Transcript Presentation title - University of St. Thomas

About Project 2EXCEL
Professor Karen B. Rogers
Project 2EXCEL Director
University of St. Thomas
Minneapolis, Minnesota
It All Started With a Project…
• Javits government grant for .875 million
dollars for 5 year study of twice exceptional
primary school children: PROJECT 2EXCEL
• Includes 4 school districts (all serving gifted
students in homogeneous, self-contained
classrooms) with varying demographics so
we can try to generalize across schools:
District A – inner city gifted magnet school
District B – small, blue collar 2nd ring suburban district
District C – moderate 2nd ring middle class suburban
district
District D – moderate 1st ring blue collar/upper middle
class suburban district
Goals of Project 2EXCEL
• Develop a systematic identification system for
gifted learners with:
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Attention Deficit Disorder with/without hyperactivity (ADHD)
Emotional Behavioral Disorder (EBD)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Specific Learning Disability (SLD)
• Provide training for experimental teachers on
twice exceptionality:
– On-line certificate program (tuition free) 18 postgraduate credits in
2X Education
– In-service training on curricular specifics with built in, paid writing
days (8 per year)
– Yearly stipends for materials and resources
– Biweekly classroom visits for observation, reflection
Goals of Project 2EXCEL
• Develop a “toolkit” of adaptations and
accommodations applicable to gifted math and
reading/language arts curriculum
• Provide training and support to parents of
twice exceptional experimental and control
students
• Disseminate what is learned about
identification, programming, and parenting
with general community via:
– Curriculum toolkit for teachers
– Website (www.stthomas.edu/project2excel )
– Parent training and resource manual
Project Implementation
• Matched pairs of gifted children identified with the same
forms (and degree) of exceptionality were randomly
assigned to experimental and control classrooms
• Matched pairs are pre- and post-tested on math and
reading achievement levels, motivation to learn, and selfefficacy
• Experimental students receive services for 5 years,
starting with 4th grade and controls continue with their
current levels of services (for giftedness and special
education)
• Parents of experimental and control students receive four
training sessions yearly on home-based strategies and
resources on twice exceptionality
Goals of the Project: Were They
Achieved?
• Develop an identification protocol that
systematically finds twice exceptional
learners, grades K-8
– Established actual prevalence rates for four areas of
twice exceptionality: GT/ASD, GT/ADHD, GT/SLD,
GT/EBD
Goal One: Identification
• Developed a tiered system for finding
these learners
– Used the system to first “find” the 2X learners in the
starting grades of the program
– Used the system to then “find” the remaining 2X
learners grades 3-8 in the same district (or school as
in one district) – not completed at this point
Tiers for Identification
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
•Discrepancies
among subtest or
index scores on
ability test used by a
district, followed by
•WISC if not initially
done
• District Checklists
of specific disability
category
characteristics or
behaviors provided
to teachers of
students “suspected”
of presenting with a
disability
ADHD: Connor’s
Rating Scales
EBD: Behavior
Assessment System
for Children (BASC2); Behavior &
Emotional Rating
Scales
ASD: BASC-2;
Autism diagnostic
Interview – R (ADIR)
SLD: WoodcockJohnson Tests of
Achievement
ADHD: Connor’s
Continuous
Performance Test;
Aschenbach Rating
Scales
EBD: Student Risk
Screening Scale;
Strengths and
Difficulties
Questionnaire
ASD: ADOS
SLD: CTP; wrAP
(Writing
Assessment)
Prevalence Results Summary
• Approximately 14% of the 504 GT children in
self-contained classes were 2X. At 30 GTs per
classroom, that means we could expect 4 of
those GTs to present with a second
exceptionality in each classroom.
• GT/AD/HD learners represented 7% of the 504
GT children. At 30 GTs per classroom, we
could expect 2 of those GTs to present with a
AD/HD disorder in each classroom.
Prevalence Results Summary
• EBD and SLD represented 3%, respectively, of
the 504 GT children. At 30 GTs per classroom,
we could expect 1 EBD and 1 SLD child in each
4th grade classroom
• GT/ASD learners represented 1% of the 504
GT children. At 30 GTs per classroom, we
could expect 1 GT child with ASD in every third
classroom.
Developmental Prevalence Results
Summary
• Except for the anomaly at 5th grade, there
appears to be a slight increase overall in 2X
presentation as gifted learners grow older
• GT/AD/HD seems to be the most prevalent
twice exceptionality to crop up over time.
• Sixth grade appears to be a time when SLD
may rear its ugly head.
• EBD tends to remain constant and at a
relatively high second as most prevalent twice
exceptionality.
