Autumn Combs Speaker Reflection 1 Gifted and High Ability Learners with Dr.

Patti Wood In class today Dr. Patti Wood came to talk to us about gifted and high ability learners. She began her talk by giving us a 3-2-1 writing assignment to get us thinking about our ideas about gifted and our preconceptions. After discussing this, we talked about myths and realities that there are about children who are gifted. Some of the things that we talked about during this activity were that if a child is intelligent, that does not mean he is automatically creative, lower level socioeconomic and minority children are less likely to be identified as a gifted students, and that IQ scores are not a good predictor of accomplishments that he/she will have in the real world. After the myths and realities portion of the talk, we began the PowerPoint that she had prepared for us. The PowerPoint listed characteristics such as motivated, creative, and intelligent. Dr. Wood explained the differences between high achievers and gifted learners. A high achiever is a person who is interested in class and is motivated. The high achiever also has ideas, understands ideas, and completes assignments. For gifted learners, grades may not be a priority but asking questions, manipulating information, and curiosity are all characteristics that he possesses. In the classroom setting, high achievers are organized and strive for As; whereas, the gifted learner is disorganized and does not care about grades. Within the PowerPoint, there was an opportunity for us to take the nine circle creativity test. In this test there are 9 circles and we were given five minutes to use the circle to draw pictures however we wanted. She explained to us how the grading scale works and we watched as she graded peoples pictures based on their creativity, elaboration, and combination of circles. Finally, we talked about ways that accommodations are made for gifted talented and high ability learners. There are options such as enrichment and acceleration. Finally we talked about the fact that the material presented should not be in the form of a worksheet but it should be something that presents a challenge to the students and allows the student to enjoy the learning process.

Autumn Combs Speaker Reflection 2 In class on Friday, October 25, we had Mr. Adams come from PARCA to talk to us about data. PARCA stands for Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. This organization is in charge of collecting data from different entities within the state including educational data, such as test scores. He began by explaining to us that they are a non-political organization that simply takes the data and compiles it for the public to see. Once he began showing actual data pictures, he pointed out the differences between high income area and low income areas. He then started showing us different charts with students in our area and their scores in math and reading as they got older. We also went through charts of specific schools in our area and looked at their test scores. The thing that stood out to me most about what Mr. Adams said is that improvement is possible. No matter what the schools are going through with funding or other things, it is possible for improvement to take place. He also said that every child can learn and every school can improve. We as teachers must be willing and engaging to make our students see the worth of education. When he left we then reviewed the important things that he presented to us. We went over how important the data can be but that it is hard for outsiders to make true statements about schools based solely on the data. You can look at the data but you also need to go into the school and see exactly what they are offering and what is taking place throughout the school year. Another important factor to consider when looking at the data is the way that the analyzers decided to divide the information. For example, the charts that Mr. Adams showed us gave statistics for white and black students only. But if they were to go to the school and see the number of English language learners that effect the statistics yet do not have their own group then it is more understandable why the scores are what they are.

Autumn Combs Speaker Reflection 3 Dr. Rogers came and spoke to us in class on Friday about data driven instruction. We talked about the fact that as soon as you find out the children that will be in your classroom that year, you should read over their files and try to find out as much as you can about each one. By doing this you will be able to understand more about where the child is coming from and where they are academically. This will allow you to cater to them in more efficient ways in the classroom. We also talked about the fact that we as teachers are responsible for students growth. We are expected to be able to show growth over the time that we have had the children. The data that is gathered over the year and before and after it is important in many different ways. The data that we are continuously gathering and reviewing provides curriculum continuity, differentiation for all students, and self-monitoring for the student and the teacher. We also talked about data meetings that are held at most schools that goes over the data for a specific grade and allows the teachers to see what is good and what needs work. These meetings also provide time for goals to be made across the grade level so that all of the teachers and classes are on the same page. It is important that even if your school does not have data meetings that you are looking at your data so that you know what is working, what they get, and what you need to improve on so that they get the information that they need, It is all about using the evidence to point you in the direction that your instruction must go. One key to remember though is that your students are so much more than the data shows. They are not just scores and numbers. Dr. Rogers closed with the idea that you should know your data but that the instruction should still be child driven. You should not lose sight of the whole child by focusing on that number.

Autumn Combs Speaker Reflection 4 Today Dr. Wood came to talk to us for the second part of differentiated learning information. Today the subject specified meeting the needs of gifted and advanced learners in the general education classroom. We talked about how differentiation was coined specifically for gifted and high end learners but that it is used now to talk about instruction for all learners. We talked about how students are alike and different and how they require different things as students. This is why differentiated teaching is required in the classroom. Gifted and advanced learners need information at a faster pace that allows them to make choices that are engaging in meaningful learning tasks. We also talked about things that we can do in order to improve questioning. These things included teaching students how to ask questions that are meaningful, asking how they know, higher level questions, and wait time. Dr. Wood gave us a packet of information and resources that we can use in our lessons that will help with differentiation. There are many different activities and choice systems that will cater to all levels of learners. One example of a resource given to us is cubing. With cubing, the children are given dice that have question prompts. Once they role, the students then answer the question with information from the book. These cubes create a game experience for the students but also allow them to practice and recall information at high levels. Dr. Wood also gave us a Thinking Triangle where the child fills in the characters and main points of a story that they have just read. This helps the child formulate and get all of his ideas in one spot. We were able to work with a book and create questions for the book, a choice board for possible projects that the students could complete, and a Problem based learning question that took the main idea of the book but used it as a springboard for the question. The problem based learning question is important because it puts the students in the roles of professionals and ask them to make decisions and think like an adult. These questions are set up as a scenario and the children have to use problem solving and critical thinking skills.