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Program Analysis Project Part A

Reflection

Program History

https://sites.google.com/a/nhcs.net/mcw-aig/k-2-nurturing-program

References

Primary Education Thinking Skills or PETS™ is a systematized enrichment and diagnostic thinking skills program. Lessons are presented in convergent analysis, divergent synthesis, visual/spatial thinking, and evaluation, suitable for grades K-3. The program aligns to the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

PETS™ helps build behavioral portfolios for talented learners that support a differentiated approach to their education, integrates flexibly into any existing primary curriculum, and offers opportunities for learners with different strengths to shine.

(Primary Education Thinking Skills, n.d.)

Overall, I found it incredibly surprising that the school district does not have more specific programs in place for site-based AIG instruction. The implementation of PETS as the sole program was shocking, especially as data to support the particular program is lacking and it is quite a dated program.

Yet, I was able to see elements from the class readings as the key components within the program which support its use in schools. The program's ability to engage and nurture young children in a variety of skills is encouraging as it allows for many students to excel.

I also gained a wealth of information regarding the district AIG plan through intently examining the NHCS Local AIG Plan. I find that I am more informed regarding the overall role of the AIG educator.

Through this process, I strengthened Standard 2 by understanding how to instruct using a program which highlights student learning differences. I also have a stronger knowledge of the district AIG curriculum and program, which highlights Standard 3. Reflection as noted in Standard 5 was done throughout this process as I reflected on my own classroom practices, and those of the school and district.

Howe, Christy. (n.d.). K-2 Nurturing Program. Retrieved from

https://sites.google.com/a/nhcs.net/christenhowe/k-2-nurturingprogram

McIntyre, Elaine. (n.d.). K-2 Nurturing Program. Retrieved from

https://sites.google.com/a/nhcs.net/anderson-aig/k-2-nurturingprogram

New Hanover County Schools Local Academically or Intellectually Gifted

(AIG) Plan, Effective 2016-2019. (2016). Retrieved from

https://docs.google.com/a/nhcs.net/viewer?

a=v&pid=sites&srcid=bmhjcy5uZXR8bmhjc2FpZ3xneDo2YTM0ZTllYTMwYTRkNTU5

Primary Education Thinking Skills. (n.d.). Welcome to the PETS Website. Retrieved from

http://www.primaryeducationthinkingskills.com/

Program History

New Hanover County Schools, in an effort to strengthen the district AIG plan, sought a program which would nurture students, while aiding instructors in identifying student gifts at a young age. The PETS program is such in that it is a comprehensive program for grades K-3 that specifically targets various thinking skills. The targeted thinking skills are taught through different fictional characters which each engage students while teaching a skill through unique stories of characters interactions in the fictional Crystal Pond Woods.

http://christyhowe.blogspot.com/2014/10/dudley-detective.html

Primary Education Thinking Skills 3

The New Hanover County Schools' AIG Plan includes the K-2 Nurturing Program. This program has the Gifted Education Specialist Teaching whole-class lessons to all students in Kindergarten, First, and Second Grades throughout the school year. Utilizing the "PETS" curriculum, K-2 students work through lessons on Multiple Intelligences, Convergent and Divergent Thinking, Spatial Reasoning, Evaluative Thinking, Creativity, and Inventive Thinking (McIntyre, n.d.).

Program History

Rationale

Future Program Plans

PETS follows the taxonomy of thinking skills outlined by Benjamin Bloom, presenting lessons in analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Students are introduced to Dudley the Detective - Deductive Logic, Yolanda the Yarnspinner - Creative Thinking, Isabel the Inventor - Inventive Thinking, Max the Magician - Mental Manipulation of Shapes, Sybil the Scientist - Analytic Thinking, and

Jordan the Judge - Evaluative Thinking.

Each character introduces a higher level thinking skill used in his or her job. Each character guides students through a story and a series of activities to introduce and reinforce their type of thinking. Imaginative memory triggers are included with each introductory lesson.

(Howe, n.d.)

I selected the PETS program in order to have a deeper understanding of the nurturing program in New Hanover County, and its potential impact on student learning in subsequent years. As an upper-grade teacher, the nurturing program is not familiar to me and I sought to understand all that encompasses the district AIG plan. As PETS is the only mandated program in the school district, I also sought to investigate the overall program success and reason for implementation. The evaluation results will provide me with a comprehensive understanding of the district AIG program and goals, as well as the program planning involved and insight into the AIG student.