• When looking across the grade levels,
approximately 1 GT child in 5 in this study
presented with some twice exceptionality.
Goal 2: Develop “Effective
Teachers”
• Professional development through inservices and writing/planning time
• Professional development through online certification program
• Provision of topical articles and
resources directly to teachers in
experimental classrooms
Has Goal 2 been achieved?
• Teacher assessments of in-service and
planning times (May, 2009 through May, 2010).
Overall rating of time efficacy and effectiveness
6.1 (out of 10) but huge discrepancy by district,
with 3 districts reaching averages from 7 to 8.7
and 1 district considerably lower –did not use
their allotted writing and planning days)
• Have identified a “model” of planning time
during school year that worked successfully this
year in two of the districts: collaborative group
planning and child study
Has Goal 2 been achieved?
• Teacher ratings of on-line course work rated
overall as mean of 5.9, with individual district
ratings ranging from 1.0 – 8.0 (out of 10)
• Districts which collaborated in study groups as
follow up to course sessions had most positive
reactions to this aspect of professional
development
• Biggest issue is that foundations needed to be
laid in both GT and SPED before “hitting” 2X
education. That started this past summer. It
was probably quite frustrating for our teachers
“in the trenches”!
Has Goal 2 been achieved?
• Teacher ratings of materials provided
was mean of 5.5 (out of 10)
• Issue seems to have been finding the
time to read what was provided, but
resources provided, such as yoga balls,
fidgets, lighting covers in classrooms
very successful.
Goal 3: 2X Toolkit Development
• Developed toolkit of strategies and
resources that adapt physical
environment, social skills instruction,
behavior modification, self-awareness to
ensure that upscaled GT curriculum in
math and language arts used in each
district is sustained and that 2X learners
can thrive with it.
Was Goal 3 Achieved?
• We have compiled the writing that was done in
each district. The initial vision of this was that
strategies would just be integrated within the
curriculum itself, but as the year progressed,
individual physical, behavioral, social
accommodations were applied almost child by
child. The population was discovered to be very
idiosyncratic. Thus the toolkit has become a
huge collective “box” from which teachers will
take strategies, try them, put them back when
they don’t work and try another.
Was Goal 3 Achieved? Let’s Look at
How the Kids Have Fared: Teachers’
Perspectives
Great Strides
Some Progress
No Change
•Social interaction
improvements
(28/47)
•Solid academic
progress (38/47)
•Good behavioral
improvement (24/47)
•Social interaction
(10/47)
•Social interaction
(9/47)
•Academic progress
(6/47)
•Behavioral
improvement (12/47)
•Academic progress
(3/47)
•Behavioral
improvement (11/47)
Was Goal 3 Achieved? Student
Results of Pre- and Post
Assessments: ITBS
Subject Area
Pre-Assessment
Mean
Post-Assessment
Mean
Reading
A: 74.00
B: 82.88
C: 81.81
D: 81.89
Whole: 80.43
A: 76.12
B: 84.00
C: 86.64
D: 83.33
Whole: 83.77
Mathematics
A: 76.58
B: 75.29
C: 82.59
D: 85.89
Whole: 81.15
A: 78.11
B: 79.23
C: 85.27
D: 87.33
Whole: 83.67
Was Goal 3 Achieved? Pre/Post (CAIMI)
Area of
Motivation
Dis
Pre-Assessment
Mean
Post-Assessment
Mean
Reading
A
B
C
D
W
35.77
61.77
51.71
48.22
49.43
45.62
51.78
50.38
49.22
49.46
Mathematics
A
B
C
D
W
25.62
41.44
39.82
51.22
38.78
40.38
48.00
35.00
48.89
45.66
General
A
B
C
D
W
27.61
51.44
44.34
40.00
41.42
40.07
48.44
48.80
46.22
46.68
Was Goal 3 Achieved? Pre/Post Harter
Area
Dis
Pre=Assessment
Mean
Post-Assessment
Mean
Academic
A
B
C
D
W
3.06
3.24
3.13
2.84
3.09
3.13
2.81
3.31
3.28
3.22
Social
A
B
C
D
W
2.71
2.96
2.84
2.58
2.80
2.58
3.06
2.96
2.94
2.91
Conduct
A
B
C
D
W
3.01
3.11
3.15
3.11
3.11
2.75
2.75
3.16
3.24
3.05
Goal 4: Provide Parent Training
and Support
• Develop first 8 parent facilitated group
sessions to be presented directly to
experimental and control parents of
learners with 2X in each district
• Compiled list of resources and strategies
in handbook each district can distribute
to their parents of children with 2X
Was Goal 4 achieved?
