(Rev.

SY21)

Gifted Endorsement Course 2

Implement the Strategies – Module 2
This assignment requires you to implement new, rigorous strategies for advanced learners,
considering ways to differentiate them for your more advanced students. Upon review of
available data, you may decide to implement a strategy with a small group or even an individual
student. During this implementation, data should inform next steps—including how you could
further accelerate, extend, or enrich instruction next time you utilize the strategy. When
implementing a strategy with a whole group, you must differentiate the instruction. Students
excel and demonstrate a need for differentiated instruction even within advanced classes.
Although there are many ways to personalize instruction for different groups of learners, this
gifted endorsement course focuses on instruction and related differentiation for advanced
learners.

Directions:
From your “Consider the Strategies” assignment or choose one strategy from Advancing
Differentiation or one strategy from Cobb County Advanced Learning Strategies. Develop the
strategies and use them within instruction as a means of increasing rigor for gifted and
advanced learners. Provide the required information and documents.
Things to Consider:

 Grouping does not have to be physical grouping or group work. Students can be
grouped by readiness yet work independently.
 If every student is completing the same task with the same directions and resources,
differentiated instruction is not present. Good differentiation means different work not
more work.
 Withholding resources from advanced students is not an effective means of
differentiation.
 The effectiveness of each strategy must be assessed using a rubric, checklist, rating
scale, etc., evaluated, and data organized into a table or graph.
 Do not use any of the best practices listed at the bottom of the Recommended
Strategies page.
 All resources should be cited.
Ideas for Increasing Rigor and Differentiation:

 Leveled texts (Lexile levels)

 Tiered assignments
 Tasks reflecting different DOK or Bloom’s levels
 More self-direction and voice for gifted and advanced learners
 (Rev. SY21)

Resources on Rigor:
 What Rigor Looks Like in the Classroom – Brief Introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=MY492T_CUdQ
 Culturally Responsive Leadership for Gifted Students
 Everything you Need to Know about Depth and Complexity Icons:
https://www.byrdseed.com/introducing-depth-and-complexity/
 10 Strategies to Add Rigor to any Lesson, Unit or Assessment: https://inservice.ascd.org/10-
strategies-to-add-rigor-to-any-lesson-unit-or-assessment/
 The Shift from Engaging Students to Empowering Learners – John Spencer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYBJQ5rIFjA
 Math Class Needs a Makeover – Dan Meyer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=NWUFjb8w9Ps&t=118s
 7 Big Ideas as You Shift Toward Online Teaching
http://www.spencerauthor.com/online-teaching/

Highlight one strategy.

 from Advancing Differentiation
 from Cobb County Advanced Learning
1. Name of Strategy: Four Square Concept Map
Page: 78
2. Differentiation of (check one): ☐ Content ☒ Process ☐ Product
3. Differentiation based on (check one): ☐ Interest ☒ Readiness
4. Grouping: ☐ Individual ☐ Small Group ☒ Whole Group
5. Describe how you used the strategy as part of one of your own lessons in the boxes below. The boxes
will expand as you type.
5a. State the standard(s) being addressed. Write out the standard(s).

5b. Main Question: How did you group students, and why? Questions to consider when composing
your response: Which students completed this more rigorous assignment/task? Why did you choose
to assign this group of students the more rigorous task? What data was utilized to inform this
grouping? How were students grouped, tiered, or leveled? How did gifted and advanced learners
benefit from this grouping? For this assignment, students were grouped in groups of 4 by their
Lexile ranges. I chose those groupings because students would be able to work at their reading
and vocabulary levels and understand the content. Students below grade received I CAN 1,
students on grade level received I CAN 2, and the above level students received I CAN 3. These
groupings benefited the Advanced learners because they were able to work at their own pace with
likeminded peers. Usually we would do this type of lesson as a whole and they become very
frustrated at how long the lessons takes because of the other students not understanding it.

5c. How did you implement the strategy? Provide a bulleted list of steps anyone teaching this lesson
could follow.
 (Rev. SY21)

 Give each group of students a I CAN level of different complexity based on their level of
readiness. Each strip had a varying amount of the next science unit standard based on
their reading level.
 Students were asked to write an important concept from the science standard in the
middle of the graphic organizer.
 They then had to write a definition to go with the concept, a picture of what the concept
looks like then give an example and non-example of the concept.
 They present their graphic organizer with the class.
 The level 1 students completed the whole assignment with the teacher with a shorter
strip of reading. The level 2 students worked together but had to sit and review their
graphic organizer at the halfway point and end of the assignment.

5d. What makes this strategy, lesson, or task rigorous? What makes it appropriate for your gifted
and advanced learners? What makes this task rigorous is the high achieving students had to identify
the concepts and skills in their I CAN statements with little intervention by me. It also allowed the
students to work at their own pace and to dive deeper into the concepts and learning expectations.
The students also had to work out leadership issues as they are usually the ones who take charge of
every group. When they worked together they had to identify ways to share their thinking to make
sure every person was able to participate and share.

