From Stacey.Figgins at ode.state.or.us Tue Jul 21 15:22:28 2009 From: Stacey.Figgins at ode.state.or.us (FIGGINS Stacey) Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:22:28 -0700 Subject: [Tag-Info] Oregon TAG Teacher Update #10 Message-ID: A PDF version with added graphics is attached and may be more reader-friendly, depending on your computer. You can also access the updates online at http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=1843. Please forward this issue of the update to interested professionals! Teachers may sign up for this or other newsletters at: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=1843 Past issues are also available at this website. 1. Welcome to the TAG Teacher Update 2. Legal Update of the Month 3. Updated Challenging High End Learners Curriculum 4. Gifted Students in the News 5. Oregon Virtual School District-Amazing Free Resources! 6. Differentiation Expert, Dr. Marcia Imbeau, to present at Summer Institute 7. Young Gifted Children 8. Gifted Programming in the National News 9. Dr. Harry K. Wong Coming to Oregon 10. U of O in Portland Opportunity for Families with TAG Children 11. Resources for Math Differentiation and More! 12. Save the Date! 2009 OATAG Conference 13. ODE Announces Math Specialist Vacancy 14. Update on Javits Funding at the National Level 15. In Every Issue-Internet Resources 1. Welcome to the TAG Teacher Update This newsletter is designed to provide current information concerning teachers of TAG students, guidance counselors, administrators, and coordinators of TAG programs. Please let your colleagues know they can subscribe to this and other ODE content area newsletters by visiting: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=1843. It is with mixed emotion that I share that I will be leaving ODE to return to a position in the Parkrose School District. I am very excited about this new opportunity, but I am also sad to leave the Oregon Department of Education. I have especially enjoyed meeting and working with committed, intelligent, and positive educators, administrators, parents, and others here at the department and around the state. We are truly a state with a wealth of amazing individuals working in education! I will be here at ODE into August to help ensure a smooth transition as we work to fill this position. You can access the job posting by clicking here. Please consider forwarding the posting to any qualified professionals who might be interested in applying. If you have any questions about the newsletter, TAG in general, or the transition process, please contact me at stacey.figgins at state.or.us or (503) 947-5701. 2. Legal Update of the Month In June, the State Board of Education voted to approve revisions to the Oregon Administrative Rules related to Talented and Gifted. These were primarily housekeeping revisions with the biggest change being the inclusion of the OAKS test as a test that may be used for identifying TAG students. This has been common practice in Oregon for some time, as there was an executive numbered memo issued in the past endorsing the practice. However, until now this practice has not been included in Oregon Administrative Rule. To read the revised rules click here. 3. Updated Challenging High End Learners Curriculum At the end of May, a group of educators came together to work on updating the new science and K-8 math standards in the Challenging High End Learners curriculum that was originally released by the Oregon Department of Education in 2005. The purpose of this statewide curriculum project is to provide Oregon educators with samples of differentiated curriculum across content areas, K-12, that challenge high-end learners while addressing the Oregon standards and benchmarks. The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) sponsored this project and worked closely with TAG educators across the state to develop the differentiated curriculum samples. Extensive resources and support materials, such as graphic organizers for use with a broad range of students, are included. The work of the Revision Team was essential to this project. Team members were Cheri Clausen from Ontario, Julie Hamilton from Seaside, James Long from Albany, Michael Rockow from Salem, Cheryl Peterson from Monmouth, Teena Staller from Medford, and Kathy Staller from Medford. In addition to updating the math and science standards on all of the lesson plans, this efficient team also added more science activities and more resource materials. They also began working on lessons to add to the document in the future. Future revision projects will look at adding the recently approved high school math standards and updating more of the information that has been changed as a result of the new Oregon Diploma requirements. You can access the revised version of the curriculum by clicking here. 4. Gifted Students in the News There have been quite a few gifted students making their own headlines lately. First, there is a story about a 15-year-old Corvallis boy who will be heading to Stanford in the fall. Next, there is the story about an 11-year-old boy from Florence, Oregon, who raised $13,000 for a local food bank. Finally, a 17-year-old girl from California recently earned dual bachelor's degrees from California State Los Angeles and will be attending Princeton in the fall to pursue a Ph.D. 5. Oregon Virtual School District-Amazing Free Resources! The Oregon Virtual School District has numerous free resources to help Oregon teachers develop lesson plans. Below is a list of just a few of the resources you can access by clicking here and creating a free account: * Free access to databases like EBSCO Host at elementary, middle, and high school levels. This includes full-text lexiled reading materials that can be printed for classroom use. * Free access to entire online courses for adaptation and use in Oregon classrooms. All subject areas are included. Some of the available courses are U.S. History, AP Calculus, Oregon Writers, Earth Science, and Art Appreciation. Included are full lesson plans with student learning activities. * Free tools for students to create their Educational Plan and Profile that is required by the Oregon Diploma. * Free access to Moodle to create your own cyber class or house information about your in-person class that students can access via Internet at home. For example, you could post a reading assignment with a discussion question as homework, and students could discuss their reactions online. * Free access to podcast videos on a variety of educational topics. 