• Three facilitated group sets of materials were
provided and implemented in the districts:
“Organization/Self-Management,”
“Perfectionism,” and “Motivation”
• Three of the districts implemented all three sets
of materials to reasonably good parent
response
• One district has employed a parent session
coordinator who will provide these sessions in
the next year
Project Collaborators
• University of St. Thomas (Special Education & Gifted
Education Department
– Karen Rogers Ann Ryan
S. Nielsen-Gatti
– Nancy Cohen
Todd Busch
T. Vandercook
– Carol Malueg
Barbara Stahl L. St.- Bresnahan
• St. Paul Public Schools (Capitol Hill)
– Renee Jensen Carol Aasen
John Mayock
– Grace Raymond Nancy Randall
– Nicolle Hren
Teynae Richardson
– Lisa Larson
Sharon Saunders
Project Collaborators
• Inver Grove Heights
– Erin Boltik
– Jane Sansgaard
– Jessica Swanson
• Bloomington Schools
– Richard Cash
– Barbara Dullaghan
– Tim Kaari
– Martha Palm
Kim Westra
Betty Humphries
Julie Donaldson
Jodi Eschrich
Project Collaborators
• South Washington County
– Nancy Vague
Colleen Heck
– Kristine McDonald
Anne Bleyl
– Kristine Matulka
Theresa Campbell
• Plus our 17 “control” teachers across the four districts!
District Reports
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South Washington County
Bloomington
Inver Grove Heights
Capitol Hill
South Washington County Schools
Gateway
A School-Within-a-School
For Highly / Profoundly Gifted Students
Grades 3-5
South Washington County Schools
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Suburban district located southeast of St. Paul
16, 650 Students
24% Racial and ethnic diversity
16% Students receive free/reduced lunch
15 Elementary Schools
4 Middle Schools
3 High Schools
Gateway
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School-within-a-school
Grades 3-5
4 Classrooms
93 Students
31% Racial and ethnic diversity
4% Students receive free/reduced lunch
Why we got involved
• Number of students with 2e issues
• Some 2e students not finding success,
• Looking for curriculum to benefit 2e students
• Opportunity to take classes
What we are doing
• Identification
• Teacher and Psychologist Awareness
• Parent Education
Comments from staff…..
“As a district we are developing team relationships and
curriculum for the students to best meet their needs.”
-Jane Moechnig, special education teacher
“The partnership between special education and the Gateway
teachers has been the most beneficial aspect of the project.”
-Colleen Heck, Grade 4 Teacher in the Gateway program
Comments from staff…..
My background is in special education. Looking back, I now
realize we had twice exceptional students in our program. We
just didn’t realize it or call it that. As a principal, this
awareness has allowed me to support staff with resources/staff
development that assists them in the classroom to effectively
meet the unique varied needs of the these wonderful children.
-Molly Roeske, Principal-Bailey Elementary
To Sum It All Up
• We have made tremendous progress in
a single school year, with trying: (1) to
find these children who are “dually
blessed”, (2) to meet the academic,
social, and behavioral needs of these
children, (3) to support the teachers who
are working with these children, and (4)
to support the parents of these children.
Dimensions Academy
• Students in grades 4-8
• Highly / profoundly gifted
• Increased number of students who
struggle with executive functioning
issues
Students
• Seven “experimental” students
– 4th grade
• 4 boys
– 5th grade
• 1 boy
• 2 girls
• Most identified with reduced
– Processing speed
– Working memory
Teachers
• Two teachers in two mutli-aged (4/5)
classroom
• Extensive reading and study on executive
functioning issues
• Utilizing strategies to assist in developing
executive functioning skills
Students Gains on
District Standardized Assessment (NWEA)
• 4th grade
– SF:
• 30 pt gain in reading (expected 2-10)
• 18 pt gain in math (expected 5-13)
– ZL:
• 16 pt gain in reading (expected 0-8)
• 9 pt gain in math (expected 4-12)
– GW:
• 19 pt gain in reading (expected 0-8)
• 5 pt gain in math (expected 3-11)
– WT:
• 11 pt gain in reading (expected 1-9)
• 9 pt gain in math (expected 4-12)
Students Gains on
District Standardized Assessment (NWEA)
• 5th grade
– LA:
• 7 pt gain in reading (expected -2-6)
• Math not available
– WD:
• 4 pt gain in reading (expected 1-7)
• 7 pt gain in math (expected 3-11)
– IT:
• Growth data not available
Focus for 2010-2011
• Continue to develop a greater
understanding of executive functioning
• Continue to work with Special Education
to bridge the gap
• Enhanced parent workshops facilitated
by a parent of 2e children
Inver Grove Heights Community Schools
Javits Grant Update
November, 2010
Kim Westra, Atheneum 4th Grade
Experimental Teacher
Inver Grove Heights Community Schools
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Second-ring suburb
3712 students
29.9% Racial and ethnic diversity
33.6% Students receive free/reduced lunch
3 Elementary Schools
1 Middle School
1 High School
Atheneum Gifted Magnet
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School-within-a-school model
Grades 2-5
4 elementary classrooms
119 students ( open enrolled)
16% Racial and ethnic diversity
3% Receive free/reduced lunch
17 fourth graders qualified and 9 are
participating in the study
• 19 fifth graders qualified and 12 fifth grade
participants in the study
Identification Process
All assessments weighted for scores ranging 90% and above.
