Metro RESA Gifted Endorsement Self Reflection Assessment for Curriculum & Strategies for the Gifted Learner

Submit as directed by your Instructor

Rena Ingram
Self-Evaluation Final (Course II)

The goal of this endorsement is to equip Candidates to identify and teach gifted students from a variety of cultural, linguistic, and economic backgrounds. We hope that you become
advocates for gifted children, are empowered to exert positive leadership in your school and come to be more effective teachers of ALL students. This exercise is intended to provide an
opportunity for you to reflect upon your growth towards those objectives.

I. Answer (1 A or 1 B) in a reflective written response with at least one paragraph per question:
“Differentiation is just a teacher acknowledging that kids learn in different ways and responding by doing something about that through curriculum and
instruction.” – Carol Ann Tomlinson

Throughout this class, Course II, I’ve learned more in depth about how the efficiency of teaching is more about being responsive, than one-size-fits-all.
Every student in every class learns differently, so when teaching a room built in a melting-point fashion, a teacher must respond to the learners’ needs with
instruction hat is guided by the principles of differentiation, such as flexible grouping, respectful tasks, and ongoing assessment and adjustment. Teachers
can differentiation by adapting one or more of the curricular elements (content, process, and products) based on one or more of the student characteristics
(readiness, interest, and learning profile) at any point in a lesson or unit, but more importantly, differentiated curriculum for the gifted learner must be rich
(authentic and meaningful), rigorous enough to stretch them beyond their comfort zone, and have a balance between rigor and joy. Moreover, classroom
management for the gifted learner is tri-fold as an effective teacher of differentiated curriculum not only 1) is a kid watcher in order to observe how
students learn as individuals rather than as a group, but 2) asks the students how the class is working for them and how to make it better and 3) doesn’t
assume that high ability learners know the underlying principles so they still work to ensure that the students learn the basic skills/principles, masters the
required content, are able to present ideas through traditional product forms, and performs successfully on informal/formal assessments which produces an
authentic environment of authentic excellence.

This course has impacted my teaching in so many ways, and many of which I will probably struggle with putting into words how grateful I am for how it
has transformed me. First and foremost, this course has exposed me not only to 7 more instructional strategies (Six Thinking Hats, Graduated Difficulty,
Metaphorical Expressions, Task Rotation, Creative Problem Solving, Concept Attainment, and Decision Making) that will allow me to be more efficient in
presenting content to my students, but it also exposed me to several toolbox strategies, i.e. Writing in the Margins, Math T.I.M.E., Flipped Classroom, and
Learning Menus that I can implement on a frequent basis that help create that balance between rigor, joy, and interests. In those lessons and strategies that I
have implemented thus far, the students have repeatedly expressed their excitement for the activities, seemingly appeared more excited to learn and

Revised June 2014

 Metro RESA Gifted Endorsement Self Reflection Assessment for Curriculum & Strategies for the Gifted Learner
Submit as directed by your Instructor
appreciative what they got out of engaging in them, and, based on data, performed much better as they were provided with opportunities to learn that made
it more powerful and authentic for them.

When it comes to the principles and practice of differentiation, the only remaining question/concern I have relates to differentiation for high excelling
learners. In a room of all gifted learners, some will expectedly still excel faster than others; however, when providing authentic experience for those high
performers, do I advance them onto the next topic or stretch them to a real-world phenomenon? For example, when constructing my Graduated Difficulty
lesson, the levels ranged from 1-3, where Level 3 required them to apply their understanding of gas laws to a real-world topic; however, once they
completed that – or even if they felt like that wasn’t challenging enough, should Level 4 consists of another, yet more challenging, real-world example they
should apply their knowledge to or advance them on a connection activity that relates the current activity to the next one, i.e. connecting ideal gas behavior
to deviations from ideal-gas behavior? I want to make the extension activity more academically rewarding/beneficial for them and not just “more work.”

II. Of the topics listed, what would you say are two strengths of your understanding and planning for gifted/advanced learners and what is one area of weakness on which you intend to
work. Explain each choice in detail using the rubric below as a guide.

Adapting content areas for high ability learners Differentiation for high ability learners
Effective strategies to incorporate creativity and critical thinking skills into the Lesson planning for gifted student, implementation of lessons, and analysis of the
classroom results
Using strategies that address the needs of multiple learning styles Questioning to encourage deeper student understanding
Using strategies that formatively assess student understanding

Two strengths of my understanding and planning for gifted/advanced learners of the topics listed are 1) lesson planning for gifted students, implementation
of lessons, and analysis of results, and 2) using strategies that formatively assess student understanding. When lesson planning for gifted students, you must
acknowledge and fulfill their desire to learn and excel. Gifted students may acquire skills and information more quickly than that of other students, but they
still need to be taught the essential/underlying principles in order to master and perform successfully on assessments – you can’t just assume they know the
information or can understand it on their own just because they’re labeled as “gifted.” So, when lesson planning for the gifted student and implementing the
lesson plan, I keep those things in mind and I’m just as patient with them as I am with my students who haven’t been labeled as gifted. For example, if
students don’t understand the material being taught and it’s of vast importance to stop and re-teach instead of factor in as we continue, I’m not going to
continue on and make their confusion null and void regardless on if it’s a student who’s gifted or not. Additionally, gifted students yearn for relevant and
transferable content more than anyone else, and I acknowledge that lessons utilizing strategies such as Creative Problem Solving & Decision Making
provide them with meaningful experiences. When it comes to analyzing results of lessons and strategies, both informally and formally, I’m not ashamed to
ask students how they felt about the implementation of the strategy, if it’s working for them, and get their feedback on what adjustments they feel need to
Revised June 2014
 Metro RESA Gifted Endorsement Self Reflection Assessment for Curriculum & Strategies for the Gifted Learner
Submit as directed by your Instructor
be made in order for it to work better for them, both on my behalf and theirs. Throughout each strategy, I observe how the students respond to it in their
discussions, in the questions they ask, and the work they produce. It helps me gauge not only the strength in the mastery of a specific content that it targeted
but how well the strategy helped them improve their understanding of that content.

