Abstract
Partnerships between schools and universities can be beneficial for all parties involved, particularly when their interests and goals for the partnership overlap. The Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute (GER2I) and Tippecanoe School Corporation (TSC) formalized a collaborative effort to improve identification procedures for students with gifts and talents, provide high-quality professional development for teachers, create services and resources for families, and develop evidence-based practices through research opportunities for graduate students and faculty. Suggestions for practitioners and university partners are discussed, along with future directions for the existing partnership.
“School–university partnerships have the potential to bring forth educational improvements that would not be possible outside of such partnerships.”
Introduction
Partnerships are often based on a mutually collaborative arrangement between equal partners working together to meet self-interests while solving common problems (Goodlad, 1993). Research suggests that school–university partnerships have the potential to bring forth educational improvements that would not be possible outside of such partnerships. In other words, these partnerships, when done well, include unique opportunities to bridge the gap between research and practice (Bullough et al., 1999; Goodlad, 1993; Richmond, 1996). Formalizing these collaborations can lead to mutually beneficial outcomes and solutions to common challenges (Callahan & Martin, 2007).
Existing partnerships between schools and universities often revolve around university students’ needs for practicum experience (Jones et al., 2016), but why not go beyond that? Universities and schools can collaborate on any number of overlapping self-interests, including supporting gifted and talented programs. Students with gifts and talents benefit from programming that provides challenge, stimulates their development, and allows them to meet their potentials (Gagné, 2010; Renzulli, 2012; Samarapungavan, Patrick, & Mantzicopoulos, 2011; Subotnik, Olszewski-Kubilius, & Worrell, 2011). Teachers can collaborate with universities to provide a high-quality, challenging curriculum to all students, including students with gifts and talents.
Key Players
Crucial to the partnership’s success are the key players involved and their goals for the collaboration. This partnership exists between a local school corporation and a university-based enrichment and research program. The purposes for each group are aligned to the organization’s services that will contribute to the overall partnership.
School District
Tippecanoe School Corporation (TSC) is a suburban/rural school district in central Indiana, serving over 13,000 students. Approximately 750 teachers are employed at 11 elementary schools, six middle schools, and two high schools across the county (Indiana Department of Education [IDOE], 2019). The district’s mission is to “educate our students to reach their academic potential in an environment that encourages confidence, competence, and a desire for learning” (TSC, 2017b).
TSC’s Director of Student Services, Dr. BeAnn Younker, oversees the high-ability program for the district. The high-ability program includes about 1,000 students and 55 teachers in Grades 2 to 12. The teachers implement a variety of strategies in their instruction, including differentiating instruction appropriate to individual students’ ability levels; using self-contained classrooms at the elementary level, and honors and accelerated classes at the middle and high school levels to deliver gifted education; providing options for subject- and grade-skipping; and implementing technology effectively within the classroom to present academically appropriate content to groups of students. Everyone who teaches the self-contained classes in the elementary schools must have their high-ability licensure or obtain it within 3 years.
University
The Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute (GER2I) was founded in 1977 at Purdue University by Dr. John Feldhusen. GER2I primarily follows a talent development model, evident in the mission of, “holistic development of giftedness, creativity, and talents among individuals throughout their life-span” (GER2I, 2019). To meet this goal of promoting lifelong learning, the organization provides enrichment opportunities and programs for PreK-12 students, conducts professional development sessions for teachers and schools, offers credentialing courses and programs for graduate students, and engages in research related to “giftedness, creativity, and talent development” (GER2I, 2019). Graduate students instruct preservice teachers in multiple undergraduate courses for Purdue’s College of Education and create and administer research projects related to their fields of interest.
History and development
Many partnerships begin with universities reaching out to schools with a research question or need for student teaching placements, and these universities tend to guide implementation due to their specific needs and goals (Burton & Greher, 2007). However, the TSC–GER2I partnership did not begin in this typical manner. It sprung from an informal connection in which TSC students participated in GER2I’s Saturday and Summer Enrichment programs, Purdue’s preservice teachers engaged in practicum experiences at TSC schools, and on occasion, individual research projects were conducted by Purdue graduate students and faculty at TSC sites. Moreover, many teachers at TSC have obtained their high-ability certifications through GER2I’s certificate and licensure program.
