Indiana Department of Education, Division of Exceptional Learners

2004-05 G/T STATE INITIATIVES  

Opportunities:

Technical Assistance Field Visit Project

This project will be conducted through a grant provided to the Indiana Education Project (IEP). A cadre of professionals would be trained by experts in specific content and protocol to be used in the visits. District program components and student test data would be reviewed and discussed in relation to the new Indiana Standards for High Ability Education. Suggestions for staff development, use of SIS Resources, service options, training, policies on acceleration, identification, guidance and counseling plan, state grant application, and assessment of students performing above grade level would be considered. Districts would be assisted in developing their own assessment of program strengths, challenges, plans and priorities for improvement. Content and protocol of field visits will be developed with and approved by Division of Exceptional Learners. This project is currently in the planning stage. Look for additional information to follow at a later date.

Identification Committee Project/ Indiana Standards for High Ability Education

A committee of G/T professionals from the Integrated Services Team has developed Indiana Standards for High Ability Education along with rationale and suggestions for implementation for the areas of Program Design, Identification, Counseling and Guidance, Professional Development and Program Evaluation. The intent of these is to provide Indiana school corporations with specific guidance on what should be included in a program of services for students with high abilities. The Standards are consistent with Indiana Code, G/T grant requirements, and P.L. 221. These are being edited for publication in a Field Study Edition at this time.

Instructional Strategies for Gifted Students in Math and Language Arts (K-12)

Through a grant to the Wabash Valley Education Service Center, Dr. Marcia Gentry from Purdue University will present a three-day training in the winter 2005. There will be two consecutive days of training with a follow-up day as a pre-conference session at the 2005 IAG/IDOE Conference on February 15, 2005. All participants will create lesson plans that incorporate at least two instructional strategies learned during the training. Shared Information Services (SIS) will be present at this training. Please contact Jennifer Rogers at the Wabash Valley ESC at jbr@wvec.k12.in.us with questions or look to their website (www.wvec.k12.in.us) in the coming months for registration and additional information.

Levels of Service (LoS) Project Year 2 – Nine Sites

Nine Indiana School Corporations are participating in this year’s project. The project is funded by a grant to the West Central Indiana Education Service Center. This Service Center has contracted with Dr. Don Treffinger at the Center for Creative Learning in Sarasota, Florida. The project includes training for school teams consisting of at least three members who receive seven days of training from Dr. Treffinger and team as well as one on-site training day at their school corporations from one training team member. In addition, year one participants are receiving continued training and follow-up opportunities during this second year. Shared Information Services (SIS) is involved in this project. More information on the Levels of Service may be found at www.creativelearning.com. Additional information about the project can be obtained from Valerie Buchanan at the West Central Indiana ESC at vbuchana@wciesc.k12.in.us.

Meeting the Social & Emotional Needs of High Ability Learners

Through a grant to the Wabash Valley Education Service Center, Dr. Jean Peterson from Purdue University will present a two-day series on meeting the social and emotional needs of high ability learners. Dr. Peterson is a school counselor educator at Purdue and has conducted extensive research in this area. An optional half-day of follow-up training will also be provided as a part of this project. Shared Information Services (SIS) will be present at this training. Please contact Jennifer Rogers at the Wabash Valley ESC at jbr@wvec.k12.in.us with questions or look to their website (www.wvec.k12.in.us) in the coming months for registration and additional information.

Regional Speakers Project

This project would allow regional ESC’s to receive funding to provide G/T speakers for professional development for educators, parents, and other community members. These sessions would feature Indiana experts as well as others in the G/T field. The ESC’s would work with the Indiana Association for the Gifted as well as local G/T Coordinators to inform area parents if an evening speaker would be available. The speaker could provide a half-day or full-day of professional development training for area educators and possibly an evening 60-90 minute presentation open to the public. The Northwest Indiana ESC is handling this project through a grant from the Indiana Department of Education, Division of Exceptional Learners. Please contact Jan Sherwood Flores at the Northwest Indiana ESC at sherwood@saturn.nwiesc.k12.in.us with any questions about this project.

Scholarships for Gifted/Talented Education Courses

Funding has been provided to the Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development at Ball State University for this project. The scholarships can be used for G/T courses taken at any university. More information and an application can be found in this mailing as well as at www.doe.state.in.us/exceptional/gt under What’s New.

School Psychologist Trainings and Regional Screening Project

This project will be conducted through a grant provided to the IEP. Ball State University will collaborate with the other School Psychology Programs in Indiana to provide training in this area to students of each program. A location near each university school psychology program will be made available for a g/t screening session. With a collaborative referral from a public school corporation, parents could bring their children for a group screening. The trained school psychology students would assist with screening at the described regional sites. Testing would be using group instruments. The Indiana Association for the Gifted (IAG) would assist with advertisement of the event and provide registration and proctoring assistance onsite. The school psychology students would score the tests and prepare reports to be provided later to families and schools, under the supervision/direction of a licensed School Psychology educator. The results of these screenings may or may not be useful to individual schools in determining which students may qualify for high ability services. Program focus and identification criteria remain a local decision in Indiana. Additional information will follow at a later date.

G/T educators from across the state will be trained in the Understanding By Design model of curriculum writing. Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins created this backwards design model. This training will be specific to G/T curriculum. The training dates will be held in Bloomington beginning in the Spring/Summer 2005 with follow-up days planned in the Spring 2006. This is a joint grant project presented to the East Central ESC and Region 8 ESC. Look for additional information to follow at a later date.