Reference no: EM133765360

Homework: National Strategies for Diverse Learners

For this homework, assume that you are an educational psychologist hired to provide professional development to teachers at a public, K-12 institution. The focus of the Professional Development (PD) is to enhance the education of gifted students in regular classes. One thing you're likely to notice is that, unlike Terman's research that began in 1920, gifted students come from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Although diversity and socioeconomic status (SES) will be discussed more in later homeworks, you will begin to notice and consider how issues of race, culture, and SES may play a role in the identification and instruction of gifted students. Your approach is to present advice and guidance concerning how a teacher might differentiate the Individual Educational Plan (IEP) for a gifted student and how that should translate to the classroom, describing how the instruction should be differentiated to best educate each gifted student. For each scenario, create your advice for the IEP and Classroom translation that you will share and discuss with your PD audience. Using an outline or bulleted format, write a scenario that recommends strategies and the reasoning for each strategy to educate a gifted child.

For instance, one strategy and reason could be the following:

Strategy #1: Allow Marcus to come into your room during your Prep period.

Reason #1: Marcus seems drawn to your chemistry class and appears discouraged by "wasted time" when other students ask, "the same thing over and over." By providing Marcus access to your lab and your one-on-one time, Marcus will be allowed to think, discover, and ask questions beyond the limitations of the regular classroom.

Now, it's your turn! Provide at least three strategies and your reasoning/rationale for each choice based on your EdPsych expertise:

In Scenario I, the gifted student is a Black female, aged 14 named Rose. Rose has shown special interest in math and science. She's taking Trigonometry and Chemistry but reads at grade level. She's been diagnosed with dyslexia and hyperactivity. She has been frustrating her teachers by answering almost every question before others have the chance to raise their hands. She often doesn't get the "right" answer, but when the teacher rejects her answer, she explains the complex rationale she used to provide the answer, all of which is based on factual bases in the course.

In Scenario II, the gifted student is Carlos, an 8-year-old, Latino male. Carlos is fluent in English, Spanish, French, and Farsi, which he learned on his own after becoming good friends with a 10-year-old Indian-American named ViJay. He commonly finishes his grade-level reading homeworks very quickly, but often will be found reading an advanced classic text in Spanish or French in the remaining class time. He is quiet and introverted. At lunchtime, he can often be found playing an intense chess match with Vijay, speaking in Farsi. His teachers worry about him not "fitting in."