Gifted Globe

Competitive exams are often criticized for adding stress on student’s mind. Parents usually question, why should kids take additional test?

I would like to help you find the “why”. Let’s see, when was the last time you took a test? If you are thinking grad school, I would disagree. We go through testing every step of the way, you call it taking health assessment at fitness center, checking cholesterol count on lab report, monitoring your weight, checking your credit score, applying for a bank account, trying out a new beauty product, checking reviews on amazon, looking at yelp rating, no matter what name you call it, you rely on testing and results of some kind. Your kid has already been through multiple health tests, school tests, Physical Education drills, sports tryouts, etc. Right from the birth of your newborn, you start testing baby’s iron level, so take a deep breath.

You are not doing anything new, you are already used to it, more than you know it. Since we can not avoid it, least we can do is to train our kids to face it with a can-do attitude. I would like to say, stress occurs when you have to face it unprepared. Not knowing expectations on required skill set is annoying. Stress can occur if we focus on points earned Vs knowledge gained through any exam. I often remind all my students that I do not discuss your grades/points, I just want to see if you did better than your last attempt.

Now, how to prepare for required skill set? It’s is a gradual process, but if you plan ahead, you are better prepared to take it. For any specific exams I am writing about, once I find out what is needed, it’s easier to start coaching kids.

Please note, parents and coaches must do twice the preparation before starting the training, this helps reduce stress on student’s part. I always use good websites and books to make a simplified worksheet on each topic. I carry at least 10 sample problems already solved with me to class. This gives me a base to start testing along with training. Say for Ex, they have to analyze data for a large set. You may suggest using set Theory. You can start by explaining concept of a set, types of sets etc. You may want to give examples of popular/commonly used sets. I like to follow that with a simple Venn diagram explaining how it’s a great tool to organize data. Kids can then start solving practice problems to master the concept.

Who do you think will be at ease, one who knows the tool or one who doesn’t?

Once we started looking into available Math Exams, several options came across. Every exam offers a different testing mechanism and we need to choose what matches with our goal. We looked at our class to get our first clue. Almost all, say 95% of our kids were comfortable with problem solving. Roughly around 10% were racing ahead of the class,  10% continued to surprise us with their high grasping power. 10% were good with pure number crunching using math tables, quick mental math techniques. 20% were good at finding clues in the word problems. It was very clear that, we will need to assess and offer multiple exams to give everyone a fighting chance! Most of the times parents ask about difference between each exam and why they should sign up their kids? Let’s dive deeper into what I found out or like about each.

Math League –

Math League exams are a very good prep tool for early grades like 4th grade. Exam requires knowledge of simple math operations and promotes time bound problem solving. It has a very good combination of simple problems moving into slightly harder word problems. The test paper is not too tricky, so majority of students can take it with ease. I found that, these exams provided an excellent source of assessments and quick warm-up on basic math operations. Only downside is, as my class was mostly of gifted kids, they found these exams bit easy. I still used those to train them in the beginning of each year as we moved to Olympiad strategies or AMC related curriculum.

Math Olympiad –

Math Olympiads for elementary and middle school kids offer extensive training on various problem solving strategies. It also encourages problem analysis with help of organizing data, formation of table, working backward from given outcome, etc. to list a few. It offers 2 levels suitable for elementary and middle school groups. What I appreciate most is their focus on problem solving using these strategies. Level e suits most of 4th and 5th grade students well. Exam is a series of 5 exams. Each exam is roughly 30 minutes in duration and contains 5 problems. Problems typically include solving an equation, finding required region on a geometrical shape, logical reasoning based on data, etc. Most of the times, exam increases difficulty level starting problem 1 through 5 in each exam 1 through 5. As for preparing kids for MOEM, teaching multiple strategies is the way to go.  MOEM authors have some very good publications that can come handy. MOEM appoints a Person In Charge Olympiad who has access to past exam to assist the training. Practice prep with assessments and solving past exams as time bound test helps kids experience the competitive nature of exam. MOEM scoring statistics are fine grained and each problem resolution success percentile is available. This help coaches identify strength and weakness of their team and train kids accordingly. I think every kid must have access to appear for these exams for all these well rounded benefits.   

AMC 8 –

AMC 8 is suitable for grade 6 to 8 students. Exam is 25 problems to solve in 45 minutes. Problems range in difficulty level and categories like geometry, fractions, logical reasoning, etc. The exam is time bound and usually kids find it challenging to attempt all questions. This pattern keeps students looking for a challenge very well occupied. Exam is held only once a year and is very popular among middle school students. Hosting this exam requires requires a teacher advisor who can register a school team. Any proctor appointed by teacher advisor can conduct the exam on set date. The date for AMC exam is announced by MAA and must be followed. AMC can not be taken on any other date. There are several rules for proctor as well. Training required for this exam is an ongoing process. Students must develop a habit of problem solving and learn to apply various techniques, formulas, etc. The concepts could be advanced for 6th and 7th grade level, so coaches must provide samples of different category problems. Exam answer key gets posted online for reference and education purpose.

