Introduction

Welcome to Talented & Gifted, an interactive computer-based instruction course designed to help you achieve a better understanding of the talented and gifted student, methods used in identification, and strategies for instruction of these students in an inclusive classroom. Talented & Gifted provides information on the history of the exceptional in relation to education, current law, and accepted methods for referral, assessment, and identification of these students. The course also covers methods of differentiating instruction to meet the rate and level of learning of those students identified. The course gives you an understanding of ways to meet the affective needs of the gifted and talented student in the regular classroom.

This computer-based instruction course is a self-supporting program that provides instruction, structured practice, and evaluation all on your home or school computer. Technical support information can be found, in the Help section of your course.

Course Materials

Title: Talented & Gifted: Working with High Achievers

Instructor: Dr. Pamela Bernards, Ed.D.

Publisher: Virtual Education Software, inc. 2002, Revised 2008, Revised 2010

Academic Integrity Statement

The structure and format of most distance-learning courses presume a high level of personal and academic integrity in completion and submission of coursework. Individuals enrolled in a distance-learning course are expected to adhere to the following standards of academic conduct.

Academic Work

Academic work submitted by the individual (such as papers, assignments, reports, tests) shall be the student’s own work or appropriately attributed, in part or in whole, to its correct source. Submission of commercially prepared (or group prepared) materials as if they are one’s own work is unacceptable.

Aiding Honesty in Others

The individual will encourage honesty in others by refraining from providing materials or information to another person with knowledge that these materials or information will be used improperly.

Violations of these academic standards will result in the assignment of a failing grade and subsequent loss of credit for the course.

Level of Application

This course is designed to be an informational course with application in work or work-related settings. The intervention strategies are designed to be used with gifted and talented students ranging in age from approximately five years to early adolescence. Some alterations may be needed if working with younger children.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

· Have become familiar with common practice in relation to identification of and service to gifted and talented students

· Have gained working knowledge of common school practices in the identification of TAG process

· Be familiar with tools used in assessment for identification purposes in TAG education

· Have learned techniques for assessing level and rate of learning

· Be familiar with the characteristics and needs of typical talented and gifted students from special populations

· Be able to select appropriate programming based upon individual student needs

· Have gained a working knowledge of common models of delivery of instruction that meet TAG needs

· Have become familiar with methods of differentiating curriculum for talented and gifted students

· Have developed an understanding of the social and emotional needs of TAG students (affective domain)

Course Description

Talented & Gifted provides information on the history of the exceptional student in relation to education, current law, and accepted methods for referral, assessment, and identification of these students. Included are major program models and methods of differentiating instruction to meet the rate and level of learning of identified gifted students. Meeting the affective needs of the gifted and talented student in the classroom is emphasized.

Due to the structure of this course, it is suggested that you complete each section in order. The course will allow you to move ahead to various chapters, but completing the course out of sequence may cause difficulty with your understanding of the materials. It will also make it more difficult to pass the examinations and the course itself.

Student Expectations

As a student you will be expected to:

· Complete all information sections covering talented and gifted education, showing a competent understanding of the material presented.

· Complete all examinations, showing a competent understanding of the material presented.

· Complete a review of any section on which your examination score was below 70%.

· Retake any examination, after completing an information review, to increase that examination score to a minimum of 70% (maximum of 3 attempts).

· Complete all course journal article and essay writing assignments with the minimum word count shown for each writing assignment.

· Complete a course evaluation form at the end of the course.

Course Overview

Chapter One: What Does Gifted & Talented Mean?
If you’ve ever had a highly gifted student in your classroom, you certainly know what a blessing or what a handful that child can be. Sometimes you may think there is no way to keep up with this student while meeting the educational needs of all the others in your classroom. This student might challenge you at every turn, might decide to “just get by,” or might become a real joy for you to work with. This chapter will help you start to identify characteristics of gifted and talented students in order to be a more effective teacher.

Chapter Two: Identification & Assessment

The identification and assessment of talented and gifted students can be controversial. For that reason, we will look at several sources to gain information about identifying talented and gifted students. If these seem contradictory at times, you will start to understand the controversy.

