Elevating Differentiation by Aiming at

Underachievement

Allison List, GATE Magnet Counselor

Jennifer Rasmussen, GATE Magnet ELA Teacher

Our 3 Main Goals

1. Define underachievement and identify how underachievement looks within the school environment and causes of.

2. Adopt academic differentiation strategies that combat underachievement (presented from a GATE perspective).

3. Gain awareness of how a counselor can help you address underachievement in your classroom (presented from a GATE perspective).

Underachievement is…

Potential Performance

GATE Student Needs at Clayton

Students receiving a Tier 2 intervention: 22%

Students receiving a Tier 3 intervention: 1%

Students who have been qualified for Special Education, aka Twice Exceptional (2e): 2%

Students on a 504 plan: 9%

Student on a 504 plan that receive academic accommodations for executive functioning deficits: 67%

Two Types of Underachievers

Selective Producers

Aware of intellect

Capable of high performance

Only engaged with interests

Are not motivated by grades

Non Producers

Refuse to do classwork or homework

Are learning

Perform well on assessments

WILL FRUSTRATE EVERYONE!

Underachievers(from Clayton’s perspective)

Low self esteem

Poor attitude

Makes excuses

Wants to do well, but doesn’t know how

Confrontational

Compassionate

Confused

Reflective

Projects high self esteem

Failing courses

“Promises” to do better

Believes teachers are “out to get them”

Have responsibilities at home that trump education

Frustrated

Want everyone off their back

Let’s make it applicable!

On a post it, please write down the name or names of those students at your site who you think could be an underachiever.

As we go through more specifics on underachievement, you can start gathering more in depth information on how to help them.

How StudentsAchieve

Achievement

How Students Achieve

Factors That Support Achievement

Academic self concept

Attitude toward school

Attitude towards teachers and classrooms

Motivation and self regulation

Goal Valuation

Cash’s Cycle of Success

Deserving Child

Positive Feelings

Desire

Achievement

Underachievement

Underachievement Risk Factors

Academic self perception

Attitude toward school

Attitude toward teachers and classrooms

Motivation and Self Regulation

Goal valuation

Cash’s Cycle of Failure

Undeserving Child

Negative Feelings

No Desire

Failure

Characteristics Which Hamper Achievement

Frustration with inability to master certain academic skill

Learned helplessness

General lack of motivation

Disruptive classroom behavior

Perfectionism

Supersensitivity

Failure to complete assignments

Lack of organizational skills

Demonstration of poor listening and concentration skills

Deficiency in tasks emphasizing memory and perceptual abilities

Low self-esteem

Unrealistic self-expectations

Absence of social skills with some peers

Underachievement Causes in our Gifted Youth

Unusual or unexpected event

Power and control issues

Conflicting messages from significant adults

Lack of intellectually stimulating environment

Fixed mindset of intelligence. (insert ted talk on growth mindset)

Problematic beliefs

Gender

Family dynamics

Peer influence

How to Reverse Underachievement

Teachers

Counselors Family

Engagement

Underachievement

What Teachers Can Do

Teacher Interactions with Underachievement

Overcoming Fear

Overcoming Perfectionism

Avoiding Confrontation

Varying Expectations

Overcoming Fear and Perfectionism

Collaboration

Voice and Choice

Self-Reflection on assignments and projects

Invade their binders, notebooks, etc…

Accept any work

Avoiding Confrontation

Shoulder to Shoulder discussion

Out of general population

Do not single out

- Tracking

- A New Strategy

- Static

- Teaching to the Middle

- A series of activities

- Watered down curriculum

- Flexible Grouping

- Student Centered

- Rigorous / Relevant

- For all Learners

- Based on academic and personal needs

- Fosters relationshipsand reflection

IS NOT… IS…

Instruction Mindset

Improving Student Regulation

Pg. 78/79

Pg. 132

Pg. 142

Pg. 147

What School Counselors Can Do

27

Accommodations Counselors consider to help access

curriculum Provide alternative means for accomplishing assessment

of curriculum outcomes

Allow child to choose the options he or she feels will be successful

Divide longer term projects assigned into small pieces with steps to be checked off

