Best Practice Seminar: Joyce VanTassel-Baska

“Strategies for Differentiation for Gifted and Talented in Regular Classrooms”

November 29, 2006

            She began by urging us to “pitch instruction” above grade level, never at the “mythical middle.”  Needed remediation can be provided later, but all students need to opportunity to be challenged. 

            Gifted kids must have acceleration in their area of talent, and flexible grouping in reading and math is also important for them.  She noted that “if you don’t group, differentiation is impossible.”  If you don’t calibrate instruction to provide adequate difficulty, kids will always take the easy option.

            She noted that for gifted kids to succeed, they must have effective interventions, as they can’t make it on their own.  It’s a myth that most gifted kids are independent learners.  When designing curriculum, you must begin with the learners’ characteristics and needs.  Therefore, curriculum must be revised each year based on the results of the year before.

            Three elements of gifted learner needs are the “CIA”: curriculum (what taught), instruction (how taught), and assessment (what is learned.)  Assessment is the most difficult of these as learning occurs in spurts, not according to a schedule.

            She then described the strategy developed at the College of William and Mary’s Center for Gifted Education to meet the needs of gifted students.  They provide units of study that emphasize precocity (advanced content), intensity (depth), and complexity (ideas crossing domains of learning.)  Speed is not the key, rather the basics should be covered quickly and then time provided for intense study in their areas of interest.  To pump up intellectuality, real world issues and themes across time should be used.   She has developed problem-based learning units for grades 2-12 that are useful for all students, not just the gifted.  Kendall-Hunt Publishers is the source for these units.  She urged us to always ask for data showing effectiveness of any curriculum you purchase and said specific information on materials for gifted kids is available at www.cfge.wm

            She said that a key practice is to use the same strategies with all students but use different levels of text, probably using three reading groups in a class to match readers to text.  She also said that research shows activities using smaller groups (2-4) is most effective.  She led us in analyzing a poem using a literature web designed to boost comprehension.  This web can be used in any content but works best with short selections that can be reread easily; the texts should be rich in meaning.  Emily Dickinson’s poetry is an excellent text.

            The procedure:  read the text and underline 3 key words (words that are especially provocative to the reader.)  Record them in the first circle of the web.  Then write 3 feelings (personal reactions) evoked by the text.  Let kids use jottings rather than complete sentences.  Bubble three is for ideas (meanings) they see, bubble four for images and symbols, and bubble five to make notes on the text’s structure (what the writer does that’s special; literary techniques used.)  She said to give kids 5-7 minutes to complete the web, 5-10 minutes to discuss with their small groups, 10-20 minutes to have a whole group discussion, and the rest of class to create individual writing responses.  The activity should last one class period.

            She noted that the web is also an effective reading strategy to move kids from the concrete to the abstract and should be used often with a variety of texts (poetry, news articles, etc.)  For writing responses, kids should have 2-3 options of topics such as discussing a personal connection to the text or creating a poem on the same theme.  Research shows that connecting reading to writing is very powerful enhancement to learning and that making personal connections is essential for full understanding.

            She observed that the writing process has been overdone when it destroys fluency and that kids need much more short-term practice that is not graded but is shared with others.  (Note:  this concurs with Carol Jago’s call for “on demand” writing opportunities with a time limit.)  She cited research that says five uses of the web activity over time results in long term gains, and that it is appropriate for elementary – AP level.

            She said that poetry, because of its compressed layers of meaning, is one of the best tools to build skill in analysis and interpretation of all literature.

            The next strategy was the vocabulary web, a valuable alternative to traditional lists.  The gifted have a thirst for depth and complexity and also enjoy word play, so using the web with interesting, complex words is highly beneficial.  The words should be pulled from a context, such as the textbook chapter in history or the literature in English.  A high-quality dictionary is essential, but one desk copy for the teacher is sufficient as single pages of the dictionary can be Xeroxed for easy use.  She noted the “power of stems” as a thorough study of “autobiography” (for example) can yield up to 300 words learned.  Over 60% of English words come from Latin.  She recommended Michael Thompson’s materials (Fireworks Press.)

            To teach effective persuasive writing, she says the “Hamburger Model” is the most effective method, as it gets 1 ½ years growth if used 6 or more times and the kids don’t lose that growth over time but can make continuous progress.  The procedure is to post the model, introduce it, give examples of effective “hamburger” essays to analyze together, then give a prompt (preferably a “whopper”) and time to write, no more than 10 minutes since the goal is fluency.  She said we often let activities drag on too long and that imposing time limits raises productivity and fluency.  Gifted kids tend to be perfectionistic and need to be willing to take risks.

            She also advocates practice in this fashion: give kids at least 3 ten-minute exercises before assigning the formal essay for a grade.  Train them on the appropriate rubric first and allow them to self-assess before turning in their work.  While this seems prescriptive, research confirms that creativity is domain-specific and needs a form to follow before trying to unleash ideas.  Forms, in fact, free kids up to be more creative rather than erratic.

            She stated that change in teachers’ practices occur with they see student learning occur.  She cited Richard Paul, an expert on critical thinking and author of ELEMENTS OF REASONING, as a good resource for interdisciplinary teaching.

            Having demonstrated four strategies (two webs, the hamburger, and Paul’s “Wheel of Reasoning”), she told us that research reveals how a few well-chosen models taught well are much more effective than trying many tools.  She advocates training a whole staff to use the same basic models, to provide consistent practice for kids.

            She described macroconcepts (“good and evil,” “time,” “power,” etc.) as Big Ideas for basing units of study (Mortimer Adler.)  She also showed a “change matrix” that can help kids perform a comparative analysis of several texts.  She said that research projects for kids must be framed by questions, as the whole point of research is to use data to make meaning.  Problem-based learning is the most motivating approach, and using real world problems is excellent training to help kids prepare for productive adulthood.

            In short, Joyce VanTassel-Baska confirmed what I already believed, that good practice is good practice and that all kids deserve the best instruction available.

This page updated last on :  08/25/2007