6. Differentiation Expert, Marcia Imbeau, to present at Summer Institute "Setting the Stage for Student Success" August 3-5, 2009 Hilton Eugene & Conference Center 66 East 6th Avenue Eugene, Oregon 541-342-2000 Marcia Imbeau will be presenting a full-day class on Monday, August 3rd, 2009, at the Superintendent's Summer Institute. This class will be designed as an introductory session on differentiated instruction for teachers who have little to no experience in this area. Essential questions to be addressed in this class include: * Why is responsive teaching an essential component of high-quality instruction? * What is differentiation and how can it increase student achievement and motivation? * How can curriculum and instruction be differentiated based on interest? * How can curriculum and instruction be differentiated based on readiness? * How can curriculum and instruction be differentiated based on learning profile? * What are classroom strategies that support differentiation, and how are they implemented? This class is free to individuals who have registered for the Institute. As in previous years, a small grant is available to assist teams in off-setting the cost of their travel and accommodations. Click here to access full information about the Superintendent's Summer Institute! Hurry, registration has been extended to July 24, 2009. 7. Young Gifted Children Education for young gifted children can be uniquely challenging. The Ohio Department of Education recently released a valuable support document on this topic. You can access it by clicking here. Another great resource is the book Teaching Young Gifted Children in the Regular Classroom by Smutney, Walker, and Meckstroth. The table below is adapted from their section on identifying young gifted children through observation. Behavior / Characteristic Details to Observe Example Use of language Vocabulary range, precision in word usage, and sentence complexity "Maya asked if she would be 'permitted' to take her project home 'in the foreseeable future.'" Level of Questioning Do questions expand beyond usual who, what, where, and why? Do questions show depth of understanding and/or unusual level of complexity? "Luis asks if there is another two-dimensional universe beyond this one." Problem-Solving Strategies How does the child attack a difficult problem? Is there a system or strategy in place? Does the child persist and/or adapt the strategy if needed? "Bobby found answers when he had the manipulatives and visuals to guide his learning. He stuck with the problem until he worked out several solutions." Depth of Information Is the child a profound expert in one area? Are there signs of high levels of curiosity, resourcefulness, and an excellent memory? "Grace was able to help me install the new math games on my computer when I was completely stuck." Breadth of Information Is the child interested in everything? Are there signs of a variety of interests and an excellent memory? "I offered a choice of Chutes and Ladders or Connect Four, and Molly asked for Trivial Pursuit." Creativity Is the child original in her creations? Can she elaborate on simple details? Are there instances in which you see creative or expressive movement, art, dramatization, or music-making? Are the examples unusual for this age level? "Shantelle makes her own unique products rather than copying from another child or the teacher's model." Note: Creative thinkers may go against the grain of your lesson plans. Try to work within the student's creativity to get them to demonstrate the required learning, if possible. Focus On or Absorption In a Task When working on a task or problem, is the child so engrossed that he's unaware of all else that is going on around him? Does the child tune others out and resist distractions? "Harry gets so involved with his projects that I sometimes need to sit down next to him and speak directly to him to interrupt his focused conversation." Self-evaluation Does the child seem to have an inner set of standards that he sets for himself? Is the child self-critical or impatient with his abilities from time to time? Is he sensitive? "Maruf revised his neighborhood map four times because he couldn't proportion the spaces to accommodate the elaborate details he envisioned." Profound Interest in Existential and Spiritual Questions Does the child show evidence of intensely spiritual and existential thoughts and questions? "Clara said, 'It doesn't matter that I was born because Mommy would have had another little girl that she would have loved just as much as me, so why was I born?'" Preference for Complexity or Novelty Does the child prefer to work at tasks that are difficult or challenging, rather than simple ones? Given a choice, would the child choose an unusual or complicated game instead of an easy one? "It's hard for T.J. to find playmates at recess because he comes up with play ideas so complicated that the other children get confused and walk away." Ability to Synthesize, Interpret, and Imagine Look for unique responses to open-ended questions in response to literature like, "What else could the dog be thinking?" "What might Kai be doing if he lived on the planet Mars?" Students' responses will show examples of elaborate vocabulary, use of contextual clues, logical reasoning, integration of factual knowledge, intense emotional involvement in answers, and a vivid imagination. 