The State of the Art of Gifted Education

1
The State of the Art of Gifted Education

• Joyce VanTassel-Baska, College of William and
  Mary
• National Science Board
• August 24, 2009
• Washington DC

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Outline of presentation

• The general educational landscape
• The intersections with gifted education
• Research on giftedness and talent development
• Applications to policy and practice
• Special issues and problems

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The Educational Landscape of Schools

• Content standards have been reduced to lower
  level skill attainment in many states.
• Instruction is driven by the use of low level
  materials implemented with rigidity to prepare
  for state assessments.
• Equity and excellence are still viewed as
  dichotomies.
• Individual differences are obscured by group
  norms.
• Little teaching of science, social studies or the
  arts occurs.

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Whats wrong with this picture?

• Discouragement of innovation/experimentation in
  teaching practices,
• Attention focused on a few students who may make
  AYP,
• Students losing valuable instructional time in
  unchallenging curriculum dominated by reading,
• A climate of fear for teachers and principals
  with little reward, less so in our current
  economy.

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How are gifted students faring in this climate?

• Languid performance on NAEP across the last ten
  year period (Loveless, 2008)
• Lack of attention from teachers (Farkas
  Duckett, 2008)
• Little differentiation of curriculum or
  instruction being actualized (Westberg et al,
  1993, 2004)
• Gifted services have been cut or curtailed in
  many states. (State of the States, 2006-7)
• US students lag in advanced math and science
  course-taking and achievement (TIMMS, 1995)

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Shared concerns

• Challenging curriculum, instruction, and
  assessment
• Teacher quality
• International competitiveness
• Working with students from poverty

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Research on giftedness and talent development

• What do we know?

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Gagnes Differentiated Model of Giftedness and
Talent
INTRAPERSONAL CATALYSTS

PERSONALITY Autonomy Self-Confidence Self Esteem,
etc.
MOTIVATION Initiative Interests Persistence
GIFTEDNESS Aptitude Domains Intellectua
l Creative Socioaffective Sensorimotor
Others
TALENT Fields of Talent (sample) Arts Athletics
Sports Business Commerce Communications Crafts
Trades Education Health Services Science
Technology Transportation
___ ___ ___
Learning/Training/Practice
___ ___ ___
SIGNIFICANT FACTORS Persons Places Interventions E
vents Chance
___ ___ ___
___ ___ ___
___ ___ ___
ENVIRONMENTAL CATALYSTS
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A System for Talent Development (Stanley, 1985)
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Talent Search Findings

• Younger students can perform at levels comparable
  to older students in a shorter amount of time in
  areas of strong aptitude (Stanley, 1976
  Olszewski-Kubilius , 1998 Colangelo , Assouline
  Gross, 2004).
• Accelerative, short term, and intensive learning
  experiences are retained well by gifted learners
  and allow them to advance academically in math,
  science, the humanities and social science
  coursework (Lynch, 1992 Stanley et al. 1991
  Stocking Goldstein, 1992 Swiatek , 2007).
• Scoring in the top 1 of students in ability on
  the SAT at middle school and accelerating ones
  studies predicts creative achievement over 30
  years later, career tilt, and areas of
  accomplishment (Wai, Lubinski Benbow,2009
  Lubinski , 2009).

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The Talent Development Process (Insight from
Bloom, 1985)

• Early exposure to the field
• Right teacher at the right time (romance, rigor,
  master)
• Role of schools as facilitative or blocking (not
  directly nurturing)
• Progressive development characterized by high
  standards, much time and much hard work
• Role of home environment in developing work ethic
  and sense of excellence (parental modeling)

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Adolescent Talent Development Csikszentmihalyi,
1993

• Talented students have personality traits
  conducive to concentration (e.g., achievement and
  endurance) as well as to being open to experience
  (e.g., awareness, or sentience, and
  understanding)
• Families providing both support and challenge
  enhance the development of talent.
• Talented teenagers liked teachers best who were
  supportive and modeled enjoyable involvement in a
  field.

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Eminence Literature

• Early exposure to like-minded children and adults
  is propitious for talent development (Cox, 1926
  Simonton, 2000)
• Serious study with a tutor/mentor/coach followed
  by intensive practice over time leads to high
  performance in selected domains (Bloom, 1985
  Gardner, 2004 Ericcson, 2007)
• Psychological states and habits of mind
  positively or negatively impact the talent
  development process (Csiksenmihalyi, 2000
  Oschle, 2000 Dweck, 2007).

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Program and Instructional Findings

• Enhanced use of critical and creative thinking
  and student-centered work produces higher
  academic achievement for gifted students across
  years (Moon Feldhusen, 1994 Delcourt, 1994
  VanTassel-Baska et al., 2004).
• Compacting and grouping studies continue to
  suggest the benefits of both approaches (Rogers,
  2007 Reis et al, 1998 Gentry Owen, 1999).

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Instructional Studies cont.

• Using instructional approaches that match
  aptitudes produces stronger learning effects for
  the gifted (Rogers, 2007 Sternberg, 2006)
• Using inquiry-based approaches to learning
  enhances both motivation and achievement
  (Gallagher, Stepien Rosenthal, 1992
  VanTassel-Baska et al., 1998)

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Studies of Scientific Talent Development

• Early models and mentors
• Challenging school programs and opportunities
• Competitions
• Collaborators
• Access to science resources
• Internal curiosity, commitment, and spirit of
  creativity
• --Subotnik et al, 1993 Simonton, 1992
  Feiss, 2004

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Student IBO Quotes

• Advice to those who wanted to pursue a career in
  science or math
• Get in on all the contests you can itll teach
  you what youre good at and where your limits
  are. And we do all have limits, and thats okay,
  so dont panic if you dont win them all. And
  dont forget to have fun, either.
• Take as many advanced classes as you can as early
  as possible dont listen to others when they try
  to tell you what you can and cannot do. Try to
  earn recognition in science, competitions, and
  seize any research opportunity you can find. If
  you get discouraged because your schools
  scientific community is a community of one, seek
  refuge in your studies until you can find peers
  you identify with, but never compromise who you
  are to fit in with your school community.
• Seize your own opportunitiescreate a niche for
  yourself and above all, Do Not let the dogma of
  the educational system encumber your interests,
  talent, and dreams.

