Los Angeles Unified School DistrictOffice of Curriculum, Instruction, and School Support

Gifted/Talented Programs Opening Meeting

Overview and Planning for GATE/SAS Coordinators2012-2013

Contact Information

District Coordinator LaRoyce Bell

District Specialists Catherine EstradaDr. Lucy HuntErin Yoshida-Ehrmann

District Specialist Wynne Wong-ChengPsychological Services

Phone: (213) 241-6500Fax: (213) 241-8975

333 S. Beaudry Ave., 25th FloorLos Angeles, CA 90017

www.lausd.net/gatewww.facebook.com/LAUSDGATE

twitter.com/LAUSDGATE

Gifted/Talented Programs Goal

To identify gifted and talented students, including those from diverse racial, socioeconomic, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds, and provide high-quality differentiated opportunities for learning that meet students’ particular abilities and talents.

California Department of Education (CDE)

It’s All About Differentiation!

Differentiated instruction occurs when the standards-based core curriculum is modified and includes these non-negotiables:

Acceleration (pacing)DepthComplexityNoveltyExpectations appropriate to individual

assessed interests, needs, abilities, and learning styles

How are differentiated instructional needs met?

Implementing articulated programs that provide more rigorous standards

Organizing classrooms to provide differentiated curriculum as an integrated part of the regular school day

Providing differentiated instruction for gifted/talented students that builds on and supplements the core curriculum

Clustering ModelsClustering ModelsTo adhere to State/District policy, a local school must cluster students in a well-defined way and provide a differentiated program. A cluster is a minimum of 5-8 gifted students per class in elementary and 15-25 gifted students per class in secondary. SAS schools not clustering students will lose their funding. The clustering models are as follows:

Model 1: Team-Taught Cluster Consists of two or more teachers working as a team with flexible grouping Consists of two or more teachers working as a team with flexible grouping

strategies in core subjectsstrategies in core subjectsModel 2: Full DayConsists of clusters, can be designated as Honors or AP (on the secondary

level), and are composed of 1) identified gifted students, 2) students who are being screened for recommendation, and 3) students who are recommended for continued screening and advanced instruction

Model 3: Self-ContainedConsists of all identified gifted students with an emphasis on acceleration

and continuous progress that is appropriate to individual needs (i.e. highly gifted or individualized honors programs)

Model 4: Alternative Program ModelSchools with unique circumstances or requirements and cannot meet the

clustering options defined in the first three models (subject to approval by the Gifted/Talented Programs office)

Model 2 (Full Day) is the MOST COMMON form of clustering found in schools where clusters of identified GATE, potentially gifted, and students currently being screened are grouped together all day.

Elementary Clustering Recommendations

Clusters should be 5-8 identified gifted students per classroom (students should not be scattered by design or chance); Students being screened for identification may also be included in these classes

Students who are identified mid-year must be provided a differentiated curriculum, even if they are not in a “GATE” class

SecondaryClustering Recommendations

Clusters should be 15-25 identified gifted students per classroom (students should not be scattered by design or chance); Students being screened for identification may also be included in these classes

Students who are identified mid-year must be provided a differentiated curriculum, even if they are not in a “GATE” class (or efforts should be made to provide appropriate mid-year placement)

Students should be placed in classes that meet their academic needs (i.e. Honors, AP, etc.) as appropriate; A student identified in Specific Academic Ability Math does not necessarily need to be placed in Honors English

Classes designated as “Highly Gifted” should be filled as follows:1)Identified Highly Gifted students*2)Highly Gifted Applicable students3)Other identified gifted students as appropriate

* The term “Highly Gifted” refers to those students scoring 99.9% on a District psychologist-administered Intellectual assessment

FAQ Regarding Cluster Grouping

Q. Isn’t “cluster grouping” the same as “tracking”?

A. No. In a tracking system, all students are grouped by ability much of the school day, and students tend to remain in the same track throughout their school experience. Gifted students benefit from learning together, and need to be placed with similar students in their areas of strength (Hoover, Sayler, & Fedlhusen, 1993: Kulik and Kulik, 1990; Rogers, 1993). Cluster grouping of gifted students allows them to learn together, while avoiding permanent grouping arrangements for students of other ability levels.

Winebrenner and Devlin (2001), Cluster Grouping of Gifted Students: How to Provide Full-time Services on a Part-time Budget.

Research Synthesized by Dr. Karen Rogers: Dr. Rogers used a “meta-analysis” approach and compiled all published and unpublished

studies on specific strategies or practices and calculates the “effect size” (ES) of each study outcome and averaged the effect sizes together.

(+.33 would be 3 grade equivalent school months of additional achievement)

Research-Based Strategy Effect Size

Gifted “Track” .49 elementary .33 secondary

Full Time Gifted Program .33 K-12

Early Entrance to School .49 academic .20 social

Grade Skipping .46 academic .31 social

Cluster Grouping .62 academic

Subject Acceleration .57 academic

Advanced Placement .27 academic .24 social

Pullout for Enrichment .65 academic .44 critical thinking .32 creative

Mentorships .47 academic .40 social

Regrouping by Achievement Level for Instruction

.79 math/reading

Compacting .83

Independent Study 0

Peer Tutoring/ Remediation 0 academicDr. Karen Rogers (1991). The Relationship of Grouping Practices to the Education of the Gifted and Talented

Learners.

Recommended Guidelines for Grouping Gifted/Talented Students from Dr. Karen

Rogers

Gifted and talented students should spend the majority of their school day with others of similar abilities and interests

Cluster grouping of a small number of students within an otherwise heterogeneously grouped classroom can be considered

Gifted and talented students might be offered specific group instruction across grade levels

Gifted and talented students should be given experiences involving a variety of appropriate acceleration-based options

Gifted and talented students should be given experiences which involve various forms of enrichment

Mixed-ability cooperative learning should be used sparingly for gifted and talented students, perhaps only for social skills development programs