• WISC – IV (Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children)
• CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test)
• MAP (Measures of Academic Progress)
• Parent Inventory/Teacher Recommendations
• Special Considerations/Additional Outside
Testing/Portfolio, etc.
Why we got involved in the study…
• Increased number of students displaying
executive functioning, intensity issues, and
other 2e characteristics
• Student success greater in the gifted
classroom but still not always
commensurate to their abilities
• Students’ obvious needs for specific
accommodations/strategies yet not qualifying
for special education services
• Staff’s desire to learn more about 2E students
and how to better meet their needs
• Uniqueness of the study
What we are doing
• Teacher training
• Curriculum and resource development
• Parent education
• Identification
Capitol Hill Gifted & Talented
Magnet School
Full-time Gifted Program
Grades 1-8
St. Paul Public School District 625
Capitol Hill Gifted & Talented
Magnet School
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Urban GT Magnet
1050 students
42% ethnicity
30% SES
Identification Process
• NNAT2 testing is required for admittance in grades 1-6 at
Capitol Hill . Testing takes place in ALL SPPS elementary schools
for students in grades K and 2 in early December. Grades 1, 3, 4,
& 5 can request testing if desired.
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What is the NNAT2? Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test
(second edition)—This test is designed to allow for a culturally
neutral evaluation of students’ nonverbal reasoning and general
problem-solving ability, regardless of the individual student’s
primary language, education, culture or socioeconomic status.
A portfolio process is available for those students scoring between
88-92% on the NNAT2
How did Capitol Hill identify
students for the study?
• We decided to start with our 4th graders.
• Checked for Special Education identified students
with IEP’s.
• Asked teachers, social worker and school nurse to
identify students who exhibited other
exceptionalities i.e. ADD, ASD, anxiety,
etc…casting a wide net, not requiring a Sp. Ed.
identification.
Why we got involved in the study…
• Increased number of 2E students
• Staff’s desire to learn more about 2E students
• Uniqueness of the study
Where we are in the process…
• Teacher training
• Curriculum development and implementation
• Observations and assessments
• Parent education
Where We Are Now…
• 2X children are in their second year of classroom support
across the four districts. Began the year much more
“settled” than in the beginning of the first year.
• Teachers appear much more confident to “handle” issues
that may arise. Classrooms are much less “cluttered” and
systems for handing in homework, etc appear to be much
more direct and simple for these kids to “succeed”
• 2X children have multiple ways to access the gifted
curriculum they are offered, the projects they are to work
on from posted visuals around the rooms to personal
reminders inside their notebooks, and they seem to be
offered multiple ways in which to show what they have
learned!
To Sum It All Up
• We have learned “by doing” and will be much
more effective next year with issues such as:
– Communication with teachers in the project – make it
more direct
– Communication with project leadership in each district
– frequent, short emails with bimonthly steering
committee meetings
– Data collection procedures and timelines – streamline
teacher/student observations and reflections
– Training and planning workshop provisions – monthly
centralized planning and training support with sub pay
provided to the schools for teachers who opt to come
– Focus on the idiosyncratic needs of these children
who we now know pretty well – child by child
Plans for the Next Year
• Training with Dr. Susan Baum of Bridges Academy, a
school for twice exceptional children in California
• Monthly planning/writing days held at St. Thomas for all
experimental teachers who wish to continue their
curriculum development efforts – each month will have a
training theme (such as social skills instruction,
understanding the brain and how it functions, etc.)
• Completion of three more courses in the on-line
certificate program by the experimental teachers and
district leadership Fourth course will finish in December
• Streamlined observation and data gathering
• Compilation of teacher strategies for use by all four
districts’ teachers
• Compilation of parent handbook of resources and
readings for distribution in all four districts for all 5 years
For Further Information About
Project 2EXCEL…
• Please contact our website:
• www.stthomas.edu/project2excel
• Please contact me at any time:
[email protected]
• Read our Individual District report on the
project coming to you before the
beginning of the next school year!