Use organizers such as webs, electronic organizers, study guides, multiple modality access to content and assignment descriptions as reminders for the child of what has to be done and by when

Work directly and collaboratively with the child to design rubrics on how the work will be assessed

K.B. Rogers NAGC Presentation 2014

Counseling Mindset

Punitive statements or actions

Punishing, discouraging, put downs, “I told you so”

Directing or solving problems for them

Playing two sides between the student and the teacher

Encouragement, positive, and strength-based

Descriptive feedback, support, specific , end with encouragement

Provide choices, give guidance, support their search for alternatives

Facilitate and model professional problem solving skills.

IS NOT… IS…

Strategies integrated within the differentiated curriculum • Adaptations of the

curriculum• Cognitive access, meta-

cognition• Behavior adjustments• Social skills development• Self-awareness, self-

regulation• Physical accommodation of

learning space

Interventions

Parent conferences

Individual counseling

Small group counseling

Focus groups

Classroom guidance focused on mindset and various SEL topics such as coping skills and stress management

Tips for Working with Gifted Teens

Avoid preaching or cheerleading

Affirm intelligence and self worth

Screen for mental health concerns such as depression

Provide intervention and track with data to rule out learning disabilities

Avoid saying that he can do better if he tried

Underachievement Intervention at Clayton

(Classroom Based)

24 students are participating in a goal valuation/organizational advisory. Each day has a different topic:

Monday: Set up agenda, talk about planning evenings

Each student receives a “Goal Post it” and a missing work post it.

Tuesday: Study Hall

Wednesday: Planning, Organization, Skills, Mindset Discussions

Thursday: Study Hall – Check Agendas

Friday: Planning, Organization, Skills, Mindset Discussions; Reward Days

Underachievement Intervention at Clayton

(Counselor Based)

13 (10 male, 3 female) students were pulled from the goal valuation advisory 1 day per week to participate in a focus group based on barriers to learning.

1 student was also pulled for the group but was in a different advisory.

Screening for candidates: Term 1 2.8 GPA or lower (19 students were selected)

Students divided into two groups based on team discretion. 1. needing focus group (14), 2. struggled with middle school transition but making improvements (5)

UA Intervention cont.(counselor based)

Week 1: Intro, grading scale, credit requirements, GPA and what that means

Week 2: Student Academic profile (folder with term 1 grades and break down, includes GPA)

Week 3 Grade check, goal setting for term 2

Week 4 Discussion group- vocabulary: gifted and underachievement. Discussed barriers to success

Week 5: Discussion group- cont. from previous week

Week 6: Goal review and plan for term 3.

How’d They Do?

Of the students participating in both interventions…

46% had a GPA increase from 9.5%-109%

77% passed all core courses

15% maintained their GPA

Another Counseling Intervention- in process…

1. Accelerated Algebra 1 course participants aware that they are not in the advanced math course for 8th grade. Common problems: refusing to work, saying they are stupid, not taking curriculum seriously, having emotional reactions to tests

2. Survey distributed on Math Anxiety- results showed that 80% of the class experienced levels of math test anxiety.

3. Survey developed on fixed mindset-is there a correlation between anxiety and mindset?

4. Data collected from both surveys will be used to design guidance lessons based on decompressing stress and moving towards a growth mindset.

Family Engagement

So What Does This All Mean?

Unique GT Characteristics

Twice exceptional (2e) Asynchronous developmentUnderachievementOverexciteabilitiesMultipotentiality Imposter syndrome Perfectionism

GATE Students have Special NeedsWhat do the experts say?

James Webb, Ph.D.

“Because it is prominent in so many gifted children, some professionals believe asynchronous development, rather than

potential or ability, is the defining characteristic of giftedness..”

