Title: Gifted achievers and underachievers: A comparison of patterns found in school files
Authors: Nicholas Colangelo and Jean Sunde Peterson
Authors' Purpose for writing: To discover why some students underachieve and make recommendations for intervention
Authors' methodology: study of information contained in school cumulative record files of 153 gifted students
Who: 153 gifted students
What data is being collected: information on gender, attendance, coursework, grades, test scores (including ACT scores)
Authors' discoveries/conclusions:
underachievement defined as a discrepancy between expected and actual performance
changes in attendance and tardiness may be among the first signs of underachievement--achievers and underachievers differed significantly in average attendance
50 percent of gifted boys underachieve
25 percent of gifted girls underachieve
Junior high is the time of greatest vulnerability--particularly grade 7
another tip-off for underachievement is course selection--achievers choose more demanding electives.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Princess Belle
If I had to choose, I would be Princess Belle, the beautiful young woman who tames the Beast. Brave and resourceful, Belle is willing to sacrifice herself for the safety and security of her family, but she is also feisty enough to fight for them. She refuses to marry simply for security, rejecting the richest, most handsome man in town. An independent, clever woman, Belle values intellect and learning and requires a similarly intelligent and motivated man. Along with these more obvious strengths, Belle combines a gentleness of spirit and the ability to forgive. A "steel magnolia," Belle melds strength with tenderness. She is what a real woman (not just a princess) should be.
Lit Review 6
Title: Case Study: A gifted child at risk
Author: Carlyn Saunders
Author's Purpose for Writing: to examine one GT child and the risk factors affecting his academic performance
Author's methodology: an annotated psychoeducational report on one child
Who is being studied: this is the study of one boy struggling to achieve at the levels indicated by his IQ and other test results
Over what length of time: 3 months
Data collected: interviews with grandparents, mother and stepfather
review of school records
Burks's Behavior Rating Scales, completed by parents, grandparents, teacher, and counselor
The Conners Rating Scales for Hyperactivity, completed by parents, grandparents, teacher and counselor
Diagnostic questionnaires completed by mother and grandparents
Wechsler Intelligence for Children
Wide Range Achievement Test
Recommendations for teachers and schools from this study include:
enriched school programs with challenge and control for students
accelerated academic work
organized and structured school setting
suport for parents in home situation
counseling to deal with anxiety, anger, depression, peer and family relationships, stress
family counseling
This child was functioning at the 99th percentile of intelligence, despite problems with divorced parents, a dad in prison, and a step father with a potentially fatal illness
One interesting conclusion: if children are not identified as gifted and their families helped when they are young, bad situations can continue, IQ scores can suffer, and opportunities are lost.
"If it is not already apparent, it should be stressed that the interaction of factors can have a variety of cumulative negative effects. In time, Jason's IQ score itself would suffer because of obstacles to learning and information processing. If he had not been tested until several years later, it is quite conceivable that he would not have been identified as a gifted child, and more opportunities would have been lost. The very fact of identification often results in a different perception of a child by parents, teachers, and peers, who may have mixed reactions, some negative and some positive. Invariable, however, children's self-esteem is enhanced when they are given feedback that confirms their potential."
Teachers must know their students and push for appropriate testing.
Author: Carlyn Saunders
Author's Purpose for Writing: to examine one GT child and the risk factors affecting his academic performance
Author's methodology: an annotated psychoeducational report on one child
Who is being studied: this is the study of one boy struggling to achieve at the levels indicated by his IQ and other test results
Over what length of time: 3 months
Data collected: interviews with grandparents, mother and stepfather
review of school records
Burks's Behavior Rating Scales, completed by parents, grandparents, teacher, and counselor
The Conners Rating Scales for Hyperactivity, completed by parents, grandparents, teacher and counselor
Diagnostic questionnaires completed by mother and grandparents
Wechsler Intelligence for Children
Wide Range Achievement Test
Recommendations for teachers and schools from this study include:
enriched school programs with challenge and control for students
accelerated academic work
organized and structured school setting
suport for parents in home situation
counseling to deal with anxiety, anger, depression, peer and family relationships, stress
family counseling
This child was functioning at the 99th percentile of intelligence, despite problems with divorced parents, a dad in prison, and a step father with a potentially fatal illness
One interesting conclusion: if children are not identified as gifted and their families helped when they are young, bad situations can continue, IQ scores can suffer, and opportunities are lost.
