UPenn+Conference

=DVMSAC Seminar at Penn= =Providing Access for Gifted Culturally Diverse Students=
 * __Providing Access for Gifted Culturally Diverse students__**

Issue of recruiting and retaining minority students (See Tube “Girl like me” Lynn Partridge’s e board) What kind of accommodations? What kind of considerations?
 * How to provide access: from deficit model to a dynamic model
 * 1) Need to become culturally competent… to help close achievement gap
 * 2) give families training to help close the achievement gap
 * 3) Close achievement …develop student racial identity : do you like yourself as an African American”
 * 1) peer pressure—anti-achievement
 * 2) Multicultural ed. in order to engage students so tht they see themselves reflected in curriculum.

Braffman question (This presents conundrum since psychological wisdom says that is better to wait with minority children several years into schooling before testing so that students are exposed to curriculum and testing can reflect this.)
 * Ford “identification earlier the better”


 * Robert Steinberg states that rather than give problem solving activities to the gifted “creatively gifted students find a problem to solve.”


 * The achievement gap is a complex issue that includes: social, economic, civil rights/history and moral components. “Deficit thinking is at the core”

Many variables that contribute to achievement gap some from school and some from home Example could home and /or school which include: lack of rigor and lack of expectations Home: 80% of African American students have a television in bedroom Ford “Not a literary rich environment” Ford “I want education to stop being color blind’ “Students have to not only do their homework but it better be neat”

Ford is asking for **discipline, structure and consequences** from schools and homes alike. //From my perspective in order for the achievement gap to be addressed seriously I felt that Ford was stating there must a contractual agreement where schools and families must work together to share and maintain these three values.//

Ford spoke of barrier for gifted minority identification: 1. lack of teacher referral 2. biased national norms 3. criteria used to identify gifted 4. black children not wanting to be single out and alone in gifted programming (Example in picture book “213 Valentines”)

Ford recommends an attitude change beginning with teacher training Language for classroom __Speaking Thoughtfully__ · Let’s compare these two pictures. How are they different? · What do you predict will happen? · How do categorize these items? · What is your analysis, evaluation or opinion of this story? Explain your position · What evidence do you have to support your answer or position? · What is your hypothesis? · What do you prefer this illustration? What criteria are you using to make this choice? · What is your plan of action? Show me your outline. What are you using?

__How Words Communicate Expectations and so much more…__ Mature __vs.__ too grown Independent __vs.__ stubborn Social, extroverted, outgoing __vs.__ needy, lacks independence Thoughtful, reflective __vs.__ slow, thinks too long Inquisitive __vs.__ asks too many questions Curious __vs.__ Noisy Leader __vs.__ Bossy Highly verbal __vs__. articulate

Donna Ford shared a vocabulary list that demonstrates “A culture of thinking: __**Language of Thinking Vocabulary**.__ She recommends that students be encouraged to use the following words in their everyday speech.

 Assume Deduce Elucidate Inquire Prove Scrutinize Conclude Demonstrate Entertain Interpret Question Solve Cogitate Derive Estimate Judge Reason Study Conjecture Detect Evidence Justify Rebut Suggest Consider Determine Examine Ponder Recognize Suppose Contemplate Discern Explain Posit Reflect Theorize Contend Discover Explore Postulate Research Think**
 * Assess Criticize Doubt Infer Propose Ruminate

James Borland from Porfessor of gifted from Columbia University “You don’t have to have a 130 to get ride on the bus”

Gifted education must address: pace, breadth, depth and complexity.

Researcher named Cross identifies the following four stages of racial identity:
 * 1) pre-encounter ( “raceless”, race not have salience)
 * 2) encounter( wake up call, teacher saying “ this work is so good, did someone help you”
 * 3) Immersion/Emersion( black rage)
 * 4) Internalization( bicultural, code switching

All four stages are evident in the book “Hope in the Unseen” by Ron Suskind our book club book.