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Research Excellence Award Winner - University Northern Colorado April 7th, 2016

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Research Excellence Award Winner - University Northern Colorado April 7th, 2016

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Presented by Rebecca Hoover

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This page was created for educators specifically as a helpful resource with strategies and information to identify and to support English Language Learner Gifted and Talented students.

Through exploring this page you will find the following sections:

Desire to Be a Great Educator and Support Students--Personal Connection

Noticing the Extraordinary--Personal Experience as an Educator

Common Definitions of Gifted and Talented and of English Language Learners

Connection to Local Communities

Structured Inequality: Reasons they Aren't Identified and Supported

Identifying Special Populations in Gifted and Talented

An Interview with Monica Jastrabin: Advice to Remember

Strategies and Tips for Educators

Bright Versus Gifted: What It Really Means

Everyone is Unique, No Matter Where You Fall on the Curve

Additional Resources and Supportive Information:

George Betts: The Autonomous LearnerGeorge Betts: Multiple Profiles of the Gifted and Talented Greeley Community Resources The Science Supports the Need for SupportColorado Department of G/T ResourcesEducate Yourself: A Multitude of Resources

Ending Statement: Focus on How Your Students are Learning

Please Note: Many of the documents and videos included on this page may be clicked on and expanded if they have a 'play' or 'open book' logo in the center of them. URLs included within text should redirect you directly to that source once you click on them.

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Desire to Be a Great Educator and Support Students--Personal Connection

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Desire to Be a Great Educator and Support Students--Personal Connection

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I was identified as a Gifted and Talented learner in the second grade. I loved classes where my brain was allowed to function in its own unique way and I could be as creative as I wanted. I looked forward to learning challenges instead of being bored in class. I also enjoyed leadership opportunities and problem solving. I seemed like the student every teacher dreamed to teach, but unfortunately many of my teachers were not prepared to support my Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) based on my Gifted and Talented identification.I was denied entry into an elite Gifted and Talented Middle School program within my district despite my ALP and previous G/T identification. This is when I became very bored and really began to resist completing assignments because I saw little purpose in finishing assignments that I already understood.
By the time I entered Lakewood High School I assumed that my ALPs were no longer valid. I never heard about them and I didn't seem to have any opportunities to be "gifted and talented." There were plenty of opportunities to be "bright" and "dedicated to learning" though. I initially entered the International Baccalaureate program but by sophomore year I realized I didn't have any desire to finish the program. It just didn't seem worth it. I was finally being challenged academically though, and I wanted that to continue! So I took many Advanced Placement courses and as many extra curricular projects as possible. Throughout my experiences in k-12th grade I noticed how more of the "white" "privileged" kids were in the Gifted and Talented and IB/AP programs.
I recall working on an engaging project with my "G/T" class in the fifth grade and looking across the hall at my other friends in the "regular" classroom. I remember vividly thinking that it didn't seem fair that none of the kids in my group were of different culture/language backgrounds. I just knew that some of my other peers should be "G/T" also.

Even in my recent teaching experiences I continue to realize that ELLs are not recognized often in Gifted and Talented programs. I share my personal experience with you not for empathy or for recognition. I share my personal experience to showcase why Gifted and Talented and English Language Learners are such a passionate topic of mine. Privilege, culture, and language background have made a huge impact on my education and my past. I had the support of family and great teachers, but not all children do. I want to become a great educator; one who helps support English Language Learners so that their educational experiences are better than the ones I had.

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Noticing the Extraordinary--Personal Experiences as an Educator

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Noticing the Extraordinary--Personal Experiences as an Educator

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I am a Summer Safari Camp Instructor at the Denver Zoo, and have been for many years now. So far I have worked with second through fifth graders mostly. The children that come to camp are from a vast array of backgrounds and economic levels of stability. Nonetheless, I feel as if I can identify the gifted students fairly quickly, despite what language they may speak.

Those that are gifted learners take all the information we share with them through interactive, engaging activities, along with the answers to their high quality questions that they ask, and they apply it all together on their camp projects. These gifted children that come to camp definitely showcase more than what the traditional stigma is for someone who is gifted, and yet there are times when I wonder if I am the only educator in their life who truly cherishes and understands what supports they need and thrive on. I share this personal teaching experience, one of many with inspiring students, to show that identifying gifted learners is often something that comes when students exhibit outstanding characteristics.

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(There is no universally accepted definition) Usually defined as someone who shows evidence of high performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in a specific academic fields and needs additional support and a differentiated education.

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Someone who comes from a non-English-speaking background/culture who typically requires additional support to adjust and thrive with the English language and differentiated academic materials.

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Connection to Local Immigrant Communities

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Connection to Local Immigrant Communities

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District 6 here in Greeley, Colorado receives many refugee and immigrant families. This means that all the schools in the district have students with many diverse languages and cultural backgrounds. These students are not often being identified as Gifted and Talented due to the stigma of what Gifted and Talented is and because many educators focus on language development for these students rather than on asking the big question: Why aren't we identifying the ELL Gifted and Talented students we already have?