Chapter Three: Curriculum & Modifications

One of the myths of teaching gifted students is that you can just give them harder work, or more work. More accurately, as with any student who learns differently, we need to look at differentiating the curriculum. We differentiate curriculum for our students who are considered special education, for our students who are learning English as they are learning content—why not for our gifted students? We will spend time in this section of the course looking at ways to differentiate the curriculum.

Chapter Four: Resources for Parents

This chapter of the course consists entirely of public domain documents for parents of talented and gifted children. These will contain valuable information for you in the classroom. However, the primary purpose of this chapter is to give you resources that you have freedom to copy and give to parents. All of these documents contain valuable information.

Examinations

At the end of each course section, you will be expected to complete an examination designed to assess your knowledge. You may take these exams a total of three times. Your last score will save, not the highest score. After your third attempt, each examination will lock and not allow further access. The average from your exam scores will be printed on your certificate. However, this is not your final grade since your required writing assignments have not been reviewed. Exceptionally written or poorly written required writing assignments, or violation of the academic integrity policy in the course syllabus, will affect your grade. As this is a self-paced computerized instruction program, you may review course information as often as necessary. You will not be able to exit any examinations until you have answered all questions. If you try to exit the exam before you complete all questions, your information will be lost. You are expected to complete the entire exam in one sitting.

Writing Assignments

This course has two required writing components.

To save your essays:

When you select the question or article you wish to write on, simple text or text edit will

automatically be launched. When you are finished, simply click SAVE.

You must SAVE before you write another essay or move on to another part of the course.

1) Essay Requirement: Critical Thinking Questions

There is a Critical Thinking Question for each chapter. You will do research on the question and write a brief essay relating it to the course content (and your personal experiences when possible). To view the questions, click on REQUIRED ESSAY and choose the Critical Thinking Question that you would like to complete; this will bring up a screen where you may enter your essay. You must write a minimum of 500 words per essay.

You must SAVE before you write another essay or move on to another part of the course.

2) Essay Requirement: Journal Articles

This task requires you to write a review of three journal articles of your choice on a topic related to this course. You may choose your topic by entering the Key Words (click on the Key Words button) into a search engine of your choice (Google, Dogpile, Yahoo, etc.). Choose three relevant articles and write a 200-word review of each. You may also access the ERIC system and choose a related topic from a journal listed in that system. Or you can access www.scholar.google.com or www.findarticles.com .Write a critical summary of the information given in each article, explaining how the information relates to, supports, or refutes information given in this course. Conclude your paper with your thoughts and impressions. (200 words per journal article minimum, 400 words maximum.) Be sure to provide the journal name, volume, date, and any other critical information to allow the instructor to access and review that article.

To write your essays, click on REQUIRED ESSAY and choose the Journal Article that you would like to complete; this will bring up a screen where you can write your review. When you are ready to stop, click SAVE. You may go back at any point to edit your essays. For more information on the features of this assignment, please consult the HELP menu.

You must SAVE before you write another essay or move on to another part of the course.

Instructor Description

Pamela Bernards has 30 years of combined experience in diverse PK-8 and high school settings as a teacher and an administrator. In addition to these responsibilities, she was the founding director of a K-8 after school care program and founder of a pre-school program for infants to 4-year-olds. When she was a principal, her school was named a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. More recently, the school in which she serves as curriculum coordinator was named a 2010 Blue Ribbon School. Areas of interest include curriculum, research-based teaching practices, staff development, assessment, data-driven instruction, and instructional intervention (remediation and gifted/talented). She received a doctorate in Leadership and Professional Practice from Trevecca Nazarene University.

Contacting the Instructor

You may contact the instructor by emailing pamela_bernards@virtualeduc.com or by calling (509) 891-7219, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. PST. Phone messages will be answered within 24 hours. Phone conferences will be limited to ten minutes per student, per day, given that this is a self-paced instructional program. Please do not contact the instructor about technical problems, course glitches, or other issues that involve the operation of the course.

Technical Questions

If you have questions or problems related to the operation of this course, please try everything twice. If the problem persists please check our support pages for FAQs and known issues at www.virtualeduc.com and also the Help section of your course.