One cannot assume that children with similar IQ scores have similar personalities, interests, abilities, or temperaments. Gifted children often have substantial variations in abilities within themselves and develop unevenly across various skill areas.

For example, they may be excellent in reading but poor in math, or they may show precocious ability with puzzles or machines but show average ability in verbal development. Sometimes intellectual skills are quite advanced, while motor or social skills are far behind. Or their knowledge is advanced, but their judgment in social areas – such as tact – lags far behind.

GATE Students have Special NeedsWhat do the experts say?

Dan Peters, Ph.D.

“The word ‘gifted’ is loaded … it seems to imply that gifted people ‘have more’ so it not only puts them in a position of being seen as elite, but also as not needing ‘more’ of anything because they

already have more than most.”

Common Characteristics of Gifted Youth

Rapid learners

Strong memory

Large vocabulary

Advanced comprehension of nuances

Largely self-taught

Unusual emotional depth

Highly sensitive

Abstract, complex, logical, insightful thinking

Idealism and sense of justice

Intense feelings and reactions

Long attention span and persistence

How GATE is

Proactive! MTSS

SEL Implementation

Present in classrooms, connecting with students

Strategic Plan

Hiring support staff

Counseling vertical being implemented through Lync

Obvious or Hidden Disability?

MTSS Process

Our Current GATE SEL Support NAGC SEL standards

NAGC Programming Standards Vertical collaboration: Sharepoint and Lync as main tools

Weekly SEL tip for teams and Project based learning (strategic grouping) Engaging parents with Parent University,

newsletters GATE SEL/Affective Curriculums The Essential Guide to Talking with Gifted Teens Parent-Teacher conferences (Strength-based

model) Class meetings and encourage family meetings Self Regulated Learning, Dr. Cash

Closing Activities1. Parent Teacher conference practice, use the scoring rubric to see how you

do!

2. Identify the differentiation techniques from Cash’s “blue” book that you would like to use in the classroom

3. Counselors group together and brain storm how you can form underachievement interventions at the Elementary, Middle and High School levels

4. Counselors and teachers from the same site, discuss how you would like to work together to develop interventions for your students

5. Ted Talk video on Mindset (http://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve?language=en)

Parent Conference Scoring Rubric

Positive Parent-Teacher Conference P/T Conference member names:___________________________________________________________

Objective: To complete a parent-teacher conference based on strengths, goals, and empowering self regulated learning

Criteria:

_________/ 40 pts: Conference began by indentifying strengths that student shares

_________/ 20 pts. List all of relevant issues, state problem, brainstorm support, agree upon goals (include parent), and specify interventions.

_________/ 20 pts. All members participated with emphasis on student participation. Student must negotiate reward/consequence.

Presentation: Be prepared to share your conference with session group

_________/ 20 pts. presentation. (30 – 60 second “commercial” of your product)

 

References Cash, Richard M. Advancing Differentiation: Thinking and Learning for the 21st Century.

Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Pub., 2011. Print.

Ferlazzo, Larry. Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers to Classroom

Challenges. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, 2011. Print.

Galbraith, Judy, and James R. Delisle. The Gifted Teen Survival Guide: Smart, Sharp, and Ready

for (almost) Anything. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Pub., 2011. Print.

Heacox, Diane, and Richard M. Cash. Differentiation for Gifted Learners: Going beyond the

Basics. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Pub., 2014. Print.

Peterson, Jean Sunde. The Essential Guide to Talking with Gifted Teens: Ready-to-use

Discussions about Identity, Stress, Relationships, and More. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Pub.,

2008. Print.

Rimm, Sylvia B. Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades: And What You Can Do about It. New York:

Crown, 1995. Print.

Siegle, Del. The Underachieving Gifted Child: Recognizing, Understanding, and Reversing

Underachievement. Waco: Prufrock, 2013. Print.