As a former gifted teacher and gifted program coordinator, I recognize the importance of identifying gifted and high-ability students for accelerated and/or enriched classes to meet learning needs. Nevertheless, educators in districts fortunate enough to have gifted programming must not imprison themselves and their students in the “Gifted Identification Trap.” This trap is sprung when high level differentiation and knowledge of gifted pedagogy is undervalued for grade level classrooms because identified students leave the classroom for accelerated/gifted instruction.

For example, let’s take the case of a fourth grade classroom teacher—we’ll call her “Ms. Solo.” As Ms. Solo begins the school year, she glances at her class list with highlighted names of five students identified for the “gifted program.” At 9:57 a.m. she chirps, “Time to switch classes for math!” Five students scoop up their newly polished pencil cases and leave to meet with the “gifted teacher.” Now, Ms. Solo is free to focus on meeting the needs of the rest of the students.

…that is, if she can dislodge herself and the students seated in front of her from the tentacles of the “Gifted Identification Trap.”

Let’s meet some of the rest of the students:

• Melinda just missed the gifted program by a point on her testing. Although they may have appealed, her parents decided not to do so.
• Jimmy has lived in the United States for three years after arriving from Mexico. At the time of his arrival, he knew no English and Spanish is spoken at home. He has already obtained average scores on his reading tests, and his math performance is above-average. He has a passion for writing stories.
• Tina is an African American student with a single parent who is a manager at a local restaurant franchise. Tina scores above average in mathematics and loves to write her own math problems. She taught her third grade classmates to design and build model cities out of cardboard.
• Tom can tell the class anything about birds. He has read every bird book in the library and has memorized 70 bird calls. He loves to solve equations and does so at a sixth grade level. However, he is slow at solving fact problems and his inconsistent scores did not place him in the gifted program.

Given the opportunity, could Melinda, Jimmy, Tina, and Tom also thrive in accelerated or enriched classes? If grade level instruction best meets their current needs, what differentiation support would be appropriate?

As this scenario suggests, “giftedness” includes so many facets and definitions that establishing equitable, defensible measures to identify them creates a complex and sometimes sticky web. In fact, despite years of research and debates about the best ways to identify gifted students, too many children with high potential are “missed.” A persisting “Excellence Gap,”–a difference in high level academic achievement between subgroups, such as low-income/high-income is one compelling manifestation of this reality. [1]

Fortunately, the story of Ms. Solo and her students has a happy ending because they steer clear of the “Gifted Identification Trap.” This is because administrators and teachers in Ms. Solo’s district reserve resources and energy to move beyond the “identification” protocol for developing talent and meeting learning needs. In addition to establishing an equitable identification process based on multiple measures, Ms. Solo’s district does the following:

• Professional Development: The district requires professional development for all teachers that focuses on identifying and meeting the needs of gifted learners including those with twice special needs and those from underserved populations [2].
• “Watch List” for Students Who Demonstrate Potential: With professional training, teachers like Ms. Solo are encouraged to look for students who exhibit gifted characteristics, achievement, and/or learning potential that may not be demonstrated through their test scores. The teachers might refer these students to the gifted program and/or put their names on a “watch list” for classroom differentiation and encouraged participation in school enrichment opportunities.
• High Level Instruction: For students of all learning levels, teachers have resources, participate in book studies, and engage in professional development to provide instruction that builds critical thinking skills, engages students in high-level questioning, discussion, and problem-solving.
• Enrichment Opportunities: The district provides an after school enrichment program for all students, including those in the primary grades, to interview adult “mentors” in STEM and other professional careers, participate in hands-on mathematics problem-solving and science experiences, and develop creative interests.
• Parent Outreach: As part of its outreach, the school offers a parent coffee, evening program, and a newsletter that provides information about enrichment opportunities through libraries, museums, corporations, and the local park district. Any scholarship or transportation options are also presented to assist with practical considerations. Notification is translated as appropriate for families who do not speak English.
• Student Growth Monitoring: The district monitors the growth of all students, including those in the gifted program, and regularly re-assesses and develops accelerated programming to insure that instruction continues to match student learning needs.

Although the story of Ms. Solo and her district is fiction, the implications are real. As we struggle to meet the needs of diverse high ability learners, we must avoid sinking into the “identification trap” quicksand. Let’s not miss any opportunity to grasp a low-hanging branch and unleash the amazing potential in all of our students.

[1] See Plucker, Jonathan A. and Peters, Scott J. Excellence Gaps in Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press (2016).

[2] The Every Student Succeeds Act (“ESSA”) requires that training to meet the needs of gifted students is addressed in district and state plans. Title I funds may also be used to identify and serve gifted and talented students. Title IV funds also available for providing enriched opportunities for students in underrepresented subgroups. Illinois Association for Gifted Children (“IAGC”) Website, https://www.iagcgifted.org/Every-Child-Succeeds-Act.

Last week, I packed up my classroom after ten years of teaching to begin a new chapter in my career as an elementary school assistant principal/gifted coordinator.   Perhaps because these years have been so full, I was surprised that the boxes and bags I packed fit so easily into the trunk of my car.

What am I taking from my teaching experience to my new role as an administrator? I prefer to travel light, so I’ll condense it down to one item – respect for this beautiful, challenging, and impactful profession.

Whether making a U-Turn or simply changing lanes, it can be difficult to take a new road in life. Years ago, when I “packed up” my career as a lawyer to follow my dream of becoming an elementary school teacher, I worried that others would think I “failed in the law.” When I shared this concern with my education program advisor, his wise response emboldened me: “Yes, they will…Do it anyway.”

So I did it anyway. And over the last ten years, I have developed a profound respect for teaching. A teacher’s work is never done, and there is always more to learn.

As a teacher, I’ve learned that a positive classroom community that welcomes diversity and builds trust is essential for learning. Without such a community, instruction is like dancing on air, and it can’t last very long.

Moreover, I’ve discovered that when students come to school, teachers cannot always “see” their joys and sorrows.   We do not see all of our students’ interactions with others, and we may even have difficulty seeing their talents, struggles, and obstacles that they have already overcome. When working with students, I have learned to acknowledge these sight limitations.

But despite such challenges, I’ve found that teachers can and do make a difference, and it is the wonderful relationships we build with students, families, parents and colleagues that make it all happen.

As I pack up my classroom, I am bringing along a respect for teachers everywhere.

I don’t have many boxes or bags, but my heart is full to bursting.

Question me an answer bright and clear.
I will answer with a question clear and bright.
Even though your answer may be wrong 
my question will be right…

From Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s song, “Answer Me a Question” performed by Bobby Van in the 1973 movie, “Lost Horizons.”

Teachers fuel meaningful, deep, classroom discussions with questions that deepen student knowledge and encourage critical thinking.

Although asking questions may sound simple, teaching resources for questioning abound. We have Webb’s “Depth of Knowledge” that designates four levels of activities of increasing cognitive complexity.We have the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy with six levels of knowledge including Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating.

In fact, for teachers who wish to help students develop questions at a “higher” level there is a dizzying array of Bloom’s Taxonomy “question stems” out there for students to write questions from a template of “high level” starters such as “”What would happen if…”, “How would you improve…” “Would it be better if….”, and “What evidence can you find?”

As a teacher of high ability students whose mission is to encourage critical thinking and deep exploration, I have piles of print-outs filled with question stems. Yet, I seldomly reach for them.

Questions are personal creations; they grow from the raw, grasping desire to know. Answers are out there—but questions come from inside of us—from the heart. For me, reaching for “question stems” for students feels like I’m reaching for a defibrillator.

 So yesterday when we discussed Laurence Yep’s memoir, The Lost Garden, in our Sixth Grade classroom, this is what we did:

• The students took a few minutes to think of the most interesting questions that they could ask about the memoir.
• In small groups, they generated four questions that they felt would make an interesting class discussion about the book.
• After reflecting on these questions as a group, they wrote a brief reflection explaining why these questions were likely to spark an interesting conversation.
• After the students wrote their questions and discussed their answers, I compiled the questions to create a list.

Today, I introduced a table that provided the four levels of Webb’s “Depth of Knowledge” (Level I: Recall and Reproduction, Level II: Basic Application of Skills and Concepts, Level III: Strategic Thinking, and Level IV: Extended Thinking).  We talked about kinds of questions that would fall into each group. Then, I showed the students a chart that sorted their questions about The Lost Garden according to the Depth of Knowledge level each question reflected.

The students immediately recognized that their most interesting discussion questions fell under higher depth of knowledge levels.   However, they found that none of their questions reached the highest level, “Extended Thinking.” So, we discussed how we could ask even more thought-provoking questions about society and culture that related to the novel.  To find answers, we recognized that we would need to extend our thinking  by exploring a broad variety of sources and authors.

As the class ended, the students were soon revising and enriching their queries to probe for deeper meaning in the text. They were searching for better, more intriguing questions!

I’m not sure what answers my students will discover.  However, I hope that if one day these students reach for my pile of “question stem defibrillators,” it will be when they recognize the warm, lively heartbeat of discussion – authentic, high level questioning.

…And their questions will be right.

Find more information on Webb’s Depth of Knowledge levels at NYC Department of Education Website

Find more information on Bloom’s Taxonomy at Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching Website

Are you planning a downtown adventure with your child this summer? Public transportation is not only an economical, efficient way to reach city attractions; it can also be a fresh “destination” for learning.

Rather than tow your child along as you navigate the train or bus schedule, engage her in the journey.  Look over the departure and arrival times and answer questions together. At what platform will the train stop? How many hours can we stay downtown if we take the 8:00 a.m. train and leave on the 2:30 p.m. train? Should we choose to walk or to take the bus from the station?

Challenge your child to read the train schedule, to explain the subway map, or to choose the correct bus. Not only will your child to gradually learn to navigate the city with adult supervision; he or she will experience how to reach a goal by making real, responsible choices in an authentic context.
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Best wishes for a safe, fun, and memorable trip!