Gifted Education Case Study
analytical Essay
1514 words
Often children struggle to understand the difference between ‘wants’ and ‘needs.’ This struggle found its way into gifted education with the case of C.C. v. North Allegheny School District (2011). In this case, C.C. was identified as gifted in elementary school and his academic strengths were noted as problem solving, higher order thinking and analytical thinking skills. At issue in this case was the district’s refusal to permit C.C. to take two Advanced Placement courses, AP Psychology and AP Economics, that are typically not available to students in C.C.’s grade level. Given that these courses do not align with the strengths previously addressed in GIEPs, the district instead offered the student introductory courses in psychology and …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the case of c.c. v. north allegheny school district, where the district refused to permit him to take two advanced placement courses, which did not align with the strengths addressed in gieps.
- Explains bensalem township's screening system is available for all students, allowing them to be considered for gifted education regardless of suspicions communicated by teachers and parents.
- Argues that districts should be careful when requesting reevaluations for students — a review of records will likely provide necessary information rendering full psychological testing unnecessary.
- Argues that a scheduled reevaluation at transition years may eliminate the common concern regarding the giep at the high school level.
- Opines that district administrators and teachers must continue with due diligence to meet the needs of gifted learners, but they must stay abreast of rulings from the office of dispute resolution.
- Explains that the gifted support teacher develops the giep by collecting data and evidence of where the student is academically at the moment.
It is not uncommon for high school GIEP teams to consider goals for students who have all honors and AP courses scheduled and little time or energy to take on additional goals. The Pennsylvania Department of Education Gifted Guidelines indicate that “honors courses or advanced placement courses provide options to meet the needs of some gifted learners” (Gifted Education Guidelines, 2015). Attorney Tom Warner (2015) addressed this scenario and stated “If the District has already existing courses that provide sufficient challenges when it comes to all of a child’s gifted needs (in other words, the courses themselves meet the child’s gifted needs), an argument can be made that the child is a candidate to have his or her gifted eligibility terminated.” In this region, Cumberland Valley School District takes this approach. If that’s truly the case, there are really only two options: (1) reevaluate and move to exit; or (2) decide not to fight that battle, and explore areas of giftedness through a supplemental independent study, for example. The goal will measure progress in the independent study, not progress as it pertains to how a student is performing in an AP course. Mr. Warner (2015) concluded by saying “From a technical standpoint, it sounds like option (1) is actually correct, but I do understand that taking the fight to all of your gifted …show more content…
The bulk of legal cases are in the realm of special education, but only time will tell if gifted education will challenge our highest courts. For now, district administrators and teachers must continue with due diligence to meet the needs of gifted learners, but they must always stay abreast of rulings from the Office of Dispute Resolution. By following the due process hearings, districts can identify commonalities with their own district practice and adjust as needed. Gifted education enrollment numbers are dwarfed by the special education numbers, but the parents of gifted students are no less vocal and often have more resources available to them. Regardless of what the law has said or will say, it is the school’s responsibility to grow all learners, but realize that is our gifted learners who have the innate ability to truly make a difference in our
Related
- narrative
- opinion
- comparative
- analytical
- explanatory
- Gifted and Talented Education Research Papernarrative essayGifted and Talented Education Research Paper It is important to understand the many different methods of educating gifted and talented students. Most people, whether as teachers, students, or parents, will at some point be faced with the many options of educating the gifted and talented. In the United States today, 3-5 percent of students are considered gifted. Defining whether or not a student is gifted can be quite difficult, but many would agree that gifted students “are able to learn material rapidly and understand concepts deeply” (Lynch, 1999). Within this paper I will discuss the process of identifying gifted and talented students and the different methods of educating them including tracking, grade advancement, and cooperative learning.
In this essay, the author
- Explains the different methods of educating gifted and talented students, including tracking, grade advancement, and cooperative learning.
- Cites anderson, m. l., & talory, h. f. (2003). sociology: the essentials.
- Cites burnett, milbourne, haury, lynch, purcell, devlin, and winebrenner, s.
- Cites lovecky, d. v., mathews, m. and unkown.
2674 wordsRead More - Helping Gifted Learners Soar by VanTassel-Baskaopinion essayQuestion 1 Based on the information you have read in the text and any experiences you have had as a teacher, what do you think are the issues gifted students face as they go through school? Based from the information provided by VanTassel-Baska, et. Al. (2009), gifted and talented students face the same issues as their regular peers but they have different way of viewing these issues and it affects them differently as well.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how s focused on gufted learners as social capital in chapter 4. the society is already honing and preparing gifted learners to become future leaders in different fields.
- Explains kwan and hilson's discussion of race and achievement in chapter 4. they observe the issue of achievement and racial identity in their school.
- Concludes that social capital and achievement-racial identity conflicts are issues that we know are affecting our gifted learners but we just put it off because it does not require our immediate feedback and attention.
- Describes whitney, c. s. & hirsch, g. (2011). helping gifted children soar.
- Explains that gifted learners face different issues that affect their social, emotional, and cognitive abilities. they spend one-third of their time with us, teachers, from monday to friday.
- Opines that school personnel must demonstrate cultural competence to avoid race-based biases and stereotypes.
- Opines that educators have the responsibility to be respectful to all students and their parents and to everyone to come to our school even if they are of different races, skin colors, and abilities.
- Explains that racial groups: conceptual perspectives and practical suggestions. vantassel-baska, cross, t. l. & olenchak, f. r.
- Explains that gifted and talented students face the same issues as their regular peers, but they have different ways of viewing these issues. carol strip whitney's helping gifted learners soar discusses stress as a factor that can distract and overpower anyone.
- Cites vantassel-baska, cross, t. l., olenchak, f. r. and whitney, c. s.
1069 wordsRead More - The Etiology of Autismcomparative essayRichards, S., Taylor, R., Smiley, L. 2009; Exceptional Students: Preparing Teachers for the 21st Century
In this essay, the author
- Explains that as many as 1.5 million americans today are believed to have some form of autism.
- Explains that the etiology of asd is considered idiopathic in 90% to 95% of cases, while secondary causes include pre-natal care, environmental factors, chromosomal abnormalities, and genetic disorders.
- Explains that autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning that the majority of individuals with autism will need assistance with language and communication skills.
- Explains that autism has three traits that are dominant in autistic children: impaired social interaction, impaired communication, and stereotyped behaviors.
- Concludes that autism is the most common of the pervasive developmental disorders, affecting 2 to 6 per 1,000 individuals.
- Explains the texas guide for effective teaching educational implications texas statewide leadership for autism training.
1301 wordsRead More - Giftedness and Educationopinion essayGifted learning is a highly controversial topic in the world of education. Some people believe that having a separate class for “gifted” students allows for more growth and learning to take pace; contrary to that belief, there are some people who believe that segregating public class rooms this way hinders learning, and creates class rooms that are not eclectic and that do not allow peer to peer learning. Learning is a highly individual subject and every student learns differently. If the education system in the United States is to change their test scores, they will move away from the philosophy of integration and inclusion and towards an educational philosophy of creating an IEP for each student, and keep class sizes as small as possible with children that learn similarly. This paper will attempt to explore the facts and professional opinions about the integration or segregation of public schools by ability level, and prove that more individual teaching will lead to improved learning.
In this essay, the author
- Explains the benefits of separate gifted and talented programs, such as stimulating students.
- Narrates how they excelled in their honors calculus class because they were hardly stimulated. if they had had an even more accelerated program, they would have had a much easier time in college.
- Explains that gifted programs have met a deep controversy in america, and have even begun to be removed from schools.
- Argues that gifted education discourages students who aren't deemed gifted. they argue that changing the name of the program for gifted and talented to different would reduce controversy.
- Opines that gifted learners do not need harder work and less instruction — effortlessness masks the enormous commitment of time and dedication on the part of the gifted performer or producer.
- Opines that the integration of schools through inclusion will result in a detrimental ceiling over the gifted student.
- Opines that a separate class for gifted students hinders learning and creates class rooms that are not eclectic and do not allow peer-to-peer learning.
1252 wordsRead More - Anxiety And Anxiety Essayanalytical essayA formal education is accessible to the vast majority of the United States’ population; however, it is not always set up for everyone to have the same opportunities. There are many students who have adversities, which makes their work feel difficult or impossible. Unfortunately, not all educators have had exposure to those circumstances thus, many instructors lack an understanding of how to help those students. This can result in an incalculable number of students often being left to find a solution on their own. It is fair to say that grades and intelligence are not coinciding terms. Studies prove this statement to be true, one stating: “Findings indicated that the student had an elevated intelligence, but was working below her potential, and that despite taking psychostimulant
In this essay, the author
- Argues that formal education is accessible to the vast majority of the population, but it is not always set up for everyone to have the same opportunities.
- Argues that kinesthetic, visual, and auditory learning styles should be a part of every major lesson. it is not effective to teach in only one way.
- Opines that students learn best by replacing the situations in their questions with things they enjoy to have a better understanding. relatable examples are beneficial to students because they are learning with something they already know.
- Argues that decreasing the weight of test scores would give children a better chance of passing. overthinking can cause students to lose focus and confuse themselves.
- Recommends that professors gradually add assignments throughout the semester, instead of all at once, to reduce stress and allow for students to adjust to the schedule more comfortably.
- Opines that it is important for every child to have an equal opportunity to become something in this world. actively engaging themselves with students could help instructors comprehend their students better.
1042 wordsRead More - Analysis Of Thomas Aquinas Synthesizing Faith And Educationanalytical essayschools to accomplishing these goals. However, he thinks that it is vitally necessary that schools start as early as 6th grade in trying to identify the giftedness of students and individualizing curriculum to the student.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that it is vital that schools start as early as 6th grade in trying to identify the giftedness of students and individualize curriculum to the student.
- Analyzes how joe expects principals and teachers to develop in students an attitude that "yes, i am my brother's keeper".
- Analyzes how joe connects his educational perspective with a christian worldview in his role as principal. his desire for christian love, care, and concern in the school community parallels the efforts of thomas aquinas to synthesize faith and education.
- Compares joe's worldview that views all humans as created equal in the eyes of god to erasmus', which saw education as a means of maintaining the priesthood, and the monarchy.
- Analyzes how joe's educational worldview connects with the thinking of plato in the republic. horace mann advocated for the creation of common schools.
- Analyzes how joe's experience of growing up as an ethnic minority impacted his desire to empower minorities and the work of jane addams, who sought a new vision of community to replace the social alienation experienced by immigrant industrial workers.
- Compares joe's educational worldview with that of spencer, who was a determined proponent of liberating individuals from social control. mill and spencer lived during the british industrial revolution.
- Compares joe to robert owen, who saw music and dance as an essential part of communal life and made it a priority in the education of his mill worker children.
- Analyzes how the interview helped them recognize that a christian's worldview may be prioritized differently based on life experience. joe was powerful impacted by his experience of being placed in the "b track" despite his academic giftedness.
- Analyzes how joe felt about the german system of tracking students into vocational or university preparation. they were surprised by joe's response supporting placing people on different tracks in order to optimize their gifts.
1259 wordsRead More - African American Education during and after Segregationexplanatory essaySkiba, R., Simmons, A., Ritter, S., Gibb, A. Rausch, M.K., Cuadrado, J., & Chung, C.G. (2008). Achieving equity in schools: History, status and current challenges. Exceptional Children, 74(3), 264-288.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that education has always been valued in the african american community. after emancipation, many schools were founded and maintained by african americans. the atmosphere of these schools resembled a family.
- Explains that brown mandated equal access and opportunity for african americans, fueled by low expectations and cultural incompatibilities. black students were bused to predominately white schools disproportionately.
- Explains that the literature presents several definitions of disproportionality, including blanchett (2006), oswald, coutinho, best, and singh (1999) and artiles and zamora-duran (1997).
- Explains the purpose of the current student was to move from the national and state level when looking at disproportionality of african americans in special education to the local level.
- Explains that data for the 2011-12 school year was collected from every public school district in the united states, including the moreno valley school district.
- Explains that the original crdc data was downloaded into an excel spreadsheet. the data included representation by racial/ethnic groups and by disability categories.
- Explains that multiple analyses were conducted based on the two research purposes. first, racial/ethnic representation for each identified group by disability category for 2011 were calculated and graphed.
- Explains that of the three racial/ethnic groups: african american, hispanic, and white, none are overrepresented in special education in the moreno valley school district.
- Explains that due to time limitations and the structure of my data, not enough time to conduct further study (i.e.
- Opines that there is no time to merge data to further study and look at household demographics such as income, education and parent status.
- Explains that the brown decision was instrumental in providing for appropriate education services and opportunities for students with disabilities.
- Explains that there are two major categories for classifying children with disabilities: high incidence and low incidence.
- Explains that teachers are the first referral source for students who enter the special education system. disproportionality is impacted by a combination of forces within and external to the educational system, such as poor teacher quality, large class size, arbitrary application of eligibility decision making criteria, late placement, and lack of resources.
- Cites artiles, zamora-duran, & blanchett, w. j. in reducing disproportionate representation of culturally diverse students in special and gifted education.
3054 wordsRead More - "The Breakfast Club" Character Analysisopinion essayUsing Allison’s strengths and interests is important to helping her become a successful student. This is the method of helping Bender, Brian and any other student become successful in school. Building on the student strengths, while allowing them to work on their weaknesses is important for all students and especially for twice-exceptional students in the classroom. When looking at the student’s weakness it is important to understand that their behavior is not a weakness, but a result of an underlying cause. Examining the cause of the behavior will help recognize the challenge areas for improvement by understanding the underlying cause for the behavior. After understanding the student’s strengths and challenges, the teachers can then fully help the student learn to the best of their abilities.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that in the movie the breakfast club, five seemingly different adolescents are assigned saturday detention where they learn that although they each fit a particular stereotype, they all have the same characteristics but are expressed differently because they have different experiences, strengths and weaknesses that makes them who they are.
- Analyzes how bender is a rebel who enjoys questioning authority and putting others in uncomfortable situations. to prevent behavior from escalating, it is important to look for the cause of the behavior.
- Explains that bender's strengths include his perception of social constructs and his leadership ability, which can be used in the classroom.
- Opines that the best way to help brian in their classroom would be to create assignments that allow risk-taking.
- Opines that allison's lack of peer relationships and compulsive lying makes her artistic and creative. learning about her strengths is key to building a relationship with her and using her talents in the classroom.
- Explains the importance of using allison's strengths and interests to help her become a successful student.
1092 wordsRead More - Paper on Stressopinion essayA child with a set of apparent talents early in life is seen as gifted, and the adults around this child make it their duty to nurture its talents just because it may show a hint of a promising future. Only a minority of the millions of students in America are identified as special, but what about the others? Schools everywhere in our nation are acquiring new programs for gifted and talented students of all ages. However intelligent and progressive these programs may seem, they often induce many negative feelings among the students who are and are not involved. These issues can be addressed in the perspectives of “gifted” students and other young adults who are otherwise deemed as “normal”. I feel that this problem within the education system can be easily avoided with a few small changes to the requirements to be identified as a gifted student.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that schools are acquiring new programs for gifted and talented students of all ages, but these programs often induce negative feelings among the students who are and are not involved.
- Opines that stress is exhibited by anyone who upholds any form of responsibility in their lifetime and includes most everyone in the modern world no matter what age, gender, or nationality.
- Opines that academics are one of the most profoundly weighted responsibilities a teenage student is expected to handle and identify the causes of stress.
- Opines that harper's article in the national academic advising association journal provides the reader with interesting factual information regarding the rising level of stress in students.
- Explains that over half of u.s. teenagers experience stress from school that reflects negatively on their grades and about 30 percent report having physical side effects of this stress.
- Analyzes how sarah macdonald's daily life article provides examples of what students are put through daily compared to what it may have been like a few decades ago. she suggests ways to decrease the amounts of stress your children will experience in school.
- Analyzes how an article by barbara melendez in a university of south florida news stated that advanced students learn how to deal with surplus amounts of stress during this school time and that they are capable of acting responsibly.
- Concludes that schools everywhere in our nation increasing the divide between students with the enforcement of special programs that, although beneficial for many students, is causing serious mental obstacles.
- Cites harper, ruth, macdonald, sarah, and melndez, barbara. stress and the ap/ib student.
847 wordsRead More - Minorities and Special Educationopinion essayDonovan, M. Suzanne and Christopher T. Cross (2002, August). Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/lib/drexel/-docDetail.action?docID=10032383.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that it is our duty as teachers and citizens to abide by these laws and find different ways to assess and correct the disproportionality of minority groups that exists today.
- Explains that disproportionality refers to the overrepresentation of a minority group within special education programs and services.
- Opines that it is the teacher and administrator's right to poorly assess these students when these factors are not taken into consideration.
- Explains that minority students are more likely to attend urban, inner city schools where many of the teachers are not as experienced when dealing with racially and ethnically diverse classrooms.
- Opines that the referral and assessment practices are racially biased and that it is important that teachers are making unbiased assessments and decisions about the student's placement.
- Argues that iq and achievement tests are culturally biased, while minority groups are penalized because the test was created by the dominant culture.
- Opines that special education and gifted education can go both ways. working closely with a student and providing individualized instruction can definitely help minority students.
- Explains that there are many possible solutions and corrections that can be done to fix disproportionate identification, but it will always be a chaotic situation.
- Explains that two other cases in the 1970s brought rise to overrepresentation of english language learners in special education programs.
- Explains that educators and the federal government became more aware of the racial issues at hand. the individual with disabilities education act (idea) entitles all qualifying individuals with disabilities a free appropriate education.
- Opines that disproportional identification still exists today. if school districts continue to turn to special education as a solution to the difficulties of minority students, they are only going to create more segregated schools.
- Opines that idea has helped set a common ground for states to establish rules and laws abiding to special education and disability needs of students.
- Explains how teachers can prevent disproportionality of minority students in special education by creating new ways of referring and evaluating students.
- Opines that the ways in which we teach children and the materials we use in the classroom can be altered.
- Concludes that teachers, administrators, parents, and policymakers can fix the disproportionate identification of minority students in special education.
- Cites outinho, martha j., and donald p. oswald (2004). disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education.
- Cites donovan, m. suzanne, and christopher t. cross. minority students in special and gifted education.
2264 wordsRead More