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Student IBO Quotes

• Cite the factors that most inhibited the
  development of your science talent
• Inability to accelerate, parents believe more in
  having fun than in working hard, advanced courses
  unavailable before high school, no opportunity
  for me to do extensive research near home.
• The elementary schools gifted program consciously
  avoided any accelerated learning. When I was
  young, I connected the idea of school less with
  learning than with laborious projects that must
  be meticulously colored in.

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Implications for Future Research What dont we
know?

• What doses of intervention (intensity) are
  necessary for gifted learners to thrive in a
  school learning context?
• How late can interventions occur and still have
  an important impact on life trajectory?
• What combination of interventions is most
  propitious for the gifted at differential stages
  of development?

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Applications of Researchto Policy and Practice

• Between the idea and the reality falls the
  shadow.
• --T.S.Eliot

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State Policy Components A Patchwork Quilt

• Only 18 states have an endorsement or
  certification for teachers of the gifted.
• Only half the states have a fulltime person
  working in gifted education.
• Only a handful of states include a policy on
  acceleration as part of their service delivery
  mechanisms.
• Only a few states include special provisions for
  the identification and service of students from
  low income backgrounds.
• 
  State of the States,
  
  2006-2007

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Other State Policies that may benefit the gifted

• Advanced Placement
• Dual enrollment
• Waivers for coursework
• Testing out

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Need for Coherent Systems

• School systems that align all facets of the
  school (e.g., finance, curriculum, instruction,
  decision-making) produce higher achievement gains
  among students (Hoy Miskel, 2001).
• Systems of curriculum, instruction, assessment,
  and professional development must work together
  to enhance achievement (Clune, 1993 Ball
  Cohen, 2000 McLaughlin Mitra, 2001).

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Professional development study findings

• Little intensive time is committed to the
  professional development of teachers (2 days per
  year on average in their specialty area)
• Professional development is often not related to
  other aspects of the instructional system.
• Lack of follow-up at the school and classroom
  level hinders teacher change in practices.
• --Stanford and NSDC Report, 2009

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How People Learn

• New knowledge is constructed based on existing
  conceptions and beliefs
• Usable knowledge is connected and organized
  around important concepts that support transfer
  of learning
• The use of deliberate learning strategies to
  scaffold instruction
• - National Research Council, 2000

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Research-based Models in Practice

• Using concept maps
• Articulation of thinking
• Promoting higher level thinking
• Making connections
• Using metacognition
• Source William and Mary curriculum units of
  study, 1996-2009

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Strategies for Aligning Curriculum for the Gifted
with Content Standards
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What do We Know about Curriculum for High End
Learning?

• Coherence in design is necessary (blueprint).
• Tryouts and pilots are critical.
• Providing training directly on materials helps
  implementation.
• Use of cognitive learning models helps students
  internalize higher level thinking.
• Fidelity of implementation is essential to assess
  an innovation.
• Differentiated curriculum and instruction matter!
• 
  
• 
  --VanTassel-Baska, 2008

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Implementation problems

• Fidelity
• Lack of sufficient and consistent professional
  development
• Teacher knowledge and skills in content pedagogy
• Leadership
• Sustained innovation

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(No Transcript)
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What is Differentiated Curriculum for the Gifted
in the Context of Standards?

• Features
• Acceleration
• Complexity
• Depth
• Creativity

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Goal of assessment-driven instruction To raise
the mean for all and the variance for top students
Student A
Proficient
Student B
We must expect progress for all students.
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Authentic assessment approaches for the gifted

• Off-level testing with high ceiling
• Performance-based assessment
• Portfolio of work

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Self Perception as a Filter to Adult Achievement

Adult Creative Productivity
Educational Attainment
Occupational Attainment
Self Perception
Self Perception
Self Perception
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Life Trajectories

• High achieving students from poverty less likely
  to graduate and go on to college or graduate
  school than more advantaged counterparts.
• Students from poverty more likely to choose
  careers commensurate with background rather than
  ability or achievement.
• --The Achievement Trap, 2007

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Promising Identification Approaches with Gifted
At-Risk Learners

• Traditional measures (ability and achievement)
• Non-traditional measures (nonverbal tests and
  performance-based assessment)
• Nomination by knowledgeable community members
  (e.g. pediatrician, social worker)
• Use of individual profile data

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Key Services for PromisingLow Income/Minority
Students

• Early identification and nurturance
• Personalized Learning
• Tutoring, mentoring, counseling
• Value-added Learning Opportunities
• Extended time, out-of-school opportunities
• Family Involvement
• Access to intellectual, cultural, and social
  capital

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• Learning is not attained by chance. It must be
  sought for with ardor and attended to with
  diligence.
• Abigail Adams

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Center for Gifted EducationSchool of
EducationThe College of William Mary

• Joyce VanTassel-Baska, Ed.D.
• Professor Emerita
• 427 Scotland Street
• Williamsburg, VA. 23185
• [phone]
• cfge_at_wm.edu
• www.cfge.wm.edu