Essay on Gifted Students
Beth Lindenberg
Gifted Curriculum
November 7, 2012
Bridging the Divide
“Benefits of Providing Enrichment to High-Potential Students from Low-Income Families” by Rachelle Miller and Marcia Gentry
This article, from Teaching for High Potential, Fall 2011, was illuminating, and, at the same time, left a few gaps for me. A quick summary.
Researchers, Miller and Gentry, based this piece on the “Validity Evidence of the HOPE Scale: Instrumentation to Identify Low-Income Elementary Students for Gifted Programs.” (The HOPE Scale is an instrument of 13 items to be used by teachers to identify academic and social components of giftedness in elementary students.) Scholarships were given to low-income students who were identified as gifted through this instrument in order to participate in Project HOPE. A student who scored at least 70% on the Scale was eligible for a scholarship. Project HOPE allowed a student to attend Super Saturday, an enrichment programs for K-8 gifted and talented students.
The question was whether the low-income, high-potential students would be able to successfully achieve in an enrichment program with other nonlow-income gifted students. All Super Saturday participants “completed a My Class Activities form which assesses the frequency that students perceive the interest, challenge, choice and enjoyment of their classes.” Three groups of Super Saturday students were examined: scholarship students who agreed to be observed, scholarship students who did not agree to be observed, and a group of nonscholarship gifted students. It was concluded that all saw the experience as favorable, that they “learned advanced content…experienced hands-on learning and social support,” and that the scholarship and nonscholarship students viewed their classes no differently. After this group of 113, a group of 247 was assessed. These findings matched the former.
Five tips were given regarding providing this
Gifted Curriculum
November 7, 2012
Bridging the Divide
“Benefits of Providing Enrichment to High-Potential Students from Low-Income Families” by Rachelle Miller and Marcia Gentry
This article, from Teaching for High Potential, Fall 2011, was illuminating, and, at the same time, left a few gaps for me. A quick summary.
Researchers, Miller and Gentry, based this piece on the “Validity Evidence of the HOPE Scale: Instrumentation to Identify Low-Income Elementary Students for Gifted Programs.” (The HOPE Scale is an instrument of 13 items to be used by teachers to identify academic and social components of giftedness in elementary students.) Scholarships were given to low-income students who were identified as gifted through this instrument in order to participate in Project HOPE. A student who scored at least 70% on the Scale was eligible for a scholarship. Project HOPE allowed a student to attend Super Saturday, an enrichment programs for K-8 gifted and talented students.
The question was whether the low-income, high-potential students would be able to successfully achieve in an enrichment program with other nonlow-income gifted students. All Super Saturday participants “completed a My Class Activities form which assesses the frequency that students perceive the interest, challenge, choice and enjoyment of their classes.” Three groups of Super Saturday students were examined: scholarship students who agreed to be observed, scholarship students who did not agree to be observed, and a group of nonscholarship gifted students. It was concluded that all saw the experience as favorable, that they “learned advanced content…experienced hands-on learning and social support,” and that the scholarship and nonscholarship students viewed their classes no differently. After this group of 113, a group of 247 was assessed. These findings matched the former.
Five tips were given regarding providing this