Early and Equitable
Identification of Talented and
Gifted First Grade Students
Ann Matschiner
OATAG October 11, 2013
Pacific University
[email protected]
Why Early Identification?
Widely
agreed early identification
and intervention of gifted is crucial
(Pfeiffer & Petscher, 2008; Robinson
1997; Sankar-DeLeeuw, 2004)
Prevent boredom and negative
attitudes toward school when
children lack quality school
experiences in their early years in
school (Puckett & Black, 2008)
Why Early Identification?
Children
from low-income and
minority families, who are often
unidentified at an early age, are less
likely to be recognized later (Moon &
Brighton, 2008)
Overview
Teacher
Training- gifted characteristics, needs and instructional
strategies
Planned
Experiences-administration
and analysis
Student
support and services
Equitable Identification
7%
of the elementary students TAG
35% of the student population is
Hispanic only 15% of the talented
and gifted population is Hispanic

Equitable Identification
Fifty
percent of student
population is from poverty
20%
of talented and gifted
population is from poverty
Research
When
culturally and linguistically
gifted children are not aware of their
giftedness, the pressure to assimilate
to mainstream American culture at
younger ages in our schools often
causes them to mask or hide their
gifted characteristics before we
engage students in formal
identification processes.
Research
Many
formal cognitive assessments
are not consistent in their ability to
identify gifted students.
Gifted
students are underachieving.
They may meet and exceed on
assessments, but their year-to-year
growth is often the lowest of any
subgroup.
Research
Gifted
students are at-risk. They have
a higher percentage of depression,
suicide, and federal imprisonment
than other subgroups.
Teachers
report feeling unprepared
to meet the needs of gifted students.
Question
Are talented and gifted first grade
students identifiable using the
Recognizing Gifted Potential:
Planned Experiences with the Kingore
Observation Inventory (KOI)
administered and evaluated by the
classroom teacher?
The Value of Assessment and
Identification Through Analytical
Observation
How
does this match your current
thinking/understanding?
How
does this challenge your
current thinking/understanding?
Characteristics and
Perceptions
Use
of Kingore Observation Inventory
and Kingore Planned Experiences
with 1st grade students as a means to
identify the potential for gifted
performance
Build
awareness of gifted students
and gifted education best practices
with primary teachers.
Implementation
Year
# School/s
Number Students
2010-11
1
571
2011-12
9
1517
2012-13
25
1587*
Implementation
Planned
Experiences used with first
grade students
Kingore
Observation Inventory used
by teachers
Potential
for gifted performance
Implementation
Gifted
education best
practices with primary teachers
Build
awareness of gifted
students and their needs
Implementation
Deliver
professional development inservice sessions-KOI Behaviors and
instructional strategies
Planned
Experiences in first grade
Implementation
Teachers
administer three or four
Planned Experiences in classrooms
Teachers
work
meet and analyze student
Planned Experiences
Drawing
Starts
Patterning
Rebus
Stories
Exhibited gifted behaviors on more
than one experience to qualify
Kingore’s Characteristics
of Giftedness
Advanced Language
Analytical Thinking
Meaning Motivation
Perspective
Sense of Humor
Sensitivity
Accelerated Learning

Analyzing Drawing Starts
Implementation
 Teachers
meet to analyze products
 Develop
database
 Identify
potential to perform in first grade
students
 Teacher
interviews
Instructional Decisions
Higher
level activities for Potential to
Perform students
Specific
activities for Potential to
Perform students
Instruction
with TAG students
Instructional Decisions
Subject
Grade
Acceleration
Acceleration
Results
Year
School/s
# Students
#/% Identified
2010-11
1
76
3
3.9%
2011-12
9
1517
14
2.5%
2012-13
25
1587*
49*
What Did You Learn?
“The
finer points of giftedness and
how to see potential in young
children.”
“I
learned a lot! I really enjoyed
understanding the characteristics of
TAG and how to identify students.”
What Did You Learn?
“That
there are different ways to
identify kids as TAG.”
“I
learned more about the
characteristics of gifted students and
also the behaviors they may exhibit,
especially through these activities.”
What Did You Learn?
“I learned how to score math
problems the students created
using content, organization,
divergence, elaboration, and
significantly beyond age
expectations.”

Impact on Teaching
More
focused and intentional
instructional challenges
presented to the students
More
enrichment activities for
these kids
Impact on Teaching
Employ
various learning
styles/projects in hopes of
reaching and enriching lessons
for students
Benefits
Increased
identification of first grade
students Potential for Gifted
Performance
Increased
teacher understanding of
TAG students
Increased
teacher confidence in
teaching TAG students
Benefits
Increased
interest in learning
more about how to support and
serve gifted students
Teachers
more confident
utilizing higher-level learning
strategies
Future Plans
Continue
to train teachers
Continue
to identify Potential for
gifted performance
Continue
to serve first and second
grade students
Ann Matschiner
Pacific University
[email protected]
Scamper
Instructional Strategies
 Six
Thinking Hats
 Habits of Mind
 Inquiry-Based Learning
 Creative Problem-Solving
 Icons of Depth and Complexity
 Tiered Instruction
 Think Tac Toe
 Williams Model