If you need personal assistance then email support@virtualeduc.com or call (509) 891-7219. When contacting technical support, please know your course version number (it is located at the bottom left side of the Welcome Screen) and your operating system, and be seated in front of the computer at the time of your call.

Minimum Computer Requirements

Please refer to VESi’s website: www.virtualeduc.com or contact VESi if you have further questions about the compatibility of your operating system.

Refer to the addendum regarding Grading Criteria, Course Completion Information, Items to be Submitted, and how to submit your completed information.

Bibliography (Suggested Readings)

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Ackerman, P. L., Sternberg, R. J., & Glaser, R. (Eds.). (1999). Learning and individual differences: Advances in theory and research. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman.

Adderholdt-Elliott, M., & Goldberg, J. (1999). Perfectionism – What’s bad about being good? Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit.

Anderson, J. R. (1996). The architecture of cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Banks, J. A., & McGee Banks, C. A. (2009). Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Berlin, J. E. (2009). It’s all a matter of perspective: Student perceptions on the impact of being labeled gifted and talented. Roeper Review, 31(4), 217-223.

Boothe, D., & Stanley, D. (2004). In the eyes of the beholder: Critical issues for diversity in gifted education. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

Carpenter, P. A., Just, M. A., & Shell, P. (1990). What one intelligence test measures: A theoretical account of the processing in the Raven Progressive Matrices test. Psychological Review, 97(3), 404-431.

Castellano, J. A., & Diaz, E. I. (2002). Reaching new horizons: Gifted and talented education for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Cohen, L. M., & Frydenberg, E. (1996). Coping for capable kids: Strategies for parents teachers and students. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

Colangelo, N., & Assouline, S. (Eds.). (2004). A nation deceived: How schools hold back America’s brightest students. Templeton National Report on Acceleration. University of Iowa, Miraca U.M. Gross, Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education & Talent Development.

Coleman, M. R. (2005). Academic strategies that work for gifted students with learning disabilities. Teaching Exceptional Children, 38(1), 28-32.

Coleman, M. R., Buysse, V., & Neitzel, J. (2007). Establishing the evidence base for an emerging early childhood practice: Recognition and response. In V. Buysse & P. W. Wesley (Eds.), Evidence-based practice in the early childhood field (pp. 117-159). Washington, D.C.: ZERO TO THREE Press.

Crain, W. (2005). Theories of development: Concepts and applications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Cross, T. L., & Frazier, A. D. (2010). Guiding the psychosocial development of gifted students attending specialized residential STEM schools. Roeper Review, 32(1), 32-41.

Daniels, S., & Piechowski, M. M. (2009). Living with intensity. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press.

Davidson, B., & Davidson, J. (2004). Genius denied: How to stop wasting our brightest young minds. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

Delisle, J., & Galbraith, J. (2002). When gifted kids don’t have all the answers: How to meet their social and emotional needs. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit.

Dixon, F., & Moon, S. M. (2006). The handbook of secondary gifted education. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

Duke, M. P., Nowicki, S., & Martin E. A. (1996). Teaching your child the language of social success. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree.

Forstadt, L. (2009). Living with intensity: Understanding the sensitivity, excitability, and emotional development of gifted children, adolescents, and adults. Roeper Review, 31(2), 130-131.

Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple intelligences: New horizons in theory and practice. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Gardner, H. (2009). Five minds for the future. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

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Hallahan, D. P., Kauffman, J. M., & Pullen, P. C. (2009). Exceptional leaders: An introduction to special education. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Henshon, S. E. (2009). Talent development across the lifespan: An interview with Paula Olszewski-Kubilius. Roeper Review, 31(3), 134-137.

Horn, J. L. (1999). Cognitive diversity: A framework for learning. In P. L. Ackerman, R. J. Sternberg, and R. Glaser (Eds.), Learning and individual differences: Advances in theory and research (pp. 61-116). New York, NY: W.H. Freeman.

Jolly, J. L. (2009). A resuscitation of gifted education. American Educational History Journal, 36(1/2), 37-53.

Kerr, B. (1997). Smart girls: A new psychology of girls, women and giftedness. Scottsdale, AZ: Gifted Psychology Press.

Kerr, B., & Cohn. S. (2001). Smart boys: Talent, manhood and the search for meaning. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press.