"If it is not already apparent, it should be stressed that the interaction of factors can have a variety of cumulative negative effects. In time, Jason's IQ score itself would suffer because of obstacles to learning and information processing. If he had not been tested until several years later, it is quite conceivable that he would not have been identified as a gifted child, and more opportunities would have been lost. The very fact of identification often results in a different perception of a child by parents, teachers, and peers, who may have mixed reactions, some negative and some positive. Invariable, however, children's self-esteem is enhanced when they are given feedback that confirms their potential."
Teachers must know their students and push for appropriate testing.
Lit Review 5
Title: To produce or not to produce: Understanding boredom and the honor in underachievement
Author: Lannie Kanevsky and Tacey Keighley
Author's purpose for writing: to explain the reasons why some GT students deliberately refuse to work
Methodology: three case studies of high school students who gradually disengaged from classroom studies
Core findings: learning is the opposite of boredom
Learning is the antidote to boredom
Five interdependent features distinguish boring from learning experiences (the 5 Cs)
control
choice
challenge
complexity
caring teachers
If the some or all of the 5 Cs are present, students are engaged; if they are not present, students are not engaged. The more Cs that are present, the better.
Students in this study felt that the honorable action in response to an inappropriate curriculum was to disengage and to quit producing.
To re-engage these kinds of students will require understanding the causes of boredom, and offer differentiated curricula rich in the 5 Cs.
Non-producers differ from underachievers. Non-producers have chosen not to do the work because they see it as boring or irrelevant. This is not a problem with self-esteem or dependency, they just see the work as boring and/or irrelevant. They are bored due to a lack of stimulation and challenge in classes.
Lack of challenge is the most frequently cited cause of boredom. Gifted students crave the unfamiliar.
A caring teacher can enhance or overcome lack of the other 4 Cs. Caring teachers are defined as nonjudgmental, fair, flexible. Caring teachers honor students' need to talk, question, challenge, dig deeper; they must respect students, use discovery, hands-on, inquiry-based lessons, varying techniques and media. Caring teachers give students control over some aspects of learning, they show concern for all students' well-being, they return work promptly, and they are enthusiastic about their content and teaching.
Author: Lannie Kanevsky and Tacey Keighley
Author's purpose for writing: to explain the reasons why some GT students deliberately refuse to work
Methodology: three case studies of high school students who gradually disengaged from classroom studies
Core findings: learning is the opposite of boredom
Learning is the antidote to boredom
Five interdependent features distinguish boring from learning experiences (the 5 Cs)
control
choice
challenge
complexity
caring teachers
If the some or all of the 5 Cs are present, students are engaged; if they are not present, students are not engaged. The more Cs that are present, the better.
Students in this study felt that the honorable action in response to an inappropriate curriculum was to disengage and to quit producing.
To re-engage these kinds of students will require understanding the causes of boredom, and offer differentiated curricula rich in the 5 Cs.
Non-producers differ from underachievers. Non-producers have chosen not to do the work because they see it as boring or irrelevant. This is not a problem with self-esteem or dependency, they just see the work as boring and/or irrelevant. They are bored due to a lack of stimulation and challenge in classes.
Lack of challenge is the most frequently cited cause of boredom. Gifted students crave the unfamiliar.
A caring teacher can enhance or overcome lack of the other 4 Cs. Caring teachers are defined as nonjudgmental, fair, flexible. Caring teachers honor students' need to talk, question, challenge, dig deeper; they must respect students, use discovery, hands-on, inquiry-based lessons, varying techniques and media. Caring teachers give students control over some aspects of learning, they show concern for all students' well-being, they return work promptly, and they are enthusiastic about their content and teaching.