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After much research, it was confirmed that my themed questions have validity for needing to be answered and addressed. It seems that ELL students are not being identified for many reasons.

Some of these reasons include:

-Assessments commonly used for state identification are culturally biased, timed, and language based. All of these elements can hinder an ELL child from showcasing his/her true abilities.

-Alternative assessments that allow gifted students to truly show their potential are not widely used, and some educators do not want to take the time to use these alternative assessments because they may take a little bit more time and effort to administer.

-Many people within communities believe that if schools do not already have any gifted students identified that they need a Gifted and Talented Specialist at a decreased amount of time compared to those schools which have already many gifted students identified.

-Teachers sometimes focus of the other needs a child may have as a new ELL in the school and in the community rather than on nomination and observation of gifted characteristics the child showcases.

-Teachers have a lot on their hands already and they do not have the time to take further professional development regarding gifted and talented students.

-Educators may not feel like they have the support to go through the identification process for a gifted child so they do not even nominate the child to begin with.

-Educators and community members have a preconceived notion of what it looks like to be "gifted" when in reality there are many, many characteristics of gifted children that are simply not recognized or are not recognized enough.

-There is a stigma of what Gifted and Talented is. For example, we call it "Gifted and Talented" instead of "a part of Special Education."

-Some gifted children need help to learn how to manage their learning/knowledge before they can truly show their potential as a gifted individual.

These are all reasons structured by our current education system that bring about inequality in identifying and supporting ELL G/T students compared to other possible G/T students. These reasons will only cease to grow when we start to identify sooner the English Language Learner, Gifted and Talented students we already have. Assessments, Educator Support, and Limited Time are all hindering the support ELL, G/T students need. As an educational professional it is important to find solutions to overcome these elements of structured inequality.

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Identifying Special Populations in Gifted and Talented

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Identifying Special Populations in Gifted and Talented

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Here are some statistics and examples of why we are not identifying the ELL Gifted and Talented students we have. This data has surely only grown since it was originally collected. This video also highlights some Gifted and Talented attributes to look for in students.

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Advocacy for Minorities In Gifted Education

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Minority Student Representation in Gifted Education

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Identifying Special Populations of Gifted Students

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Identifying special populations of gifted students that are underrepresented when using ability testing.

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Interview with a Gifted and Talented Specialist

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Interview with a Gifted and Talented Specialist

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Monica Jastrabin's credentials/background:

http://www.greeleyschools.org/Page/14883

Main points to take away from our interview conversation:

Every child has a gift. Some are simply "gifted" in school.

Education system needs to identify gifted kids sooner than we currently tend to.

House Bill 14-1102 passed last year and officially puts Gifted and Talented services within Special Education services. This will help many students and educators! This will alter Advanced Learning Plans and also link them more closely to state standards, progress monitoring, and identification categories/definitions for the better.

It is unacceptable to think your school has no "G/T"students. Usually 3-5% are going to be identified as gifted when tested.

"Time factor" on state approved testing for G/T often limits ELL students from qualifying. There are tests and alternate ways to collect evidence to nominate and identify English Language Learner students for Gifted and Talented identification qualifications.

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Strategies and Tips for Educators to help Identify and Support G/T Students

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Strategies and Tips for Educators to help Identify and Support G/T Students

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Most important tip included here is the detailed list of characteristics to identify Gifted and Talented students with. There are also several noteworthy books listed to help you gain even more insight and strategies to use as an educator of Gifted and Talented students.
(Created by Rebecca Hoover)

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Bright Versus Gifted: What it Really Means

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Bright Versus Gifted: What it Really Means

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A bright child may know the answers, but a gifted child will ask the questions. There is nothing wrong with only being a bright child though! What this chart means is that a child may exhibit things from the many different areas and may or may not still be identified as gifted. No matter what, as educators, we are dedicated to helping provide the best reasonable education that we can for each of our many students.

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Everyone is Unique, No Matter Where You Fall on the Curve

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Everyone is Unique, No Matter Where You Fall on the Curve

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Here is a chart that showcases how most people learn versus how gifted and talented individuals learn in relation to a bell curve. Those that would fall under the "gifted section" need differentiated materials, equipment, or programs in order to learn at their greatest potential. (Courtesy of Monica Jastrabin)

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Additional Resources and Supportive Information (Sections to Navigate Below):

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Additional Resources and Supportive Information (Sections to Navigate Below):

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George Betts: The Autonomous Learner

George Betts: Multiple Profiles of the Gifted and Talented

Greeley Community Resources

The Science Supports the Need for Support

Colorado Department of G/T Resources

Additional Resources to Further Educate Yourself

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George Betts is a renown specialist on Gifted and Talented. He has won many awards as well as delivered many presentations on the many subtopics of Gifted and Talented. To find a brief synopsis of Betts' qualifications on the topic please visit his faculty page as a professor at the University of Northern Colorado:

http://www.unco.edu/cebs/sped/faculty/betts.html

Also, please look further and read some of his many publications in order to further inform yourself of the socio-emotional needs of Gifted and Talented students. Betts' accumulation of selected publications provides a plethora of knowledge that would benefit educators of English Language Learner G/T students.

Below is a copy of a short digital presentation created on the basis of

George Betts' Autonomous Learner Model:(http://epsy7250tillitski.wikispaces.com/Autonomous+Learner+Model)

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George Betts: Multiple Profiles of the Gifted and Talented

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George Betts: Multiple Profiles of the Gifted and Talented

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What type of students do you see in the classroom? I see this information as a way to identify students so we can create the right opportunities to support them.

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This link includes several helpful websites for educators. Definitely check out some of these resources to learn new ideas, share what you know, and grow as an educator!
http://www.greeleyschools.org/Page/13374

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Gifted & Talented Program / Resources for Educators

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Welcome to Hoagies' Gifted Education Page, the all-things-gifted site, full of resources, articles, books and links to help and support parents, teachers, and gifted children alike. Pick your entrance, but explore them all!

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The Science Supports the Need for Support

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The Science Supports the Need for Support

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Here is an entire chapter preview of David A. Sousa's book How the Gifted Brain Learns. It is a great read for understanding what a gifted brain is and strategies for educators to use as support for gifted learners.

http://www.corwin.com/upm-data/32712_Sousa_(Gifted_Brain)__Ch1.pdf

It is no longer a matter of opinion, science does show that Gifted and Talented students' brains do work differently.

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Gifted Education is addressed in the Exceptional Children's Education Act (ECEA) in the Colorado Revised Statutes. The Colorado State Board of Education implements the rules for this. The rules provide the administrative framework for schools and districts for the provision of services to gifted students.

This document has many direct links to resources for educational professionals regarding the legal rules educators need to follow in order to support Gifted and Talented Student.

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Educate Yourself: A Multitude of Resources

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Educate Yourself: A Multitude of Resources

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Other reputable case studies and websites useful to further professional development regarding how to identify and support the ELL G/T student:

Identifying Gifted and Talented English Language Learners: A Case Study by Bryn Harris. This case study addresses changing demographics, barriers to representation in Gifted programs, and addresses ELL identification and GT/ELL identification. In the end, this case study highlights interview themes of all the participants in the case study including many barriers students face. I highly recommend that you read the entire article but if time limits you then especially check out pages 379-385. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ835865.pdf

Principal's GT Handbook by the Colorado Department of Education has almost everything an educator should know about the basics of Gifted and Talented. Identification, support services, school policies, accountability and more information and recourses are included. https://www.cde.state.co.us/gt/principals_gt_handbook

The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) has many resources for people who are looking to learn more about the gifted student with many resources especially helpful for experienced educators. https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources

This Identifying Gifted and Talented English Language Learners K-12 manual created for educators by the Iowa Department of Education highlights the fact that Colorado is not the only state struggling to address the complicated issue of identifying Gifted and Talented ELLs. Two important sections you really might want to check out in this manual include section 2, 3, and 5. https://www.educateiowa.gov/sites/files/ed/documents/IdentifyGiftedTalentedELL.pdf

Hoagies Gifted and Talented page is a place dedicated to "all things gifted." This resource page incorporates many strategies for educators to use to nurture giftedness in children whose first language is not English and who are limited in their English proficiency. http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/eric/faq/gt-esl.html

Too often things change without informing people. Chalkbeat Colorado is a news source for education updates. This article in particular regards the gifted and talented spending bill that happened last year. http://co.chalkbeat.org/2014/02/10/house-education-committee-passes-gifted-education-spending-bill/#.VkTcvst-H6Y

This other article by Chalkbeat Colorado, originally published by Rocky Mountain PBS as recent as November 2015, highlights the unfortunate biases that face gifted students within the Denver Public School District. http://co.chalkbeat.org/2015/11/09/denver-public-schools-gifted-and-talented-program-highly-skewed-toward-white-students/#.VmPES9B-H6Y

The Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented is another page entirely dedicated to educating and supporting people on everything related to Gifted and Talented. "Welcome to Colorado's gifted community, where educators, families and community advocates come together for support, education and information. Each of us has an obligation to see that our schools provide appropriate educational opportunities that will enable each student to develop fully according to his or her potential." This is a place that educators can also go to for support and advocacy groups. http://www.coloradogifted.org

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Educators should focus on students and how they are learning rather than focus on certain characteristics a child does or does not have. Collect a body of evidence that represents the whole child. Never assume that your school does not have a "gifted and talented child" based on the demographics of your community or the endless types of "labels" each student may be already associated with. Instead, focus on the strengths your children do have and find the data to support a nomination for them to be identified by the state as Gifted and Talented so they can receive the support and services they need to succeed!

Remember to think creatively about what you notice in students. They may be thinking outside the box and you are just seeing it as another mistake.

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Contact information: rhoovr@gmail.com or hoov6651@bears.unco.edu