The UPDATE

WINTER, 2014

The Revised CEC/NAGC Initial Teacher Preparation Standards by Susan K. Johnsen

In this article, Dr. Susan Johnsen addresses possible questions about the revised Council for Exceptional Children/National Association for Gifted Children (CEC/NAGC) initial teacher preparation standards in gifted education. On December 18th, 2013, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) approved the revised Council for Exceptional Children/National Association for Gifted Children (CEC/NAGC) initial teacher preparation standards in gifted education. The standards will be released publically via the CAEP website this year. These revised standards provide the knowledge and skills needed by educators who teach gifted and talented students and will be used by teacher preparation programs who are seeking national recognition. We hope the following set of answers will address your questions regarding these revised standards. Why were the CEC-NAGC Teacher Knowledge and Skill Standards for Gifted and Talented Education revised? The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Educations (NCATE) Specialty Areas Studies Board (SASB) recommended that each Specialty Professional Association (SPA) reduce their standards to seven and their knowledge and skill statements to 28 elements. The SASB Task Force argued that the revision was necessary because standards across SPAs were not parallel, required too many knowledge and skills, were not consistently grounded in research, and could not be sufficiently sampled by the six required program report assessments. Moreover, in April 2011, the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC), a program of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), released the Model Core Teaching Standards that articulated a common knowledge and skill set that cut across all subject

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areas and grade levels. Since the 2006 CEC/NAGC standards were on a seven-year cycle and needed to be revised by 2013, the revision work group used the SASB recommendations and the 2011 InTASC standards to inform their revision. What was the process used for revising the standards? During the realignment process, a wide range of stakeholders and experts were consulted during numerous meetings and conference calls over a two-year period. Each meeting offered the opportunity to provide input, typically asking participants to comment on the most recent draft of the standards or to add to a list of research support for each standards area. The timeline and description of activities are outlined below: 2010-2012 CEC revision of CEC initial teacher preparation standards. In 2010, the CEC reduced its 10 standards to seven to address the SASB guidelines and the InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards. During 2011-2012, CECs Knowledge and Skills Subcommittee (KSS) and CECs Professional Standards and Practice Committee (CEC PSPC) realigned the CEC knowledge and skill statements within the seven standards, reducing them to 28. No substantive changes were made to the content. These standards were approved by the CEC Board and by CAEP in 2012. 2011 CEC-TAG and NAGC Work Group Process. Since the CEC standards form the basis for the CEC-NAGC initial teacher preparation standards, a work group comprised of CEC-TAG Board members and the NAGC Professional Standards Committee (NAGC PSC) used a parallel realignment process. The process included these steps: 1. Place specialty set elements into the seven standards that incorporate CEC Initial Level Special Educator Preparation Standards. 2. Eliminate elements that are redundant with other elements and combine closely related elements. 3. Ensure that each element relates to what a teacher does, rather than what a student does. 4. Keep elements general but convey the element clearly. 5. Elements should not include specific methods or strategies. 6. Avoid qualifiers, such as appropriate or effective when not important to a given element. 7. Remove long and partial lists unless there are only a few inclusive items. 8. Remove parenthetical information. 9. Remove examples when the meaning of the element is clear without them. 10. Use terminology consistently. 11. Update the elements using current professional literature. 12. Write narratives that incorporate the elements and explanatory content.