Kirk, S. A., Gallagher, J. J., Anastasiow, N. J., & Coleman, M. R. (2006). Educating exceptional children. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Loertscher, D. (2008). Using the national gifted education standards for university teacher preparation programs/using the national gifted education standards for pre-K-12 professional development. Teacher Librarian, 36(1), 52-53.

Lohman, D. F. (1989). Human intelligence: An introduction to advances in theory and research. Review of Educational Research, 59(4), 333-374.

Lohman, D.F. (1993). Teaching and testing to develop fluid abilities. Educational Researcher, 22(7), 12-23.

Marshalek, B., Lohman, D. F., & Snow, R.E. (1983). The complexity continuum in the radex and hierarchical models of intelligence. Intelligence, 7, 107-127.

Miller, B. H. (2009). Theories of developmental psychology. New York, NY: Worth.

Milner, J., Coker, C. P., Buchanan, C., & Newsome, D. (2009). Accountability that counts. The Clearing House, 82(5), 237-243.

Morawaka, A., & Sanders, M. R. (2009). Parenting gifted and talented children: Conceptual and empirical foundations. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 53(3), 164-173.

Newman, J. L., Gregg, M., & Dantzler, J. (2009). Summer enrichment workshop (SEW): A quality component of The University of Alabama’s gifted education preservice training program. Roeper Review, 31(3), 170-184.

Peterson, J. S. (2009). Myth 17: Gifted and talented individuals do not have unique social and emotional needs. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 53(4), 280-282.

Reis, S. M., & Renzulli, J. S. (2009). Myth 1: The gifted and talented constitute one single homogenous group and giftedness is a way of being that stays in the person over time and experiences. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 53(4), 233-235.

Renzulli, J., Reis, S., Baum, S., & Betts, G. (2009). Systems and models for developing programs for the gifted and talented. Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press.

Roberts, J. (2007). Strategies for differentiating instruction: Best practices in gifted education. An evidence-based guide. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

Robinson, A. (2009). Myth 10: Examining the ostrich: Gifted services do not cure a sick regular program. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 53(4), 259-261.

Sak, U. (2009). Test of the three-mathematical minds (M3) for the identification of mathematically gifted students. Roeper Review, 31(1), 53-67.

Schroth, S. T., & Helfer, J. A. (2009). Practitioners’ conceptions of academic talent and giftedness: Essential factors in deciding classroom and school composition. Journal of Advanced Academics, 20(3), 384-407.

Slocumb, P. D., & Payne, R. K. (2000). Removing the mask: Giftedness in poverty. Highland, TX: Aha Process.

Shaughnessy, M. F. (Ed). (2010). Reading in 2010: A comprehensive review of a changing field. New York, NY: Nova.

Sternberg, R. J. (2007). Wisdom, intelligence, and creativity synthesized. Cambridge University Press.

Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Beyond IQ: A triarchic theory of human intelligence. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Sternberg, R. J. (1991). Death, taxes, and bad intelligence tests. Intelligence, 15(3), 257-269.

Sternberg, R. J. (1992). Ability tests, measurements, and markets. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84(2), 134-140.

Trawick-Smith, J. (2010). Early childhood development: A multicultural perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.

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VanTassel-Baska, J. L., Cross, T. L., & Olenchak, F. R. (2009). Social-emotional curriculum with gifted and talented students. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

VanTassel-Baska, J. L. (2005). Comprehensive curriculum for gifted learners. Allyn and Bacon.

VanTassel-Baska, J. L. (2009). Patterns and profiles of promising learners from poverty. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

Wood, S., & Estrada-Hernandez, N. (2009). Psychosocial characteristics of twice-exceptional individuals: Implications for rehabilitation practice. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 40(3), 11-18.

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Wu, Y., & Ma, Z. (2009). Principles and practices report on online enrichment and extension for the gifted and talented. Canadian Social Science, 5(1), 112-118.

Course content is updated every three years. Due to this update timeline, some URL links may no longer be active or may have changed. Please type the title of the organization into the command line of any Internet browser search window and you will be able to find whether the URL link is still active or any new link to the corresponding organization's web home page.

Updated 6/23/11 JN