Mrs. Leah Parker, MAEd Gifted Education Specialist The Caepe School Anthem, Arizona Engaging Gifted and High Ability Learners in Science: Journeys to Inspiration
Gifted Learners and Science Many gifted learners report that science is the subject in school that most intrigues them. However, they often report frustration with science education. Unfortunately, many schools leave the needs of these students unmet — either by neglecting to spend enough time on the subject or by presenting material that does not engage or inspire them. (VanTassel-Baska, 1998) It’s time to think outside the box, and by that I mean outside of the confines of your classroom! Either take your students out into the world or bring the world in for them.
Show of Hands • Who is a gifted specialist or administrator in a full-day program for gifted students? • Who is a gifted specialist or administrator in a school with a pull-out program for gifted students? Reading? Math? Other subjects? • Who is a gifted specialist or administrator in a school with a push-in program for gifted students? (The gifted specialist acts as a consultant or coach for classroom teachers.) • Who is a science teacher with gifted students in your classroom?
How do we define giftedness? The current federal definition of gifted students was originally developed in the 1972 Marland Report to Congress , and has been modified several times since then. The current definition, which is located in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act , is as follows: “ Students who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities ” (http://www.nagc.org/).
How do we measure giftedness? • On a very practical level, school districts usually require cognitive or intelligence test scores in the 97 th percentile or above in any category — verbal, quantitative, or nonverbal — for placement in a gifted program. • Some districts use a rubric and take into account achievement test scores, academic success, artistic talents, leadership, teacher recommendation, etc.
What do gifted students need? “Though not often recognized as ‘special needs’ students, gifted children require just as much attention and educational resources to thrive in school as do other students whose physical, behavioral, emotional or learning needs require special accommodations ” ( Science Daily , 2009).
What do gifted students need? “…Opportunities for earlier access to advanced content need to be available to gifted students in science. Cross and Coleman (1992) conducted a survey of gifted high school students, finding that their major complaint about science instruction was the frustration of being held back by the pace and content of courses. In a 6-year study of middle school age gifted learners taking biology, chemistry, or physics in a 3-week summer program, these younger learners outperformed high school students taking these courses for a full academic year (Lynch, 1992). Follow-up studies documented continued success in science for these students, suggesting a need for academically advanced students to start high school science level courses earlier and be able to master them in less time. Evidence also suggests that advanced study in instructionally grouped settings based on science aptitudes promotes more learning for all students (Hacker & Rowe, 1993)” ( VanTassel-Baska, 1998).
What do gifted students need? “Although, many of the strategies developed in gifted education will particularly benefit gifted students they are also of value to all students studying science ” (Watters & Diezmann,2003).
How can we accommodate and encourage students’ interests if they are outside the state science standards for the academic year? • If this is the case, I provide my students a pathway to explore their science interests while meeting state standards in reading, writing, and math. • This multidisciplinary learning is supported by research. • “ Gifted learners tend to make connections between new and prior learning more frequently than other children (Rabinowitz & Glaser, 1985; Rogers, 1986; Simon & Simon, 1980). This would certainly support the necessity of enrichment experiences for gifted learners that incorporate multiple disciplines ” (Rogers, 2002).
Key Components to a Science Curriculum for Gifted Students Identified by the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary (VanTassel-Baska, 1998) A. An emphasis on learning concepts : “Concepts such as systems, change, reductionism, and scale all provide an important scaffold for learning about the core ideas of science that do not change, although the specific applications taught about them may.”
Key Components to a Science Curriculum for Gifted Students B. An emphasis on higher-level thinking : “Students need to learn about important science concepts and also to manipulate those concepts in complex ways. Having students analyze the relationship between real world problems…and the implications of that incident for understanding science and for seeing the connections between science and society provides opportunities for both critical and creative thinking within a problem-based episode.”
Key Components to a Science Curriculum for Gifted Students C. An emphasis on inquiry, especially problem- based learning : “Through questions by the teacher, collaborative dialogue and discussion with peers and individual exploration of key questions, students can grow in the development of valuable habits of mind found among scientists, such as skepticism, objectivity, and curiosity.”
Key Components to a Science Curriculum for Gifted Students D. An emphasis on the use of technology as a learning tool : “The use of technology to teach science offers some exciting possibilities for connecting students to real world opportunities, …scientific papers, …well - constructed units of study, and …communicate directly with scientists.”
Key Components to a Science Curriculum for Gifted Students E. An emphasis on learning the scientific process, using experimental design procedures : “…Original work in science would require [students] to read and discuss a particular topic of interest, come up with a problem about that topic to be tested, and then follow through in a reiterative fashion with appropriate procedures, further discussion, a reanalysis of the problem, and communication of findings to a relevant audience .”
NSTA Supports These Components “The National Science Education Standards envision change throughout the system. The science content standards encompass the following changes in emphases:” Less emphasis on More emphasis on [Aligned with Key Components] Knowing scientific facts and information Understanding scientific concepts and developing abilities of inquiry [A, C] Studying subject matter disciplines (physical, life, Learning subject matter disciplines in the context earth sciences) for their own sake of inquiry, technology, science in personal and social perspectives, and history and nature of science [C, D] Implementing inquiry as a set of processes Implementing inquiry as instructional strategies, abilities, and ideas to be learned [C] Emphasis on individual process skills such as Using multiple process skills — manipulation, observation or inference cognitive, procedural [B] Private communication of student ideas and Public communication of student ideas and work to conclusions to teacher classmates [E] (Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education, 1996)
Space Science- Research and Presentations • After learning basic information, we choose research topics based on individual interests. • We explore research topics, such as the details of our solar system and the Milky Way. We travel further into the universe to investigate nebulae, using images and information gathered from the Hubble Telescope. We look forward to the new technology and findings of the James Webb Space Telescope. We examine the history and future of NASA. We attempt to fathom the depths of the minds of Einstein and Hawking. We survey the possibilities of multiple dimensions and the space-time fabric and attempt to wrap our minds around String Theory. • We apply our findings to future possibilities and present to members of our family and community. • We use our research and findings as a launching pad for further learning.
Activity: Space Science Research and Presentations (FREE!) Unifying National Key Components Concepts Education Learning Higher-Level Inquiry/ Technology as Scientific in Science Standards Concepts Thinking Problem- a Learning Process/ based Tool Experimental Learning Design Systems, order, Sci Teaching and organization Evidence, models, and Sci Content explanation Change, constancy, and Math measurement Evolution and equilibrium Reading/ Form and Writing function
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