In 2016, a shift occurred that led to the formalization of the partnership between the two organizations. GER2I and Purdue’s Honors College hosted a high-ability learning symposium open to local educators, graduate students, university advisors, and others who work with students with gifts and talents (Perrault, 2016). Dr. Younker attended the symposium and reached out to faculty and graduate students to help in updating TSC’s existing high-ability identification procedures and services to reflect current, more inclusive, and objective research-based practices. Following this consultation, a formalized partnership between the school district and GER2I was established, leading to future opportunities and benefits for all stakeholders.
Multiple approaches, multiple benefits
Each entity within a partnership comes into the relationship with different objectives in mind. The goal of the formalized partnership between TSC and GER2I was to identify better and serve students with gifts and talents. A variety of approaches have been employed to meet this goal, the outcomes of which benefit both organizations. See Table 1 for a chronological overview of events in the partnership.
Chronology of Events in TSC–GER2I Partnership
Note. TSC = Tippecanoe School Corporation; GER2I = Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute.
Identification measures.
The first partnership activity was to modify how the students were identified for gifted education services. Previously, the school district primarily used students’ results from the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress–Plus (ISTEP+; IDOE, 2011). They also used student letter grades and acuity (McGraw Hill Education, 2016) assessments. The ISTEP+ assesses students in English/language arts and math in all Grades 3 to 8 and 10, science in Grades 4, 6, and 10, and social studies in Grades 5 and 7. TSC states that students scoring in the 95th percentile on the ISTEP+ assessment (and other similar standardized assessments) would typically be eligible for high-ability services. Although this assessment can be useful, the practice of only using one measure of ability—that is not referencing local norms—as the primary source to identify students’ gifts and talents may not identify all students who might need services, particularly for students from underrepresented populations (Carman & Taylor, 2010; Peters & Gentry, 2012; VanTassel-Baska, Johnson, & Avery, 2002). To best identify and serve students within TSC for high-ability programs, changes in identification procedures need to be made.
Expanded identification procedures have now been implemented within the school district. When Dr. Younker joined the school district in 2016, TSC replaced the ISTEP+ with the Northwest Education Association’s (NWEA, 2019) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment. Students receive percentile scores that are related to school grade-level norms when data are available (Thum & Hauser, 2015). As with the ISTEP+, scores in the 95th percentile on the NWEA assessment would often be eligible for high-ability services. The NWEA assessments are school-normed and computer-adaptive, both of which help show students’ understanding and growth more accurately than traditional standardized testing methods (Peters & Gentry, 2012; Zhang & Chang, 2016). In addition to the NWEA percentile score, the CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018) is now used to determine eligibility for high-ability classrooms. The CogAT provides another measure of ability that may not be identified from the NWEA score alone. Teacher input was also incorporated into the identification and placement procedures through the use of the HOPE Teacher Rating Scale (Gentry, Pereira, Peters, McIntosh, & Fugate, 2015). The HOPE Scale is an “11-item teacher-rating instrument that measures observable characteristics of academic and social dimensions of giftedness” (Peters & Gentry, 2012, p. 131) and uses local norms. The scale considers common characteristics of giftedness that may not appear on traditional assessments, such as creative problem solving, curiosity, empathy, and potential for high performance. Inclusion of these traits has been shown to aid in the identification of students from underrepresented populations (Peters & Gentry, 2010). This also fits within the state’s definition of giftedness, used by TSC in their high-ability program philosophy, to include a measure of student’s potential abilities (TSC, 2017a). There is also a placement appeal process available for those who have applied for the district’s high-ability program, primarily used at the middle and high school levels. An initial evaluation of these new identification procedures has shown excellent results. In all but two TSC schools, there have been significant improvements in representative identification of students for high-ability programming. Moreover, only one person has appealed the process since its implementation. The partnership is continuing to evaluate these procedures and has set up additional training for the two schools who have not increased their representation of students from diverse backgrounds in their high-ability program.