Lit Review 4
Title: Current Research on the social and emotional development of gifted and talented students: Good news and future possibilities
Author: Sally Reis and Joseph Renzulli
Author's Purpose for writing: To examine the current research regarding GT students and discuss the future
Methodology: Case studies
Who is being studied: students identified as gifted and talented
How the author collected information: in-depth interviews
Conclusions/Implications:
Academic supports that teachers can offer students in the classroom include:
compacting curriculum to avoid wasting time teaching children what they already know
differentiating and extending what is taught to accommodate varied pacing and levels of development
accelerating instruction
using high interest content and hands-on activities to create high engagement and creativity
Areas of psychological vulnerability for GT students include perfectionism and underachievement
Successful interventions include:
support and encouragement of accelerative learning experiences
time to learn with others of similar abilities, interests and motivations
engagement in areas of interest with a variety of peers
mentoring and pragmatic coaching to cope with stress and criticism
early presentation of career information
social-emotional curriculum approaches to help gifted students support one another
Bibliotherapy and Cinematherapy--reading and watching the lives of successful gifted people may be helpful
Teachers can model kindesss, caring, concern in class
maintain high academic and behavior standards
give positive feedback
prevent affective curriculum in areas of conflict resolution, decision-making and leadership
build educational experiences around student interests
Author: Sally Reis and Joseph Renzulli
Author's Purpose for writing: To examine the current research regarding GT students and discuss the future
Methodology: Case studies
Who is being studied: students identified as gifted and talented
How the author collected information: in-depth interviews
Conclusions/Implications:
Academic supports that teachers can offer students in the classroom include:
compacting curriculum to avoid wasting time teaching children what they already know
differentiating and extending what is taught to accommodate varied pacing and levels of development
accelerating instruction
using high interest content and hands-on activities to create high engagement and creativity
Areas of psychological vulnerability for GT students include perfectionism and underachievement
Successful interventions include:
support and encouragement of accelerative learning experiences
time to learn with others of similar abilities, interests and motivations
engagement in areas of interest with a variety of peers
mentoring and pragmatic coaching to cope with stress and criticism
early presentation of career information
social-emotional curriculum approaches to help gifted students support one another
Bibliotherapy and Cinematherapy--reading and watching the lives of successful gifted people may be helpful
Teachers can model kindesss, caring, concern in class
maintain high academic and behavior standards
give positive feedback
prevent affective curriculum in areas of conflict resolution, decision-making and leadership
build educational experiences around student interests
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Owls prompt
In "Owls," Mary Oliver conveys the complexity of her response to nature through the use of imagery, juxtaposition, and highly complex syntax.
Oliver begins her piece by describing the great horned owl in all its majesty and terror. She can hear the "heavy, crisp, breathy snapping of its hooked beak;" she stumbles upon the "headless bodies of rabbits and bluejays" knowing that the owl killed them because it has "an insatiable craving for the taste of brains." She says, "If it could, it would eat the whole world." And yet, she is as attracted by the night killer as she is repelled by it. She sees herself and the owl as "standing at the edge of the mystery" and says that "the world where the owl is endlessly hungry and endlessly on the hunt is the world in which I live too."
From the vivid description of the bloodthirsty owl, Oliver jumps to, of all things, flowers. Poppies or lupines, and roses. They are "red and pink and white tents of softness." This sudden change, this juxtaposition, emphasizes again her complex response to nature. One minute she sees death on the wing, then she is enraptured by flowers. But....soon the flowers take on a kind of sinister air. They become "excessive" and an "immutable force." Perhaps she sees them marching over the sand dunes and taking over the world?
Throughout the piece, Oliver uses highly sophisticated and complex syntax. Beginning in line 45, one sentence utilizes asyndeton, polysyndeton, parallel structure, multiple independent and dependent clauses--all to emphasize her extremely complex response to nature. She is struck, taken, conquered, washed into it; she can't move, is restless no more, replete, supine, finished, filled to the last edges. And this is not only fulfilling and wonderful to her, it is also "terrible" and "frightening."
Oliver begins her piece by describing the great horned owl in all its majesty and terror. She can hear the "heavy, crisp, breathy snapping of its hooked beak;" she stumbles upon the "headless bodies of rabbits and bluejays" knowing that the owl killed them because it has "an insatiable craving for the taste of brains." She says, "If it could, it would eat the whole world." And yet, she is as attracted by the night killer as she is repelled by it. She sees herself and the owl as "standing at the edge of the mystery" and says that "the world where the owl is endlessly hungry and endlessly on the hunt is the world in which I live too."
From the vivid description of the bloodthirsty owl, Oliver jumps to, of all things, flowers. Poppies or lupines, and roses. They are "red and pink and white tents of softness." This sudden change, this juxtaposition, emphasizes again her complex response to nature. One minute she sees death on the wing, then she is enraptured by flowers. But....soon the flowers take on a kind of sinister air. They become "excessive" and an "immutable force." Perhaps she sees them marching over the sand dunes and taking over the world?
Throughout the piece, Oliver uses highly sophisticated and complex syntax. Beginning in line 45, one sentence utilizes asyndeton, polysyndeton, parallel structure, multiple independent and dependent clauses--all to emphasize her extremely complex response to nature. She is struck, taken, conquered, washed into it; she can't move, is restless no more, replete, supine, finished, filled to the last edges. And this is not only fulfilling and wonderful to her, it is also "terrible" and "frightening."
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