student interests• Connecting the study to events in students’ own lives• Demonstrating to students the past, present, and future

value of what they’re learning• Connecting the curriculum to students’ varied learning

profiles• Fostering personal interpretations in the area of study

DEPTH: Extending One’s Study of Course Content

• Challenge advanced learners by directing them to extend their understanding of the area of study.

• Challenge struggling learners without overwhelming them

• Provide students with tiered assignments, tiered lessons, and independent projects to make certain that advanced students are challenged and that struggling students catch up to grade level standards.

Approaches to Greater Depth(Sandra Kaplan, USC)

• Language of the Discipline (experts’ nomenclature)

• Details (parts, factors, attributes, variables)

• Patterns (repetition, predictablility)

• Trends (influence, forces, direction, course of action)

• Unanswered Questions (discrepancies, missing parts)

• Rules (structure, order, hierarchy, explanation)

• Ethics (points of view, judgments, opinions)

• Big Ideas (generalizations, principles, theories)

Volleyball Tiered: Skill Building Before Game (Sports Example of Tiered

Assignment)Beginners Practice passing back and forth

Intermediates Practice setting the ball

Advanced Practice serving the ball

Basketball Tiered

Beginners Shoot for style at one basket.

Intermediates Shoot for lay-ups at another basket.

Advanced Play in a modified 3 on 3 game with others who know how to play already. Most advanced can shoot with less dominant hand.

Ultimate Frisbee Tiered

Beginners Practice throwing (with a hula hoop target) and catching.

Intermediates Practice throwing and catching while moving.

Advanced Practice throwing at a moving target.

Tiered Swimming

Beginners Learn to float in the shallow end of the pool.

Intermediates Learn freestyle stroke in the middle of the pool.

Advanced Learn a variety of different strokes in the deep end: breaststroke, freestyle, butterfly, backstroke.

Highly Advanced

Practice diving skills.

The Equalizer: Adjusting Assignments to Create Appropriate Depth for Students

Foundational Transformational

Concrete Abstract

Simple Complex

Few Facets Many Facets

Smaller Leap Greater Leap

More Structured More Open

Clearly Defined Problem Fuzzy Problem

Less Independence Greater Independence

Slower Quicker

COMPLEXITY: Making Connections(Sandra Kaplan, USC)

• Relationships Over Time (between past, present, and future; within a time period)

• Points of View (multiple perspectives on the same event, opposing viewpoints, differing roles and knowledge)

• Interdisciplinary Relationships (within the discipline, between disciplines, across the disciplines: aesthetics, economics, history, philosophy, psychology, mathematics, science)

How You Can Let Teachers Help

• Give them the “letter to teachers of GATE students” (with your specific needs identified).

• Meet with them monthly to brainstorm ways in which they can challenge you.

• Encourage them to get trained in gifted education• Meet in a conference with Mr. Kahl and your

teacher.

Stay in Touch With Mr. Kahl for Support with GATE Issues

• 650-940-7430 (phone)

• steven.kahl@mvla.net (email)

• Room 213

• Schedule a one on one appointment to talk about goal setting and individual interests.

• Please turn in your survey on the way out.