"K-3 Nurturing Program - All students will receive instruction in critical thinking skills. Students demonstrating strengths in critical thinking will be targeted for further instruction and learning opportunities"

(NHCS Local AIG Plan, 2016, p.13).

New Hanover County Schools established that each K-3 student would be exposed to the PETS program through whole group lessons that could be followed up with small group lessons to further develop the critical thinking abilities of young students.

As funding within the state of North Carolina and the New Hanover County Schools district shifts, there is future potential to alleviate the role of a school-wide AIG specialist. If this occurs, classroom teachers may be responsible for implementing the PETS program to comply with the NHCS Local AIG Plan.

At this time, the NHCS Local AIG Plan is in effect from 2016-2019 and as such all program mandates will remain in place until at least the time of the next plan review.

Classroom teachers and gifted specialists collaborate during K-3 Nurturing to collect observable data on all students. This allows the classroom teacher and the gifted specialist to provide researched based critical thinking lessons to all students. Often culturally/ethnically diverse, economically disadvantaged, English language learners, highly gifted, and twice exceptional students will show potential in these lessons while they may not in traditional academic lessons. The K-3 observational data is considered when nominating for AIG and when developing a Talent Pool.

(NHCS Local AIG Plan, 2016, p. 8)

Intended Population

Strengths and Weaknesses

The New Hanover County Schools' K-3 nurturing program was developed to explore ability among all students. The nurturing program is an interdisciplinary program in math and language arts designed to promote both academic achievement and thinking skills for all students. As potential ability is discovered, the program creates a learning environment that allows gifts and talents to emerge and nurtures these special abilities.

  • The gifted education specialist will teach lessons to all students in K-3 and create focused lessons for students demonstrating high potential.
  • Each gifted specialist will facilitate a minimum of 15 nurturing lessons to each K-2 classroom.
  • All third grade students participate in nurturing lessons until formal AIG identification of students who meet the identification criteria takes place.
  • Additional opportunities for support will be provided for high potential K-3 students.

(NHCS Local AIG Plan, 2016, p.27-28)

Student Achievement Data

Teacher Qualifications

The strength of the PETS program resides in its ability to nurture all students in grades K-3. As noted, students that may not gain opportunities through teacher and parent nominations, are nurtured through the PETS program. Students which display AIG potential, also have the ability to engage in differentiated activities and groups.

New Hanover County Schools "employs an AIG-licensed educator as lead coordinator to guide, plan, develop, implement, revise, and monitor the local AIG program and plan" (NHCS Local AIG Plan, 2016, p.21). While classroom teachers are involved in the PETS program, instruction is directly provided by the AIG site instructor.

Primarily, student achievement is measured through observation. Checklists are provided for each thinking skills lesson. Recorded on one list, students receive a mark indicating plus, check, or minus for each characteristic they display per activity. Another list indicates behaviors noted and innovative thinking. In order to collect data, the classroom teacher observes the lessons presented by the AIG instructor, and records data indicating the strengths and weaknesses of the students.

"K-3 nurturing data including observation tools and county assessment data" (NHCS Local AIG Plan, 2016, p.9) are used as a component of student screening for AIG identification.

Elementary Gifted Education Specialists are responsible for:

-Facilitating a school K-3 Nurturing program

-Incorporating Primary Education Thinking Skills ( P.E.T.S.) researched based materials to promote critical thinking skills

-Providing resources and instructional ideas for classroom teachers and/or providing individual and small group instruction to students who exhibit potential

-Using and sharing resources from the NHCS AIG Curriculum Framework

-Working with classroom teachers to document observable behaviors of students showing advanced academic potential

-Flexible Groups may consist of the top ten percent of the school's population who show the potential to perform at advanced levels when compared to grade and age level peers

(NHCS Local AIG Plan, 2016, p. 18-19)

[New Hanover County Schools] employs three criteria for AIG Identification: aptitude, achievement, and artifacts to screen, refer, and identify students for gifted services in grades K-12.

Artifacts are documented by a body of evidence which may include: observation checklists (student, parent, teacher); rating scales, such as Renzulli Scale for Rating the Behavioral

Characteristics of Superior Students or other Observable Behaviors Checklist ; Student surveys or

interviews; End of Grade/Course data; County Benchmark assessments; Student support data;

advanced student work samples; AIG work samples.

(NHCS Local AIG Plan, 2016, p.5)

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