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2012 Review of the revised standards. The narrative, standards text, and elements of the CEC-NAGC Teacher Preparation Standards in Gifted and Talented Education were sent to stakeholders for their review to ensure that the 2006 knowledge and skills were represented in the newly aligned standards. Comments from surveys were integrated into standards and narrative paragraphs. NAGC-PSC and CEC-TAG members then reviewed the literature independently to ensure that it had been updated and was complete. 2013 Public comments and further revisions. NAGC and NCATE posted the realigned initial teacher preparation standards for public comment. The work group received 34 additional public comments submitted for the realigned standards. Work group members reviewed these independently and suggested any final changes along with any other research updates. 2013 Approval by CEC and NAGC. The realigned 2013 CEC-NAGC initial Teacher Preparation Standards in Gifted and Talented Education were approved by the NAGC PSC in February and by CECs KSS and PSPC in May. The final standards and updated research base were included in the August 2013 submission to CAEP. 2013 Approval by CAEP. The realigned standards are presented to the CAEP Board and approved in December. How are these standards different from the 2006 standards? During this realignment process, the number of gifted education standards was reduced from 10 to 7 and the elements were reduced from 77 to 28. The reduction in standards and elements did not eliminate any of the substantive knowledge and skills that are relevant to effective practice in gifted education. The process did remove redundancies, combined similar standards, and clarified the meanings of each element as it related to the field of gifted education. The seven standards include Standard 1. Learner Development and Individual Learning Differences (formerly Standards 2 and 3), Standard 2. Learning Environments formerly (Standards 5 and 6), Standard 3. Curricular Content Knowledge (formerly Standard 7), Standard 4. Assessment (formerly Standard 8), Standard 5. Instructional Planning and Strategies (formerly Standards 4 and 7), Standard 6. Professional Learning and Ethical Practice (formerly Standards 1 and 9), and Standard 7. Collaboration (formerly Standard 10). The table below shows the realignment of the elements to the 2006 knowledge and skill elements (e.g., GT1K1 = Standard 1, Knowledge Element #1; GT4S2 = Standard 4, Skill Element #2). Comparison of 2013 CEC-NAGC Teacher Preparation Standards and Elements in Gifted and Talented Education to 2006 CEC-NAGC Standards 2006 NAGC-CEC Teacher Preparation Standards in Gifted and Talented Education Standard 1: Foundations 2013 NAGC-CEC Teacher Preparation Standards in Gifted and Talented Education Standard 6. Professional Learning and Ethical Practice (primarily) Element 6.2

GT1K1: Historical foundations

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! Continued from page 3 GT1K2: Key philosophy/research GT1K3: Laws and policies GT1K4: Conceptions/identification GT1K5: Impact of dominant culture GT1K6: Factors that enhance/inhibit GT1K7: Key issues and trends Standard 2: Development and Characteristics of Learners GT2K1: Cognitive/affective GT2K2: Culture/environmental effects GT2K3: Role of families GT2K4: Advanced milestones GT2K5: Differences with general Standard 3. Individual Learning Differences Element 6.2 Standard 6 Standard 4, Element 4.3 Element 1.1 Elements 3.2, 5.1, 5.5. Element 6.2

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Standard 1. Learning Development and Individual Learning Differences (primarily) Standard 1 Element 1.1 Element 1.1* Standard 1, Element 1.2 Element 1.2 Standard 1. Learning Development and Individual Learning Differences (primarily) Element 1.1 Standard 1 Standard 1, Element 1.2 Element 1.1*

GT3K1: Influences of diversity GT3K2: Academic/affective GT3K3: Idiosyncratic learning patterns GT3K4: Beliefs, traditions, values influences on relationships GT3S1: Integrate perspectives in planning instruction Standard 4: Instructional Strategies

Standard 1, Element 1.1

Standard 5. Instructional Planning and Strategies (primarily) Element 5.1 Standard 5, Element 5.1

GT4K1: Resources/differentiation GT4K2: Effective strategies

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Continued from page 4 GT4S1: Pedagogical content knowledge GT4S2: Apply HLT/metacognitive models to content areas GT4S3: Explore, develop, and research areas of interest GT4S4: Preassess learning in domains and adjust using assessment GT4S5: Pace curriculum and instruction consistent with needs GT4S6: Challenging, multicultural curriculum GT4S7: Assistive technologies Standard 5: Learning Environments/Social Interactions GT5K1: Stereotypes/discrimination GT5K2: Social/emotional development influences on relationships GT5S1: Opportunities that promote selfawareness/peer relations/intercultural/leadership GT5S2: Environments that promote selfawareness, self-efficacy, leadership, learning GT5S3: Safe environments for independence/ inter-dependence/positive relationships GT5S4: Intercultural experiences GT5S5: Social interaction/coping skills to address personal/social issues, including discrimination Elements 5.1, 5.3, 5.5 Element 5.1

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Elements 5.1, 5.4

Element 3.3. Standard 4, Elements 4.3, 4.4 Element 5.1

Element 5.4 Element 5.2* Standard 2. Learning Environments (primarily)