Standards-based education is a solid foundation that is applicable to all students, including gifted students. Many times gifted students are somewhere in between grade levels and gifted education requires differentiation of the core curriculum to meet various student needs. Many school districts have different plans and programs for gifted students. These program serve the purpose to create integrated differentiated learning experiences within the regular school day. Following are types of gifted programs I have seen been followed in multiple schools.

1. School led cluster grouping – Gifted Students are grouped within a regular classroom setting and receive appropriately differentiated curriculum from the classroom teacher who is trained to teach gifted students. The groups are typically made up of six to eight gifted students within a regular classroom setting who receive appropriately differentiated instruction. Students are clustered together rather than scattered amongst classrooms. Two or more clusters may be formed depending on enrollment and number of classes.
   
2. School led part-time grouping: For part of school day, gifted students participate in classes or seminars that are organized by School teachers who are trained to provide advanced or enriched subject matter. Gifted students are pulled out of the regular classroom for special enrichment and/or accelerated instruction in a certain subject area like Math.
3. School led special-day classes: For certain minimum school day, gifted students participate for enriched and advanced instruction and is appropriately differentiated from other classes in the same subjects at the school and is taught by a teacher who has specific preparation, experience, personal attributes, and competencies in the teaching of gifted children. It provides opportunity for gifted students to work together weekly across grade levels on research projects, enrichment, or leadership activities.
4. Parents led classes and Programs: For gifted students, organize additional classes, conferences, workshops after school but within school classrooms

What programs does your school follow for gifted students?

Gifted students many times are self-motivated, and  can learn independently of others. They have the ability to learn at an accelerated pace, but they are likely not challenged enough in school. Many of these students are in need of enrichment, acceleration, or both. With supplemental online education, students can work at their own pace and choose how quickly they want to accelerate through additional curriculum. The lack of logistical barriers with online education opens up multiple pathways for students and families. Number of program exists to help Gifted Students with supplemental education.

1. Online/free websites such as Khan Academy that produces short lessons in the form of YouTube videos. These websites also includes supplementary practice exercises and materials for educators.
2. Online Tutors where students receive live instruction with teachers and an peer group. They may have online classrooms that allow students to answer any instructor question and lets students ask questions at any time.
3. Online Schools that produce staff-developed curriculum, have extensive teacher availability, and educational technology. Students can earn school credits while maintaining the flexibility to pursue outside interests or overcome obstacles in their way. Teachers have the flexibility to work one-on-one with students and often have the free reign to make accommodations within their courses. Students can work at their own pace and choose how quickly they want to accelerate through the curriculum.

What kind of online education do you prefer for your Gifted kid?

As a parent and teacher of gifted kids, I try number of new things, but I wonder if the curriculum I am using is right for them. I came across a survey that is few years old.  U.S. Department of Education commissioned the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented at the University of Virginia to conduct a national survey for the purpose of developing a portrait of the status of gifted programs and programming options at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels across the United States. The results of this survey provides some information on aspects of state of gifted programming and curriculum.

 

Elementary Schools

The Survey found that some of the curriculum material that was used in Elementary schools include Mentoring Mathematical Minds , Renzulli Learning Systems,  Michael Clay Thompson Materials, Jacob’s Ladder, and most importantly depth and complexity prompts.

Middle Schools

The identified curricular materials used in the middle schools include public resources such as Library of Congress materials, pre-developed materials such as LEGO robotics, Junior Great Books, Accelerated Math, New England Math League, curricular materials developed by the College of William and Mary, materials developed by Michael Clay Thompson, and academic competition materials, which included Destination Imagination, Mock Trial, National History Day, and Science Fair.

 

High Schools

AP course materials were identified as primary curricular materials for gifted students at the high school level followed by university course materials and International Baccalaureate materials.

Every children is unique and we do see many children whether gifted or not, do wonders in professional world. The question always comes to me as why a kid is “gifted”. The question comes as they compare other “bright” or “high-achievers” students when he/she does not always show brightness in terms of  having straights “A” or perfect GPA. I have used following guidelines as I observe both gifted and high-achiving kids:

High-achieving student always works hard, while gifted students plays around, enjoys and still tend to “test” well.

High-achieving student knows the answer and can provide answer eloquently, while gifted students asks the questions and makes effort to have deeper understanding for good discussion.

High-achieving student have good ideas for projects, science olympiads etc , while gifted students many times have out of the box ideas

High-achieving student have strong memory, absorbs information readily and is pleased with own learning, while gifted students may use inference rather than memory, know of how to draw inferences from information and tend to show strong feelings and opinions.

High-achieving student enjoys peers, enjoys school, completes assignments, while gifted students enjoys adults, enjoys learning and initiates new projects.

High-achieving student listens with interest and may need certain set of repetitions to grasp complex concepts, while gifted students effortlessly acquire complex concepts

 

Surprised to see this as a topic?

if you have met smart species from both planets, you shouldn’t be. boys and girls have different approach toward study and anyone who is working in a coed environment would agree. much like their physical growth follows a different curve, their cognitive capabilities have interesting characteristics too.  in the same grade level, girls always seem to be ahead of boys. girls are into details, actively participate and show more awareness for surroundings in general. their expressions, emotions are takings turns on peak and valleys so you better be on your toes to handle those spontaneous outbursts. on the other hand, boys do not appear to be in any rush to achieve new heights , they are content and busy being their usual themselves, they appear as cool and easy going. winning or competing is not on top of their list yet. they are silent observers, by now they have figured out their way to work through challenging work. they do not express emotions as much, so in short, they keep you guessing all the time.

Over years, i saw a pattern in what type of presentation gets either of these groups excited towards the subject. let me share specific examples. I used to take printed sheets of riddles to my class. overall, it was a fun activity, so couple of times its was a huge hit. third time, girls were bored, boys were still quite happy. so i took out few match sticks and told girls they could solve same riddles by rearranging the match sticks to solve the equation. matchamagic is an official app by the way, quite fun one. girls faces were lit up instantly. they welcomed that variation.

Boys and girls have a different view on concept of being done. given a problem, boys will find a solution and then, they are done. they will turn their work in and move on . they are ready for next challenge, previous one is already history for them. Girls do not seem to have a concept of being done for most part. they will be the first one to start but last ones to turn theirs in. even after most of the class is done, you will find few girls wanting to finish before they turn it in. they are busy improvising constantly, they are convinced they can do this better, given more time or better team. see what i am saying?

I am not saying these patterns make either of them a superior class over other, but as a coach, you need to acknowledge and organize their material accordingly. you need to let them be themselves in their own way to tackle the same problem. you can achieve better results from girls team on creative, fun and well presented variety of problems. you will see boys team opting into a challenge similar to what they have done before. according to them, they have done it ones, they liked it , so let’s do it again. this is very visible when coed team compete in competitions like Science Olympiad, FLL and OM. want to know what will suit you kid the most? Stay tuned, we will discuss those next.

Differentiated education for gifted students differ from standards-based education in number of key areas:

• Acceleration of concepts and skill building: Acceleration is important for gifted students who have the ability to learn at an accelerated pace, but they are likely not challenged enough in school.  For example, a student may be ready and probably eager to learn new concepts in Math.
• Depth and Research:  Gifted students have potential to go much deeper into certain area of study and do independent research to understand finer details, pattern, trends, and rules. For example, a student may work on certain aspects of Science project to go much in depth and understand it.
• Complexity of area of study: Gifted students can enjoy complexity of area of study. With  guidance, they can come up with multiple perspectives,
• Critical thinking: Gifted students can enjoy learning experiences that encourage individualized thinking, research, and expression.

What keys do you think are important for gifted education?

It is commonly acknowledged that approximately five percent of the student population in the United States is considered gifted. We need to understand who are these 5%  and understand whether “common core” education help them succeed?

 

We will find that these are gifted children that can be simply identified by restless behavior if given unchallenging tasks. They are early readers and show avid reading ability. They tend to show rapid learning ability, extraordinary problem solving/reasoning abilities. They respond emotionally to stories or events, show compassion for others and have sophisticated sense of humor. They may get into trouble because they may question authority, ask unusual questions and have vivid imagination.  The abilities of gifted children can be very general such as extraordinary leadership skills and creativity. They may have specialized talents such as an aptitude for mathematics, writing, science, or music. These children demonstrate intellectual, creative skills and excel in specific academic categories.

 

At high schools and sometimes junior high schools, students have several options to take accelerated path towards college level classes. Many times gifted students are somewhere in between grade levels and many times above their grade levels and accelerated paths provide differentiation of the core curriculum to meet various student needs. Many school districts have different plans and programs for gifted high school students. These program serve the purpose to create integrated differentiated learning experiences within the regular school day. Below are such programs that I have seen

1. Honors class of students that many be not be exclusive to gifted students. They are supplemented with other high achieving students in courses designated as honors classes.  
2. An Advanced Placement program (AP Course) in any content area.
3. Independent Study courses designed by teachers educated in gifted programs to provide research opportunities in the sciences.
4. College courses that are pre-approved by administrators at the student’s school of attendance. These courses are many times taught by community college teachers
5. Parent-led or other Voluntary groups that provide courses and mentorship with a specialist in the community who provides individualized instruction and supervision.

What programs does your high school follow for gifted students?