Abstract
The objective of the proposed project is to scale up the use of Problem-Based Learning to identify and serve low-income gifted students. Drawing from results from three previous projects, the proposed initiative will provide traditionally underrepresented groups of middle school–aged gifted students Experiences Cultivating Exceptional Learning (ExCEL). The goal of Project ExCEL is to improve achievement content and skills associated with English/Language Arts (ELA) and to build students’ appreciation for complex knowledge, their sense of academic self-efficacy, and their enthusiasm for learning. To accomplish this, Project ExCEL will use Problem-Based Learning as a platform for both in situ identification in seventh grade and differentiated curriculum in eighth grade.
The proposed project’s primary outcomes are as follows:
Expand use of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) as a means of identifying high-ability, low-income students.
Increase ELA achievement among identified students in ExCEL Honors classrooms via PBL curriculum/instruction.
Conduct research and evaluation on all project activities, especially (1) replicate and conduct further validity studies on the in situ PBL-based identification process; (2) comparisons between ExCEL Honors students and control group (honors) students in ELA achievement, ELA accountability test performance, and engagement in learning; (3) providing formative and summative evaluation data to teachers; and (4) monitoring and evaluation of professional development and support procedures.
The proposed secondary outcomes include the following:
Revise no fewer than four drafted PBL units into final form; prepare no fewer than four new PBL units around topics and themes important to high-ability, low-income youth.
Design and implement summer and school year professional development experiences to develop teachers’ understanding of (1) the characteristics of gifted students, (2) in-depth knowledge of PBL curriculum and instruction, and (3) specifics of the units they will teach.
Validate the use of Metacognitive Coaching Checklist to encourage fidelity to the PBL model.
Disseminate project information and materials.
The project will involve no fewer than 27 seventh-grade teachers and nine eighth-grade teachers. An estimated 12,000 general education students will create the pool for the ExCEL Honors students for the duration of the project. Over the course of 5 years, three school divisions across two states will participate. In each division, three middle schools, for a total of nine middle schools, will participate. The sites were selected for participation based on their capacity, willingness, and interest as well as their diversity, foundation, and history in modeling exemplar practices for gifted education.
The proposed 5-year project, titled
The overarching goal of TEAMS is to increase the number of high school students with disabilities (SWD) identified as “scientifically promising,” defined by high levels of academic achievement in science, and intent to enroll and actual enrollment in postsecondary STEM programs. TEAMS Model is a three-pronged model, built upon two evidence-based models: Renzulli’s Schoolwide Enrichment Model (Renzulli Model), effective for serving the needs of gifted and diverse learners, and the Pacific Alliance (PacA) model, effective for increasing the number of high school and college SWD entering, persisting in, and succeeding in STEM fields. For the intervention, trained TEAMS mentors will provide 100 afterschool hours of (a) academic enrichment (80 hr), (b) mentoring on disability and STEM interest building (10 hr), and (c) college transition supports (10 hr) over 20 weeks in 1 school year. TEAMS will also create and utilize Communities of Practice at intervention group schools to support the implementation of the intervention, assess students’ progress and products, and evaluate the effectiveness of the TEAMS Model.
The effectiveness of the TEAMS Model, scaled up to implement in multiple settings (Hawaii, Iowa, New York, American Samoa, and the CNMI), will be evaluated through a cluster randomized trial (CRT). The target population is 11th-and 12th-grade SWD having potential to become scientifically promising, identified through a two-step approach: (Step 1) receiving a grade of C or better in a required science class for graduation or Biology I and (Step 2) being recognized by teachers or parents to have potential in science and creativity, and/or self-rated to have strong spatial and naturalist intelligences. The sample is 1,440 eligible students at 24 high schools at the five sites. Research questions are as follows:
The project consists of three phases. Phase I: Preparation (months 1-9) goals are to (a) prepare the implementation of TEAMS Model and (b) pilot test the products of TEAMS Model. Phase II: Experiment (months 10-47) goals are to (c) implement CRT and (d) evaluate the effectiveness of TEAMS Model. The intervention group will receive the TEAMS Model intervention while the comparison group will receive traditional afterschool homework support for the same period, provided by TEAMS mentors. Twenty-four schools (12 in Hawaii, 2 in the CNMI, 2 in American Samoa, 4 in Iowa, and 4 in New York) will be recruited and randomly assigned into the intervention or comparison group. Three cohorts of students (20 in each cohort per year, 1,440 total students) will be recruited. Phase III: Finalization and Dissemination (months 48-60) goals are to (e) finalize and (f) disseminate TEAMS Model, products, and findings. Outcomes will include increased self-determination, positive attitudes toward school and STEM, behavioral characteristics of scientifically talented students, level of STEM identity development, science achievement, and intention and actual enrollment in postsecondary STEM programs after graduation. Quantitative data will be analyzed using a multilevel analysis and a chi-square analysis. Qualitative data will be analyzed using content analysis. A systematic formative and summative evaluation will be conducted to provide periodic feedback on the project process and progress and determine the extent to which the project achieves the intended outcomes.
Promoting PLACE (Place, Literacy, Achievement, Community, and Engagement) in rural schools scales up identification processes, curriculum, and non-cognitive interventions from scientifically based research and evaluation studies to identify an underserved population of rural students of poverty, develop and adapt curriculum and non-cognitive interventions for gifted students, and deliver both the curriculum and non-cognitive interventions to a new setting (rural schools) and to a new population (high poverty rural gifted students).
Project Objectives and Activities
Promoting PLACE will incorporate place-based language arts instruction into the CLEAR Curriculum Model with the aim of advancing achievement of students of poverty in rural schools by focusing on five overarching objectives: (a) increase the numbers of students identified for gifted education services in high poverty, rural schools; (b) create high-quality, place-based language arts units based on the CLEAR Curriculum Model; (c) implement interventions designed to increase a growth mind-set and reduce stereotype threat; (d) increase achievement in language arts; and (e) increase student engagement and self-efficacy.
The objectives will be addressed by the following activities:
Establishment and implementation of an alternative identification process based on Lohman’s Opportunity to Learn paradigm and teacher input following specific training in characteristics of giftedness as they would manifest in gifted rural students of poverty.
Creation of language arts curriculum units based on the CLEAR curriculum model and principles of place-based education using the rural context for the concept of place.
Implementation of the curriculum across a total of 14 rural school districts in Virginia to identified students in the third and fourth grades of their school career—both those who have already been identified by the school using traditional measures and those identified by the additional screening.
Three cohorts of students will be identified from each of the first 2 participating districts; two cohorts will be identified from each of the second 8 school districts; and one cohort will be identified from each of the last 4 school districts.
Major outcomes include the following:
Increased student engagement and self-confidence (as measured through pre- and postassessment by a modified Engagement vs. Disaffection Scale and the modified Self-Efficacy Scale of Siegle and McCoach)
Increased student achievement (as measured in pre- and postassessment using the Iowa Test of Basic Skills—Reading Subtest, validated writing rubrics, content assessments)
Increased belief in a balanced mind-set and decreased stereotype threat (as measured by pre- and postassessment using scales validated by Dweck and Picho).