Standard 2* Standard 2*

Element 2.2

Element 2.2, Element 4.4

Standard 2

Standard 2 Element 2.1

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! Continued from page 5 Standard 6: Language and Communication GT6K1: Forms and methods GT6K2: Impact of diversity GT6K3: Implications of culture, behavior, language GT6S1: Resources/strategies to enhance advanced communication GT6S2: Advanced oral/written tools, including assistive technologies Standard 7: Instructional Planning

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Standard 2. Learning Environments (primarily) Element 2.3 Element 2.3, Element 1.1 Standard 2, Element 2.3

Element 2.3

Element 5.2

Standard 5. Instructional Planning and Strategies* and Standard 3. Curricular Content Knowledge (primarily)* Standard 3, Element 3.1

GT7K1: Theories/research models that form basis of C&I GT7K2: Differences between differentiated and general curriculum GT7K3: Curriculum emphases within domains GT7S1: Instructional plans aligned to standards GT7S2: Design learning plans GT7S3: Scope and sequence GT7S4: Resources/strategies/product options that respond to differences GT7S5: Advanced, conceptually challenging, indepth, distinctive, complex curricula GT7S6: Academic/career guidance Standard 8: Assessment GT8K1: Identification GT8K2: Multiple assessments in different domains for identifying

Standard 3, Element 3.3

Standard 3, Element 3.1 Standard 3 Standard 3 Element 3.1 Standard 5, Elements 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5

Elements 3.2, 3.4

Element 5.4 Standard 4. Assessment (primarily)* Standard 4, Element 4.3 Element 4.3

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Continued from page 6 GT8K3: Uses and limitations of assessments for documenting growth GT8S1: Non-biased and equitable GT8S2: Technically adequate for identification/placement GT8S3: Differentiated curriculum-based for use in instruction GT8S4: Alternative assessments and technologies to evaluate learning Standard 9: Professional and Ethical Practice Elements 4.1, 4.3

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Elements 4.1, 4.3 Elements 4.1, 4.3

Elements 4.4, 4.5

Element 4.3*

Standard 6. Professional Learning and Ethical Practice (primarily)* Element 6.2

GT9K1: Personal/cultural frames of reference, including bias GT9K2: Relevant organizations and publications GT9S1: Personal skills and limitations GT9S2: Confidential communication GT9S3: Encourage/model respect GT9S4: Laws, policies, standards

Standard 6, Element 6.1 Element 6.4

Element 6.3 Standard 6, Elements 6.1, 6.2

GT9S5: Continuous research-supported professional development GT9S6: Professional organizations GT9S7: Reflect on personal practice Standard 10: Collaboration GT10K1: Culturally responsive GT10S1: Concerns of families GT10S2: Stakeholders outside school setting

Element 6.4

Standard 6*, Element 6.1* Element 6.4 Standard 7. Collaboration (primarily) Standard 7 Standard 7 Elements 7.1, 7.3

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! Continued from page 7 GT10S3: Advocate for benefit GT10S4: Families, general & special educators, school staff in comprehensive program GT10S5: Families, community, & professionals in assessment GT10S6: School personnel about characteristics Element 6.5 Standard 7, Elements 7.1, 7.3 Elements 7.1, 7.3

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Elements 7.2

As can be seen by the Table, the standards and elements were carefully aligned to the 2006 so that no substantive changes were made to the content. We hope that this Table will be helpful to those universities, schools, and agencies that are currently using the standards. When must the standards by used by institutions seeking national accreditation? For those individuals who are seeking national recognition, programs may use either set of standards through spring, 2015 but must begin using the new standards. NOTE: Please see the TAG website for a copy of the initial CEC - NAGC Teacher Preparation Standards in Gifted and Talented Education.

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From the President...!