One area that I really feel I need to work on is developing questions that encourage deeper understanding. I feel like I ask good questions that challenge
them, but I don’t feel like it challenges them enough to apply what they know on a consistent, intentional basis. Creating questions that that create an
opportunity for deeper learning would make the learning process more rewarding for the gifted learner and making those connections, i.e. to real-world
experiences, would make their understanding more solid.

III. Look at the list of strategies and protocols listed below; describe how you have implemented some aspect of two of these in your classroom, what you learned from that process and
how you will improve in the future. Then pick one that you have not implemented and explain how you might use it: include the lesson content context, the reason this type of strategy is
appropriate in the situation and what else you would need to know or do to be able to implement that strategy.

Metaphorical Expression Task Rotation Quadrant Partners Protocol Final Word Protocol

Creative Problem Solving Six Hats Windows Notes Brainstorming

New American Lecture Mystery Strategy Questioning in the 4 Styles Decision Making Strategy

A Toolbox Strategy A Creativity/Critical Thinking Strategy (other than 6 hats or CPS)

In my classroom, I have implemented a toolbox strategy and the brainstorming protocol. In a science classroom, most individuals miss the opportunity or
importance of focusing on the reading and writing forms of literacy. However, in my classroom, I believe that to be completely scientifically literate, you
must be able to incorporate not only the math (Chemistry is a math-based course) but be able to decipher (read) presented text and explain (write) scientific
ideas. Thus, I implemented the “Writing in the Margins” strategy, an AVID strategy that is used to help readers understand text through writing by offering
targeting annotated guidelines (visualize, respond, clarify, summarize, connect, and question) that help students understand rigorous texts and it has truly
helped them better understand scientific concepts when written. For example, if I presented students with a text that includes a sentence that reads, “If
volume is held constant, as the number of moles of gas increase, the pressure will increase,” they could draw an example of two boxes of equal sizes with
one having more particles than the other and notating, “n ,P ” next to it to help them understand the information being mentioned. Going forward, I am
looking to incorporate #Hashtags to that as well. Students use #hashtags for everything so to use something they love to help them remember/summarize

Revised June 2014

 Metro RESA Gifted Endorsement Self Reflection Assessment for Curriculum & Strategies for the Gifted Learner
Submit as directed by your Instructor
the main idea would connect their interests with the topic and will make it fun and exciting for them. Moreover, every day that the students come into my
room, I present them with a warm-up that requires them to apply concepts that know to address a real-world phenomenon. This often leads to a whole-class
discussion, so since I was introduced to the brainstorming rules, I’ve introduced them to my students and it has provided them with a more collaborative
and safe-environment to share their ideas until we collective establish an answer that incorporates all of their responses. For example, if I were to present
students with the phenomenon, “Food coloring mixes into hold water faster than cold water,” and remind them of the brainstorming rules, they would feel
more encouraged to share out all of their answers (quantity) regardless of similarity or differences (wild and crazy answers are okay) and add onto the
responses of their classmates (piggy-back on the ideas of others) without worrying about being picked on for being wrong or right (no judgement-positive
or negative). Incorporating these rules have led to a highly engaged and collaborative setting that the students truly enjoy, and I’ll be making a poster of the
information so that it can hang up in my room as a constant reminder for all discussions and share-out activities!

An activity I have not yet implemented is the Task Rotation strategy. This type of strategy uses the 4 learning styles (mastery, understanding, interpersonal,
and self-expressive) to create a differentiated assessment system that is manageable and provides powerful insight into how each student learns in the
classroom. Thus, it allows us as teachers to utilize effective formative assessments while meeting the needs of all the diverse learning styles we have within
our classroom, which ultimately, helps us pinpoint skills that students need to develop further. There are different content areas I could utilize this strategy,
such as periodic table trends, types of chemical reactions, acids and bases, etc. More specifically, for example, with periodic table trends I would set up the
task according to the following:

 Mastery (Remember & Describe) – Arrange 9 unknown element into a table of 21 known elements according to the current model of the Periodic
Table based on trends of their shared chemical and physical properties. (Mendeleev’s Table Activity)
 Understanding (Reason & Explain) – Develop a plan that will help others understand each of the periodic table trends (atomic radius, ionization
energy, electronegativity, and reactivity) and how they relate to each other amongst elements in the same group or in the same period on the
periodic table.
 Interpersonal (Explore & Relate)– Write a friendly letter explain how you encounter/observe patterns in your own life and how these patterns affect
other events and/or behaviors.
 Self-Expressive (Imagine & Create) – Choose an element on the periodic table and create a “Most Wanted” poser that includes the required
physical and chemical properties on the provided checklist. Pick on element in the same group and one element in the same period and discuss how
their atomic properties relate.

I can have the students complete one or two based on their preference, or all four as it encourages a full range of student diversity while also helping them
meet the rigorous state standards. In order to complete this lesson successfully, I would have to have answer keys to each of the activities in addition to the
rubric, written in clear and student-friendly language, for all tasks the students what’s “exemplary”. This lesson would be appropriate because it promotes

Revised June 2014

 Metro RESA Gifted Endorsement Self Reflection Assessment for Curriculum & Strategies for the Gifted Learner
Submit as directed by your Instructor
engagement by increasing depth of student learning of the periodic table trends, improving the quality of their thinking, motivating them to understand and
learn the trends, and increasing their mental flexibility for how they to go about mastering the content.

Revised June 2014