Professional development
School districts and teachers are always searching for meaningful professional development to improve the effectiveness of instruction and meet students’ needs (Goodlad, 1993). After working together to adapt TSC’s identification procedures, Dr. Younker reached out to GER2I to supplement professional development sessions for the district’s high-ability teachers. Thus, the annual High-Ability Ed Camp was born. GER2I graduate students and faculty addressed essential topics relevant to and suggested by teachers. Teachers completed a survey of topics they were interested in learning about, and Dr. Younker then narrowed the sessions. The first High-Ability Ed Camp took place in January 2017 and was for TSC’s middle school teachers. The “camp” was part of a teacher workday for the district. Other planning meetings took place upon completion of the professional development sessions. There were four scheduled “breakout sessions.” Teachers could choose one of six presentations to attend during each breakout session time slot. The GER2I team presented three sessions on “Make It and Take It” differentiation strategies, and one about the “Social and Emotional Brain of the Gifted Child.” TSC administrators, IT staff, or teachers conducted most other presentations. About 15 to 20 teachers attended each differentiation session, and 30 teachers and counselors participated in the session on social and emotional characteristics. Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. Teachers enjoyed the topics and had many more questions they wanted to explore related to high-ability learners. Presenters also found benefits in participation. GER2I faculty and graduate students were able to hone their presentation skills and learn from teachers who shared their successes and challenges. Teachers who presented had an opportunity to share their valuable knowledge and experiences, as well.
Dr. Younker and the GER2I team met a few weeks after the first camp to begin discussing the feedback and plan the next iteration of the camp. The second Ed Camp ran in April 2017. The scope of the audience increased to include all teachers in TSC. A focus was placed on the high-ability teachers, which includes teachers in Grades 2 to 10, and Honors and AP teachers in the high schools. Sessions were determined based on the teachers’ suggested topics from the first Ed Camp, proposals from the GER2I team incorporating their areas of research, and teachers within the district who proposed presentations.
The structure was slightly different from the first Ed Camp, with presentations lasting for 50 min, and only two breakout sessions were scheduled, compared with four sessions in the previous camp. This was because the second camp was not incorporated into a teacher professional development/workday. Instead, the sessions were held after school on a Thursday, which significantly limited the time available. Many more teachers signed up to attend the sessions as well, so more topics were offered to meet their interests. Teachers could choose one of 13 sessions during each of the two breakout time slots. GER2I graduate students and faculty presented the majority of the sessions in this camp, facilitating 16 of the 26 sessions. See Table 2 for a full list of the presentations sessions offered. Some topics were presented twice—once for elementary teachers and again with a secondary focus.
Second High-Ability Ed Camp Session Topics
Note. GER2I = Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute; IDOE = Indiana Department of Education; NWEA = Northwest Education Association.
As with the first High-Ability Ed Camp, presentations were well received by teachers and staff. Those in attendance took an anonymous survey about their perceptions of the Ed Camp. Responses were generally positive, with nearly all teachers stating they received quality professional development during their session. Teachers also shared comments and suggestions for improvement for future camps. These suggestions, such as incorporating more specific examples of strategies for the classroom and allowing for more discussion within sessions, can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the camps and guide the planning and implementation of future professional development opportunities. There will be future High-Ability Ed Camps planned in the coming years.
All presenters and attendees at the second High-Ability Ed Camp were given t-shirts commemorating the event. A donation from a local medical society provided the funding for the shirts. Dr. Younker facilitated the connection with the society, thus working to extend TSC’s partnership with other community members and businesses. GER2I donated large quantities of curriculum units, children’s literature, and other resources to the district, at the second Ed Camp. Teachers were also encouraged to apply to teach for GER2I’s Saturday and summer enrichment programs and given information for students interested in participating in the programs. These agreements between businesses, university enrichment, and research programs and schools can be beneficial for all parties.
Parent services
Parent involvement in a child’s education is hugely influential in student achievement (Hill & Taylor, 2004; Olszewski-Kubilius, 2008; Turner, Chandler, & Heffer, 2009). Parents have a desire to know what their children are learning and how to help their children succeed (Chavkin & Williams, 1993; Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1997). However, it can be challenging for them to know where to start or how to best help children in their academics, particularly for students with gifts and talents. Parents may not know whom to ask or which resources to seek.
A Parent Ed Camp was created in a similar style to the teacher High-Ability Ed Camp to combat this issue and increase parent engagement. The Parent Ed Camp was geared toward parents of students in the high-ability programming in the district, as well as parents of those eligible for programming—even if their children were not receiving high-ability services. Dr. Younker created and distributed information about the camp to teachers of high-ability classes, who were asked to send the information on to parents. The first Parent Ed Camp occurred in January 2018 at a local public library near one of the district’s elementary schools. Only one presentation session was offered at the first camp because it occurred on an evening during the school week. The session focused on the social and emotional characteristics of children with gifts and talents. A GER2I faculty member (and former high school counselor) presented the topic and provided strategies for understanding the socioemotional needs of students with gifts and talents. During the camp, parents were able to ask questions about the information presented or situations related to their children. At the end of the session, parents completed a survey, which included a question asking them what topics they would like to learn about in future Parent Ed Camps. This will help guide the next sessions to relate to topics of importance to the parents. Parents were also able to record their needs as parents of students with gifts and talents. They provided recommendations to the school and district for addressing these needs and concerns.
In April 2018, parents of eligible students not yet enrolled in high-ability program were invited to a “Welcome to TSC High Ability” night, which discussed information related to high-ability services in the district and provided opportunities for parents to ask questions about high-ability education and students with gifts and talents. Parents were given the same survey to determine which topics would interest them for future Ed Camps and make suggestions to the district. Information was also provided about GER2I’s Saturday and summer enrichment programs for students with gifts and talents.
The creation and implementation of the Parent Ed Camp created a dialogue between parents and the district. Parents could learn about strategies to help their children succeed and express what they needed from the school and school districts. This also helped the school district gather insights and feedback about future directions for improvement. Recommendations were taken into consideration for implementation. Some suggested changes were already being implemented, indicating that the district was taking steps in the right direction.
Research opportunities
Many school–university partnerships focus on university students’ practicum experience in classrooms within the school or district (Jones et al., 2016). However, the benefits of these partnerships can extend past this scope. For example, university programs can explore research opportunities that may exist, as well. It should be noted that researching schools, particularly for studies that focus on the students, can be challenging. Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) set forth strict requirements and limitations when working with minors (Tegt & West, 2009), and schools may have additional review boards and processes for reviewing and agreeing to participate in research studies (Alibali & Nathan, 2010). In TSC, all research involving students need to be approved by the School Board, who reviews research proposals twice per year, in January and August. School Board approval is required to protect students and to not overload schools and classrooms with research requests and ongoing projects. Through the TSC–GER2I partnership, we have set up several research projects tied to different aspects of program evaluation to both serve the university’s research agenda and TSC’s need for evidence-based practice. Research done in a school should benefit the students and the school. Therefore, the results of the study should be disseminated to appropriate individuals within the school and other communities (Macaulay et al., 1999) to inform practice where possible. For example, GER2I staff routinely present findings from the research to TSC’s high-ability leadership team, teachers, and other interested personnel.
Lessons Learned
Looking back on the partnership, we have learned several things that could benefit others when establishing their school–university partnerships. First and foremost, partnerships between university programs and K-12 schools evolve. This evolution can be in response to the goals and needs of stakeholders, staffing changes, and shifts in educational policy. Therefore, it is essential to include opportunities for ongoing evaluation of the partnership and initiatives that stem from it. In our partnership, this took the form a continuous program evaluation in which all partners were involved.
Second, research shows that often initial school–university partnerships stem from practicum needs in which universities reach out to schools in their communities to provide preservice teachers with teaching experience (Jones et al., 2016). This partnership had a unique start because TSC reached out to GER2I with a specific need, which led to establishing a mutually beneficial partnership (cf. Bullough et al., 1999; Epstein, 2018; Peel, Peel, & Baker, 2002; Sheldon, 2007). Because of how this partnership started, we were able to create a professional community (Louis & Kruse, 1995) in which we focused on the development of shared beliefs and strong communication among the different people involved. The creation of this professional community aided the scope of our partnership and the impact it had. It should be noted that the creation of a professional community is often easier to achieve when, as is the case in this partnership, specific subunits collaborate instead of the larger organizations (Firestone & Fisler, 2002).
Third, as previously mentioned, we made the partnership mutually beneficial through the use of program evaluation framework, which allowed us to evaluate the different initiatives we set up together. This benefited both TSC and GER2I’s goals of needing/providing professional development and programming for gifted students as well as our mutual goal to establish evidence-based practices. The program evaluation framework worked well for our partnership and allowed for several research designs for different initiatives within the partnership.
The final lesson learned in this project is related to the process of university graduate students and faculty establishing research projects within schools. While each school district is unique, some districts may require additional boundary-establishing documentation or reviews of potential research projects above and beyond the university’s IRB (Nitecki, 2015; Ralston, Weitzel, Waggoner, Naegele, & Smith, 2016; Tseng, Easton, & Supplee, 2017). These requirements are in place to protect the district and its students. Researchers should consult the district prior to the onset of the project to determine any additional requirements or approval that may be needed from the school board.
Future Directions
Partnerships evolve as the needs of the stakeholders change, people move in and out of leadership positions, and shifts in educational policy occur. Despite these changes, partnerships can continue and flourish. TSC teachers will continue to pursue obtaining their high-ability certification through GER2I’s certificate and licensure programs. Teachers will seek out best practice professional development opportunities through workshops. Plans have been made to continue the High-Ability Ed Camps in future years. The Teacher Ed Camp has grown from initially only reaching middle school teachers, to all high-ability teachers in the district, and will continue to evolve with the needs of teachers and administrators.
The Parent Ed Camp is in the process of expanding through the addition of a book club for parents, in which we will provide parent resources, offer support, and connect parents of students with gifts and talents with each other. There are also steps in place to continue GER2I’s consultation services for TSC’s identification procedures and gifted education programming, and more research opportunities are possible. These next steps are indicative of future directions for the partnership and continued efforts from both organizations to meet the needs of students with gifts and talents and their families.
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Bios
Alissa Cress, MSEd., is a doctoral student in Gifted, Creative, and Talented Studies at Purdue University. She taught kindergarten after obtaining a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education and has since received a Master’s in Gifted Education, both through Purdue. She has worked for the Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute’s enrichment programs as a teacher, counselor, counseling co-coordinator of Summer Residential, and research assistant for the Total School Cluster Grouping project. She teaches a course for undergraduates about classroom management and provides professional development for teachers and schools. Her research interests include family and community engagement, underserved populations, and the effects of resource availability on development.
Ophélie Allyssa Desmet, MSC, is a doctoral fellow at Purdue University, where she is pursuing a degree in gifted education. Her research interests include underachievement, achievement motivation, talent development, and underrepresentation. Prior to pursuing a doctoral degree she worked with gifted students in an enrichment program she created. She also co-founded and co-chairs the Underachievement Resource Institute in Flanders, Belgium. She has a Bachelor’s of Science and a Master’s of Science in Educational Studies from KU Leuven, Belgium.
BeAnn Younker, PhD, currently serves as director of student services for Tippecanoe School Corporation. She earned her undergraduate degree in secondary education from Purdue University and Master’s in Educational Leadership, Educational Specialist, and PhD in Educational Leadership from Indiana State University. In her 28 years in public education, she has served in the classroom, as a middle school principal, and currently oversees high-ability programming in Grades K-11 among her other district duties.