5e. If implemented whole group, how did you differentiate use of this strategy for more advanced
learners? If implemented small group or with an individual student, how would you differentiate for
more advanced learners in the future? The gifted and high achiever assignment was differentiated
in many ways. First the student was given the full standard to decipher through. These student
concepts were not bolded like level 1 and 2 these students had to discuss what they thought the
important concepts of the standards were and pick them out. After that the students were able to
fill out their graphic organizer alone without teacher help.
5f. Explain how you adapted this task for remote and F2F learners. If you have only remote or F2F
learners in your class, state that here. I am a BYOD classroom and allow my students to use their
devices to complete work during the school day. For this lesson I was able to have on member of
each group open their device, log-in to the session in CTLS, and open breakout room. Virtual
students joined the specific breakout room and I was still able to monitor the discussion without
having to leave groups alone. Only one device was utilized by the F2F students for each group, so I
was able to monitor the discussion very easily. When groups presented Virtual students were
projected on the screen in class so their classmates could see them and the camera was turned to
the class the virtual student could see the class.
5g. How was the effectiveness of the strategy assessed? (A rubric, checklist, or rating scale should be
used for assessment.) Attach the assessment as a supporting document. Organize data concerning
the effectiveness of the strategy (from the rubric, checklist, etc.) into a table or graph. The
significance of the data should be explained.

The effectiveness of this strategy will be evaluated based on a check list.

 (Rev. SY21)

79% of my students scored 80% or above on the rubric used to assess the effectiveness of this strategy;
16% scored between 70% and 79%; 04% scored below 70%.

Students
80-100% 70-79% 50-69% Less than 50%

6. Reflection: Evaluate the strategy/lesson/task. How was it successful? What challenges or obstacles did
you or your students encounter? What might you do differently the next time you implement it?
Support your response with specific evidence. I think this strategy went very well. It went exactly how
I wanted it to go. There were no challenges the gifted students were able to work on the task at hand
with little to no help. They had very good discussion when it came to picking out the important
concepts and coming up with the example and what it would look like. I was able to really sit down
with my below level students and break down the important concepts of the next unit then they came
up with the information in their four square map. They came away with a lot. I will definitely do this
strategy again with my students. The next time I complete this strategy I will bold all the word but one
for the level 2. I think having them find the important concept and argue why it is important will be
very valuable to them.
7.
7. Attached materials (Highlight all you have uploaded.)
 Pre-Assessment (optional)
 Strategy organizer/directions (given to students)
 Additional resources to clarify assignment (optional)
 Rubric, checklist, or rating scale used to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy
 Student samples (two or more)

Implementing the Strategies Rubric

Strategy from Advancing Differentiation or from CCSD Advanced Learning Strategies

Meets Progressing Does not Meet
Implementation 5 pts. 3 pts. 1 pt.
Clearly describes all Describes elements of Does not describe one or
elements of implementation and more elements of
implementation with includes step by step implementation or does
differentiation. Includes directions. not provide step by step
step by step directions. directions.
(Rev. SY21)
Rigor 8 pts.
Requires the student to:
think critically; make
meaning for themselves;
organize the information;
form a process from
individual skills; and apply
what they have learned in
new and novel situations.
Adaptation 4 pts.
Adapts and implements
original
strategy/lesson/task and
appropriately cites
resources utilized during
development.
Effectiveness 4 pts.
Provides clear and
specific evidence to
support evaluation of the
effectiveness of
implementation.
Evidence 4 pts.
Includes all required
elements, including
directions provided to
student/s; rubric,
checklist, or rating scale;
data on effectiveness of
strategy, and two or
more work samples.
5 pts.
Requires the student to
do at least three of the
following: think critically;
make meaning for
themselves; organize the
information; form a
process from individual
skills; and apply what
they have learned in new
and novel situations.
3 pts.
Adapts and implements
original
strategy/lesson/task and
partially cites resources
utilized during
development.
3 pts.
Provides evidence to
support evaluation of the
effectiveness of
implementation.
2 pts.
Requires students to do
two or fewer of the
following: think critically;
make meaning for
themselves; organize the
information; form a
process from individual
skills; and apply what
they have learned in new
and novel situations.
1 pt.
Adapts and implements
original
strategy/lesson/task but
not appropriate for
gifted/high-achieving
students. OR
Does not cite resources
utilized during
development.
1 pt.
Does not provide
evidence to support
evaluation of the
effectiveness of
implementation.
0 pt.
Does not include all
required elements,
including directions
provided to student/s;
rubric, checklist, or rating
scale; data on
effectiveness of strategy,
and two work samples.