Identification of High Potential Students

Scaling-Up Project CRITICAL

Harlem Renaissance Technology Center

August 22, 2007

Sheelah Sweeny

University of Connecticut

Two Types of Giftedness

1.Schoolhouse or lesson-learning giftedness2.Creative/Productive giftedness

Conservative vs. Liberal Identification Methods

• Conservative– IQ/Cognitive test

scores only– Top 1%-5% of

student population– Under

representation of culturally, linguistically, economically diverse & twice exceptional students

• Liberal– Multiple identification

criteria– Top 10%-15% of

student population– More inclusive

Factors Influencing Gifted Behavior

• Personality Factors– Perception of Self,

Self-Efficacy– Courage– Character– Intuition– Charm/Charisma– Need for Achievement– Ego Strength– Energy– Sense of Destiny– Personal

Attractiveness

• Environmental Factors– SES– Parental Personalities– Education of Parents– Stimulation of

Childhood Interests– Family Position– Formal Education– Role Model Availability– Physical Illness and/or

Well Being– Chance Factors– Zeitgeist

Above Average Ability: Characteristics

• General Ability– High levels of abstract

thinking, verbal & numerical reasoning, spatial relations, memory and word fluency

– Adapts to novel situations

– Automization of information processing; rapid, accurate & selective retrieval of information

Above Averag

e Abilit

y

Above Average Ability: Characteristics

• Specific Ability– Application of various

combinations of general abilities to one or more specialized areas of knowledge or performance

– Capacity for acquiring and using advanced knowledge, techniques, logistics and strategies

– Capacity to determine relevance of information

Above Averag

e Abilit

y

Task Commitment: Characteristics

• High levels of interest, enthusiasm, fascination, & involvement

• Shows perseverance, endurance, determination, hard work & dedicated practice

• Self-confident, belief in own ability, driven to achieve

• Ability to identify problems; tune in to new developments in field

• Sets high standards, open to criticism, developing sense of taste, quality & excellence about work products

Task Commitmen

t

Creativity: Characteristics• Fluency, flexibility & originality

of thought

• Openness to experience; receptive to new and different thoughts, actions & products

• Curious, speculative, adventurous, and “mentally playful”; willing to take risks in thought and action; uninhibited

• Sensitive to detail, aesthetic characteristics of ideas and things; willing to act on and react to external stimulation and own ideas and feelings

Creativity

Three Ring Conception of GiftednessWHAT MAKES GIFTEDNESS?

Above Average Ability

TaskCommitment

CreativityGiftedness Is Evident

Giftedness Appears…

C

A

U

I

C

T P

Under Certain

Circumstances

In Certain People

At Certain Times

Identifying Talent Pool Students

• What are we looking for?

– Learning Profile?

– Personality Traits?

– IQ?

Decision #1 - Before Choosing an Identification Model

• What organizational model(s) will we use?– How do we group kids and move them around? – How many students can we provide services so

that we have a “Visibility of Effect?”

• What pedagogical model(s) will guide our work?– What we do with kids within any grouping or

organizational patterns. (e.g. Johns Hopkins, Mentor Connection)

Continuum of Ideologies in Gifted EducationTraditional Emerging(Conservative) (Liberal)

• Gifted Students Defined

• Formal Identification Certified "Gifted"

• Grouping by Ability

• Funding by "Body Count"

• Designated Teachers for GiftedStudents

• Conventional Wisdom

• Gifted Behaviors and Services Defined

• Flexible Identification Development of Gifted Behaviors

• Grouping by Interests, Motivation,Learning Styles, and Tasks

• Funding by Total District Population

• Designated Schoolwide EnrichmentTeaching Specialists

• Conventional Wisdom"Society has much to gain from examining

its most evolved members."

"There is nothing so unequal as the equaltreatment of unequal."

"Every student is special if we provideopportunities to make that student aspecialist in a specialty group."

"Giftedness is in the ways in which studentsrespond to advanced opportunities,resources, and encouragement."

There should be a direct relationship between the identification system and the types of services provided by the program!

-Joe Renzulli

My Golden Rule of Gifted Education

The Renzulli Identification System

• Based on the 3-Ring Conception of Giftedness & the Enrichment Triad Model

• Strives for equity, excellence & economy

• Designed to be flexible (e.g. to follow state guidelines on cut-off scores)

• Based on research of behavioral characteristics of highly creative & productive people

The Renzulli Identification System Goals:

• Develop creativity and/or task commitment in Talent Pool students & other students who come to an educator’s attention through alternate means of identification

• Provide learning experiences & support systems that promote interaction of creativity, task commitment, & above average ability

• Provide opportunities, resources, & encouragement for the development & application of gifted behaviors

Identification Considerations

• There is no perfect identification system!

• There should be a direct relationship between the identification system and the services to be provided to develop the students’ gifts and talents.

• The system does not determine if a student is “gifted” or “not gifted.” Rather, it identifies students who would benefit most from supplementary services.

Identification Considerations

• The difference between high performance and high potential is critical:– high potential students may require

different kinds of programming options than high performing students

• Establish local norms – use grade level, similarity of learning

opportunities & background characteristics rather than national norms

Identification Considerations

• Target specific behaviors and potentials rather than using generic labels (e.g. moderately gifted, highly gifted)

• Label the services, not the students

• The program must have “Visibility of Effect”

5 Things to Avoid

• Criticisms of “watering down”

• Getting into legal difficulties (bumper sticker parents)

• Pitting parents of advantaged children against parents of disadvantaged children

• Leading people to believe that any one instrument is the answer to identification

• Proliferating the amount of paperwork

Decision #2 - Make Before Proceeding to Identification

• Determine size of Talent Pool– Number of students you can serve and be

able to achieve “Visibility of Effect”– Effect of direct & indirect services you can

develop through schoolwide involvement of other teachers & outside resources

– Planned growth over time

Talent Pool Membership

• Students who demonstrate above average ability on cognitive tests

• Students who would most benefit from supplementary services

• May be based on state guidelines

Tes

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core

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Renzulli Identification System

Step 1

99th

%ile

92nd %ile

Test ScoreNominations

[Automatic, and Based on Local Norms]

Step 2

Teacher Nominations

[Automatic Except in Cases of Teachers

Who Are Over or Under Nominators]Step 3 Alternative Pathways Case

Study

Special NominationsStep 4 Case Study

Notification of ParentsStep 5

Action Information NominationsStep 6

Alternate Pathways

• May include: – parent, peer and self nominations– Creativity assessments– Product evaluations– Other measures

• Allow for non-traditional students to receive services

Two Types of Identification

1. Status Information -- Anything you can put down on paper beforehand that tells you something about the student.

2. Action Information -- Things that you can only document when they are happening or after they happen.

Status Information

• Grades

• Test scores

• Student work samples

• Interest, learning styles & expression style surveys

• Teacher input (any/all teachers)

• Parent input

• Students’ self-nomination

• Peer nominations

Action Information

• Teacher observations

• Work habits

• Thinking

• Questioning

• Leadership qualities

• Peer interactions

• Skill development

• Conversations• Interviews• Video/audio recordings

Identifying Talent Pool Students

• Local decision for criteria

• Use multiple criteria

• Look beyond the obvious - look for potential as well as talent that is already developed

Identifying Talent Pool Students

• Local decision for criteria• Use multiple criteria • Look beyond the obvious - look for

potential as well as talent that is already developed

Decision #2 - Make Before Proceeding to Identification

• Determine size of Talent Pool– Number of students you can serve and be

able to achieve “Visibility of Effect”– Effect of direct & indirect services you can

develop through schoolwide involvement of other teachers & outside resources

– Planned growth over time

Talent Pool Membership

• Students who demonstrate above average ability on cognitive tests

• Students who would most benefit from supplementary services

• May be based on state guidelines

Tes

t S

core

Cri

teri

a [

Ap

pro

xim

atel

y 50

% o

f T

he

Tal

ent

Po

ol]

No

n-T

est

Cri

teri

a [

Ap

pro

xim

atel

y 50

% o

f T

he

Tal

ent

Po

ol]

To

tal Talen

t Po

ol C

on

sists of A

pp

roxim

ately 15% o

f the G

eneral P

op

ulatio

n

Renzulli Identification System

Step 1

99th

%ile

92nd %ile

Test ScoreNominations

[Automatic, and Based on Local Norms]

Step 2

Teacher Nominations

[Automatic Except in Cases of Teachers

Who Are Over or Under Nominators]Step 3 Alternative Pathways Case

Study

Special NominationsStep 4 Case Study

Notification of ParentsStep 5

Action Information NominationsStep 6

Alternate Pathways

• May include: – parent, peer and self nominations– Creativity assessments– Product evaluations– Other measures

• Allow for non-traditional students to receive services

Top 1% IQ

Reading, Writing, Math

Top 5-10% IQ

Reading, Writing, Math

Top 10-15%

Alternate

Pathways

Two Types of Identification

1. Status Information -- Anything you can put down on paper beforehand that tells you something about the student.

2. Action Information -- Things that you can only document when they are happening or after they happen.

Status Information

• Grades

• Test scores

• Student work samples

• Interest, learning styles & expression style surveys

• Teacher input (any/all teachers)

• Parent input

• Students’ self-nomination

• Peer nominations

Action Information• Teacher

observations

• Work habits

• Thinking

• Questioning

• Leadership qualities

• Peer interactions

• Skill development

• Conversations• Interviews• Video/audio recordings

Don’t go! I’m sure page 3 of Billy’s Gifted Matrix Checklist No. 5.3 (a) is in here somewhere.

Renzulli Identification System: Information Summary FormName:______________________________ Date:_________________________

School:_____________________________ Grade:________________________

I. Academic PerformanceA. Achievement Test Scores (Most Recent Achievement Test Scores

Test Date RawScore

GradeEquiv.

Local%ile

Verbal

Numerical

Non-verbal

B. End of Year Grades for Past 2 YearsSubject Year 1 Year 2 Subject Year 1 Year 2

Reading Music

Mathematics Art

Language Arts/English Foreign Language

Social Studies Other:

Science Other:

II. Teacher Ratings [Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students (SRBCSS)]

Scale Score GroupMean

Scale Score GroupMean

Learning Technology

Motivation Artistic

Creativity Musical

Leadership Dramatic

Reading Communication I

Mathematics Communication II

Science Planning

III. Alternative PathwaysScale Summary of Strengths

Parent Rating

Peer Rating

Product Rating

IV. Special Nominations

Teacher:__________________________ Grade:__________________________

Attach a brief description from the nominating teacher about why this student was nominatedand enter the SRBCSS ratings in Part II above.

Other Tools

Additional information that can help to identify individual strengths that guide differentiation for high performance and high potential students within the gifted program and in general education…

My Way . . . An Expression Style Inventory

K. E. Kettle, J. S. Renzulli, M. G. Rizza

University of Conncecticut

Products provide students and professionals with a way to express what they havelearned to an audience. This survey will help determine the kinds of products YOUare interested in creating.

My Name is: ___________________________________________________________

Instructions:Read each statement and circle the number that shows to what extent YOU areinterested in creating that type of product. (Do not worry if you are unsure of howto make the product.)

Not At All Of Little Moderately Very

Interested Interest Interested Interested Interested

Example:writing song lyrics 1 2 3 4 5

1. writing stories 1 2 3 4 5

2. discussing what I have 1 2 3 4 5learned

3. painting a picture 1 2 3 4 5

4. designing a computer 1 2 3 4 5software project

5. filming & editing a video 1 2 3 4 5

6. creating a company 1 2 3 4 5

7. helping in the community 1 2 3 4 5

8. acting in a play 1 2 3 4 5