Twice Exceptional Learners - Bridging the Gap Between Home and School

Here is a condensed version of a presentation I made at the Fall 2010 OATAG (Oregon Association for Talented and Gifted) Conference at Reed College.  It highlights the characteristics of Twice Exceptional Learners, those who are both exceptionally gifted and exceptionally challenged in one or more ways.  It provides strategies for parents and teachers to support these students and suggestions for communication between home and school to facilitate maximum success for these students who often mystify us and all too often slip between the cracks. 

Part 1:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGvabAZcQQo
Part 2:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuP0ed9vTdo
Part 3:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuP0ed9vTdo

I have focused a lot on this population in the last few years and welcome any questions or suggestions.  Working with these students can be like playing detective, following the clues to figure out how these "different-brained" children operate and how to tap into their gifts.

In another post, I'll add the slide show that I designed specifically for a teacher audience.

Characteristics of a Differentiated Classroom

This was supposed to be a closing activity for class on Tuesday, but all the amazing conversation and sharing of ideas put us off schedule. 

Listed below are some characteristics of a differentiated classroom. Some of these characteristics are from ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), others are from Ilana and myself. Feel free to comment to add more characteristics. 

Differentiation PLC

What are characteristics of a Differentiated Classroom?  

    Differentiated classrooms can take many forms, and no one class will contain all of the following characteristics. Feel free to add your own ideas and observations.

• Proactive, not reactive- differentiation is planned for up-front
• Flexible groupings
• Students’ needs are met
• Respect for diversity
• Respectful student tasks
• Positive classroom climate
• Student centered learning/learner-led
• Student-teacher partnership
• Student Choice
• Knowledge-centered- the teacher has a clear understanding of the material
• Focus on academic growth, not competition
• Scaffolds growth
• Addresses student readiness, interest, and/or learning profile
• Students taking responsibility and ownership of work
• Stretches the student academically (ZPD)
• Derived from ongoing assessment
• Variety of materials to address student needs

Using Depth and Complexity as a Differentiation Strategy

Just want to share a link to one of my mentor's wiki sites about the Icons of Depth and Complexity. These icons provide a great entry point for higher level interaction with material in any subject area. They're very adaptable and stimulate divergent and higher level thinking.

Here's the link:

http://depthandcomplexity.wikispaces.com/