Essentials Tips for Teaching TAG Students

***As you read through these tips and strategies, please reach out to me at spratt@ikm-manning.k12.ia.us with any questions, concerns, ideas or if you're feeling overwhelmed. That's my job and that's what I'm here for! :)

Encourage Students to Move Up in the Questioning Matrix

Foremost, challenge your high-level students by making your assignments, lessons or activities within the curriculum more complex by encouraging students to engage in higher level thinking skills than their peers. In Richard Cash's "Questioning Matrix "below, the thinking skills go from lowest level to the most advanced on the right.

If you have a student who has already shown mastery in understanding a writing skill for example, have the student demonstrate that skill in an activity or task that requires them to apply it. The chart below allows you to compare what skills you are teaching in your curriculum and allow you to think about your gifted students' level of mastery. If a student's mastery is beyond your curriculum scope, please reach out to me at spratt@ikm-manning.k12.ia.us for support.

Provide Informal Assessments to Gauge Skill Level

Give informal whole class assessments on a regular basis. For example, before beginning any unit, administer the end of the unit test. Students who score above 80 percent should not be forced to "relearn" information they already know. Rather, give these student parallel opportunities that are challenging. They could do an independent project on the topic or complete more in-depth task with the skill that would meet the objectives of your assignment, lesson or curriculum.

With areas of the curriculum that are sequential, such as mathematics and spelling, give the end of the year test during the first week of school. If you have students who can demonstrate competency at 80 percent or higher, you will save them an entire year of frustration and boredom if you can determine exactly what their ability level is and then offer them curriculum that allows them to move forward. This will also greatly reduce behavioral issues that you're having with these students due to disinterest and disengagement.

Give Most Difficult Tasks First

Dina Brulles, the director of gifted education in the Paradise Valley Unified School District in Phoenix, Ariz., says that "gifted students don't need to do 25 problems in math when they can do the five most difficult first to demonstrate mastery." However, this tip applies to any content area that involves students answering numerous, similar questions to reinforce and practice a skill. Students who successfully complete the five most difficult problems should be excused from that night's homework or any subsequent activities.

Moreover, give the students credit for those competencies even if they don't do all of it, since they've already demonstrated mastery. When classwork is involved, have a few extension activities on hand—tasks that carry the concept or topic to the next level—for gifted students to work on quietly. This compacting process will free up gifted students' for more challenging content and keep them engaged.

**Follow the "Most Difficult First" Google Drive File to make sure that you are implementing this strategy. Please reach out to me if you need help with this.

Find Areas for Improvement in Your Differentiation Philosophy

It is easy for us as teachers to say that we already differentiate in our classroom. But, I found that when I reviewed this definition of a differentiated classroom, I realized that this doesn't fully apply to my music class yet. A differentiated classroom is one in which a teacher provides a variety of avenues to content (what is taught), process (activities through which students come to understand what is taught), and products (how a student shows and extends what he or she has learned) in response to the readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles of the full range of academic diversity in the class (Tomlinson, 1995a).

For gifted learners, an appropriately differentiated classroom provides the listed resources that are complex enough, abstract enough, open-ended enough and multi-faceted enough to cause gifted students to stretch in knowledge, thinking and production (including the ability to exercise independence).

• Materials

• Activities

• Projects/Products

• Homework

• Assessments

Avoid These Blunders With Gifted Students

Don't kick yourself if you have made blunders with gifted students. I've made some of these as well and I know that we both mean well . This section is meant to explain why these strategies are blunders.

#1: Asking Your Gifted Students To Serve As Tutors For Students Who Are Struggling.

Gifted children think and learn differently than other students. Thus, this can be a frustrating experience for everyone involved. Remember this when organizing learning or project groups too. Putting your strongest student with your students who are struggling is likely to be a painful experience for everyone.

Imagine developing a cycling team with someone like Lance Armstrong as one member and then selecting other members who have either just learned to ride their bikes or are still relying on training wheels to help them gain their balance. It is not likely to result in a positive group experience.

#2: Giving Your Gifted Students More of the Same Work When They Finish Early

While this is a common practice, consider this. If a student is completing his/her work in an efficient manner, it is likely that the work is too easy. Think about our Lance Armstrong level cyclist again. Would you have the cyclist who finished the race first continue to ride on a stationary bike, until all of the other cyclists finished the race? What if that cyclist was given an opportunity to participate in more challenging races or had the opportunity to develop their talents in related areas such as cardio or weight-lifting. Wouldn't that be a better use of their time?

#3: Only Allowing Gifted Students To Move Ahead When They Complete The Grade/Age Designed Work With 100% Accuracy.

It is important to remember that gifted students think and learn differently and can be extremely rebellious. Trust me. I have a few of those rebellious students in my TAG program. No one -- not adults and especially not gifted children -- likes to be bored! Gifted students, thanks to their ability to reason, will purposely choose not do something merely because they "must" do it, especially if it seems pointless to them. They would rather spend their time thinking or reading than completing worksheets that are too easy.

Focus on your students' strengths, not their shortcomings. Offer them opportunities that are consistent with their abilities -- lead them from where they are. Depending how long they have been in the system, it may take them a while to trust you. Therefore, be consistent and positive and remember, you may be the first teacher who has offered them an opportunity to actually learn, rather than regurgitate and they may not know how to handle your responsiveness. Don't fall in to the trap of saying, "See, I told you he wasn't gifted, I gave him one tough assignment and he failed." Gifted students generally haven't had to work to succeed. Give them time to build their wings in a safe environment.