8. Gifted Programming in the National News This article discusses the ongoing debate about mixed ability classes. The focus of this debate is a New York school. Another article from Louisiana looks at increasing accurate identification of underrepresented groups. A final article investigates a creative program for high school TAG students in California. 9. Dr. Harry K. Wong Coming to Oregon Dr. Wong, author of the popular book for new teachers, The First Days of School, will be coming to Portland to present at an event sponsored by Concordia University. The event will be held on September 25, 2009 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Portland. The theme is, "From Surviving to Thriving! Empowering the Early Career Teacher" and the target audience is teachers in their first three years of teaching, mentors of new teachers, and administrators. For more information, contact Keylah Boyer Frazier at KFrazier at cu-portland.edu. 10. U of O in Portland Opportunity for Families with TAG Children Register now for this great opportunity! This three-day experience in beautiful Portland, Oregon, is designed for parents and their TAG-Identified children who have completed grades 2, 3, 4, or 5. Held at the University of Oregon at the White Stag Block in Portland's city center, the schedule provides three full days of exploration and enrichment for kids and three half-day parent sessions. For more information and registration download TAG Family Workshop flyer. 11. Resources for Math Differentiation and More! Thanks goes to Analicia Santos at Douglas ESD for this website reference. Joanne Griffin, a teacher for the Channelview ISD in Texas, has a great website with lots of resources. Of particular note are the Math Task cards that could be used for learning stations or anchor activities and the 101 Prompts for Math Journals. 12. Save the Date! 2009 OATAG Conference Mark your calendars and plan on attending OATAG's 2009 Fall Conference "Talented & Gifted in the 21st Century" October 2 & 3, 2009 Willamette University, Salem, OR The keynote speaker will be Dr. Nancy Robinson of the Halbert and Nancy Robinson Center for Young Scholars, located at the UW Seattle Campus. For further information and to register for the conference, please visit their website: ATAG. 13. ODE Mathematics Education Specialist Position Vacancy ODE is currently accepting applications for the position of mathematics education specialist. The recruitment is open through August 4th. To view the position announcement visit http://egov.oregon.gov//ODE/jobs/LEED9020.shtml. For more information contact: Cassie Graham (503) 947-5635 Oregon Department of Education Employee Services - Employee Records 14. Update on Javits Funding at the National Level The House Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations Subcommittee zeroed out funding for the Javits program, following the lead of President Obama in his budget blueprint. The 20 year-old program provides modest funding to develop teaching methods targeted toward gifted students and other learners with special needs. To read the official response from the National Association for Gifted Children, click here. For general legislative updates, click here. 15. In Every Issue-Internet Resources Oregon Department of Education TAG http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/results/?id=76 ERIC - Educational Resources Information Center http://www.eric.ed.gov/ Supporting Emotional Needs of Gifted (SENG) http://www.sengifted.org/ Council for Exceptional Children http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home National Association for Gifted Children www.nagc.org Oregon Association for Talented and Gifted www.oatag.org REAL - Resources for Educational Achievement and Leadership http://www.ode.state.or.us/teachlearn/real/ Get Ready Oregon web page: New Oregon Diploma information for the general public http://www.getreadyoregon.org Oregon Diploma web page: Resources and tools for educators http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/results/?id=368 Contact the Education Specialist in TAG Stacey Figgins, stacey.figgins at state.or.us (503) 947-5701 ****Disclaimer--The materials contained in the Oregon Talented and Gifted Teacher Update produced by Oregon Department of Education are drawn from both internal and external sources and inclusion of external materials does not necessarily indicate Oregon Department of Education endorsement.**** ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. 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Name: Picture (Metafile) 4.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1307 bytes Desc: Picture (Metafile) 4.jpg URL: From Stacey.Figgins at ode.state.or.us Fri Jul 24 07:55:44 2009 From: Stacey.Figgins at ode.state.or.us (FIGGINS Stacey) Date: Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:55:44 -0700 Subject: [Tag-Info] FYI: Update on Federal Funding for TAG Message-ID: Hi All- Please see this update from NAGC about the current status of the Javits Grant in Congress: http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=5020 Stacey Stacey Figgins Education Specialist, Talented and Gifted Oregon Department of Education Public Services Building 255 Capitol Street NE Salem, Oregon 97310 stacey.figgins at state.or.us 503) 947-5701 ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender immediately and delete the communication and any attachments. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses. ********************************************************************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: