+ strengthening the core: the baraboo school district gifted and talented certification cohort model...
TRANSCRIPT
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Strengthening the Core: The Baraboo School District Gifted and Talented Certification Cohort Model
Presented By:Lori M. Mueller, Baraboo School District Director of Curriculum and InstructionDr. Pam Clinkenbeard, UW-Whitewater Professor
+Teachers Develop Talents
Describing the teachers’ roles across age span / grade level
Linking teacher characteristics and competencies to gifted student outcomes
Translating research on teacher competencies and gifted students’ needs to teacher preparation programs
Sharing exemplars from the digital age
+Gifted Education Licensure Program in Wisconsin
Provided jointly through UW-Whitewater and UW-Stevens Point
Blended model of face-to-face meetings and online learning tasks
12 credits Foundations of Gifted and Talented Education (3 credits) Psychological Issues in Gifted Education (3 credits) Curriculum for Gifted (3 credits) Practicum in Gifted Education (3 credits)
*Additional 3 credits for TAG coordinator license (UWW)
+Baraboo Cohort Model
MOU for a group discount on cost of credits & revenue share
PLC – Early release Wednesdays
Credit reimbursement - $1500 annually
Total cost to individual staff for certification – Less than $300
Support from building-level Gifted and Talented Coaches
District commitment to participating staff
Inclusion in new alternative compensation model
+Planning Steps
Discussion with Graduate Dean at UW-Whitewater
MOUs with both UW schools
Garnering interest with staff
Presentation to Board of Education
On-site enrollment and registration
Scheduling class meetings
Acting as facilitator of communication and logistics
+Current Status
Total number of participants Elementary - 8 Middle - 12 High - 2
Completed Foundations of Gifted and Talented Education
Currently taking Curriculum and Methods (elementary) and Psychological Issues in Gifted Education (secondary); reverse next semester
Desire to start a second cohort (New staff and life demands/changes)
+Challenges
Tuition cost
Competing initiatives (ie. Educator Effectiveness)
Teaching schedules of higher education faculty (tenured and adjunct)
Time for continuous learning
Mobility and changes in staffing
Uncertainty of future funding
Keeping a practitioner focus
+Rewards
Leveraging structures for student gains (embedding gifted ed. into existing infrastructure)
Increased capacity for meeting the needs of our advanced learners
Engagement of parents, families, and community members
Overall improvement of district services Evaluation of teachers based on student growth
(attention to student achievement data) RtI (Response to Intervention) with advanced
interventions (Tier III) School improvement in gifted education completed
during teacher work day (and outside of school day)
+Final Project Samples fromCohort Foundations Course
Reorganization of the middle school math curriculum system to construct clear paths for math acceleration
Development of a cluster grouping plan for language arts in the middle school (grades 6, 7, 8)
Case study of two 9-year-old boys and guiding their advanced reading choices
Differentiation of several science lessons in one 6th grade classroom
Development of a culturally-sensitive identification plan for Native American students with musical talent (HoChunk tribe)
+Questions?
Lori M. Mueller
Baraboo School District Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Dr. Pam Clinkenbeard
Professor and Co-Director Challenging Advanced Learners Programs, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater