Growing the Heart of the

AIG Educator: Knowledge,

Development and Change

Rebecca McKnight Academically Gifted Coordinator,

Guilford County Schools March 5, 2015

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Session Questions • How is GCS currently providing AIG PD

to teachers?

• What lessons have we learned?

• What are our state priorities for AIG professional development?

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Write into the session… Think about the best professional development that you have ever

attended. What made it so great? How has it impacted you as an

educator?

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State expectations for teachers Standard 3: Personnel and Professional Development

• The LEA recruits and retains highly qualified professionals and provides relevant and effective professional development concerning the needs of gifted learners that is on-going and comprehensive.

Practice C

• Establishes specific and appropriate professional development requirements for all personnel involved in AIG programs and services, including classroom teachers, exceptional children's personnel, counselors, and school administrators.

Practice D

• Places AIG students in general education classrooms with teachers who have earned and AIG add-on license or who have met the LEA's professional development requirements for that position.

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What is happening in GCS? • Established our priorities

–Characteristics of Gifted Learners

• Academic

• Social/Emotional

–Introduction to Differentiation

–Tools/strategies for Differentiation

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• Organized sessions

• Sessions offered

–18 hour course to meet local requirement

–Specialized differentiation sessions for Core Content Areas

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What is happening in GCS?

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Our PD Philosophy • Interactive

• Content-rich

• Thought-provoking

• Aligned with district initiatives and goals

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Defining barriers for underrepresented groups

• For your category, brainstorm: – Internal

challenges/barriers

– External challenges/barriers

– What might make a difference in their success?

Underserved Groups • Highly gifted

• Dual exceptional students

• ESL

• Students of poverty

• Students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds

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So, now that you have identified the barriers, what do you do about

them? • Read the article “Barriers to Participation” and

complete the graphic organizer.

• Share your thoughts with your table group.

• Based on your conversations about potential barriers, select a barrier and create a plan to address it. Be prepared to share the plan with the group.

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Next steps…… • Continue to grow our professional

development so that it meets teachers’ needs for working with AIG students

–Provide authenticity in our training

– Look for ways to differentiate the sessions for teachers by readiness, content and level

–Provide opportunities for teachers to connect with each other

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Next steps……

• Widen access to courses for teachers

–Further develop on-line options

–Work with schools to bring the training directly to schools

–Continue to offer our face-to-face trainings for teachers

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What are you doing in your district?

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What do you think that general education

teachers working with AIG students need to

know? What topics should be our priority?

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Questions……….

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Contact me at

mcknigr@gcsnc.com

or

(336)279-4930

Questions later on?

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