Due to the high population of gifted students that are served in my school, we have had to implement different programs to make sure students are in an academically challenging environment. In fifth grade, we used to offer advanced placement courses. However, there are some pro and cons to this structure. Students are grouped in classes based on their ability. The advantage is that students are working with peers that have a similar skill set, but many in the lower leveled classes felt like they were not "as intelligent" as their peers. Likewise, the higher group had this sense of entitlement. In my opinion, for fifth grade this type of placement was not appropriate.
A few years later, we implemented the gifted cluster model and as a requirement the school made every general education teacher obtain their gifted certification. The teacher now had to deliver both the standard curriculum and gifted curriculum. The students were placed heterogeneously in homeroom classes. I found this model to work out the best since students had opportunities to work with similar ability and with others who may have different strengths and weaknesses. One group did not feel as inferior to the other.
Additionally, the current topic has been how to differentiate for our high math students. For the third year now, we have been offering an accelerated math class for those who have qualifying scores (CogAT, IOWA, Milestones, Interims). This course accelerates through all of fifth grade math curriculum, sixth grade curriculum, and half of seventh grade math curriculum. When these students go off to middle school they will finish with the seventh curriculum in math and work on eight grade curriculum all in sixth grade. This cohort has very few selective students and many of them love math. It is their passion, so they are not as bothered with the demands of the course. However, I worry that this may be too much of an acceleration for these students. Math is such an important foundation for student to have, that if they accelerate at that level with any gaps it can harm them from understanding content later down the road.
We have a team who is evaluating the effectiveness of this program. We are potentially looking into other options. Our parents in the community like that the course is offered, and once taken away they will be wanting an alternative that is either equal to or better than what was already offered. Does anyone have any option of models implemented in your schools to offer high achieving students more opportunities to excel?
It is unfortunate that the students know what the different classes are. I can see how that would be very damaging to the low class' self esteem.
ReplyDeleteGifted is so different from "advanced".Sometimes gifted students can be behind in a content area. The difference is HOW they learn, and think. The gifted classes in high school didn't offer any more work, but challenged the students to think critically and create things to demonstrate thinking.