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Dear Members of The Association for the Gifted, The Association for the Gifted (TAG) has had a very good year, and I am looking forward to working with TAG members to ensure that 2014 with be a productive time as well. Let me begin with very good news. The Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act has been a part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act for more than two decades; however, the funding was eliminated from the budget in 2011. The wonderful news is that the Omnibus Budget bill that just passed the House and Senate includes $5 million for the Javits program. It is remarkable at this time that the Javits program has had funding restored, and this funding is the direct result of the staff at CEC and NAGC collaborating on legislative advocacy and to gifted advocates who stay in touch with members of Congress and build meaningful advocacy relationships. A special thank you goes to Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, who is chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee! In 2014, TAG will continue initiatives from 2013 and launch new ones. We will add TAG Talks to the members-only section of the TAG website. I hope you have listened to the TAG Talks that are posted. Please feel free to suggest additional topics you would like to hear about on a TAG Talk. Also share ideas for the TAG website. Remember, TAG is an outstanding organization because of you who are members. The annual TAG Symposium will be held on April 9 in Philadelphia prior to the official start of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Convention. The subject for the symposium is the Common Core Standards and Gifted Education. What a current focus that is! Please help spread the word about this wonderful professional development opportunity. The publications of TAG include Journal for the Education of the Gifted (JEG) and TAG Update. JEG provides articles of great interest in the field of gifted education. TAG Update, the newsletter, keeps member current on what is happening in our organization. A new publication will be launched in 2014 an online journal called Excellence and Diversity in Gifted Education (EDGE). Check out the TAG website for information on submitting articles to JEG and EDGE. CEC is planning to offer tiered membership categories, beginning this summer. Members of the TAG board are supportive of this change and think it will boost membership in our division of CEC. Of course, the best way to get new members is to have you ask a colleague or friend to join. Please share the benefits of membership with parents and educators. Lets work and plan together to make 2014 the best year yet for TAG. Sincerely, Julia Link Roberts TAG President

Western Kentucky University

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From the Editor...!

Dear TAG Members, This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Dr. James J. Gallagher. Please see page 12 for a tribute to him written by current CEC! TAG President Julia Roberts. Best regards,
Kimberley L. Chandler

TAG Newsletter Editor

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News from the Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent Special Interest Group (ROGCT) of AERA

American Educational Research Association Conference Submitted by Dr. Hope E. Wilson, University of North Florida The Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent Special Interest Group (ROGCT) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) would like to invite you to attend the 2014 Conference to be held in Philadelphia, PA from April 3-7, 2014. The ROGCT will be sponsoring a variety of paper sessions and symposia highlighting the current research around giftedness and education, including a special session featuring Dr. Joseph Renzulli and Dr. Walter Barbe reflecting on the history and evolution of gifted education. Please contact the chair of ROGCT SIG, Dr. Betsy McCoach, [email protected], for additional information about the conference. To join the ROGCT SIG and become a member of AERA follow the following links: AERA Website: www.aera.net ROGCT Website: http://www.aera.net/SIG091/ResearchonGiftedness,Creativity,andTalent/tabid/15193/Default.aspx

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Outstanding CEC Leadership Award 2014 Recipient Dr. Susan K. Johnsen Baylor University

The Outstanding CEC Leadership Award honors a CEC member who has made significant contributions to the Councils programs and activities at the local, state/provincial and national/international level over an extended period of time.

Dr. Johnsens list of activities, accomplishments, and publications with CEC and CEC-TAG is lengthy. As one nominator stated: Susan has given of her time, talent, and energy to further the work to make a difference in the lives of gifted individuals. Thank you and congratulations to Dr. Johnsen! We are proud of your advocacy on behalf of gifted children and their teachers!

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In Memory of James J. Gallagher (1926-2014)

Dr. James J. Gallagher (1926 -2014), an eminent scholar and outstanding leader, will be remembered for his many contributions to the fields of gifted education and special education. Dr. Gallagher served as president of The Association for the Gifted (TAG), assuming the presidency in 1970. From 1967-1970, he was the U.S. Associate Commissioner for Education and was the first Chief of the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped in the U.S. Office of Education. Subsequently, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Research, and Evaluation for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW). 1970 was a pivotal year in the history of gifted education; the first year gifted students were included in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a catalyst that initiated the National/State Leadership Training Institute and the Marland Report. Jim Gallagher saved this effort when he refused to follow direct instruction to testify against inclusion of gifted education language before Congress. Dr. Gallagher was president of the Council for Exceptional Children, the National Association for Gifted Children, and the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children. He continued to make professional contributions, completing the 14th edition of Educating Exceptional Children at the office on the day that he passed away. What a role model, mentor, friend, and colleague Jim Gallagher was to so many!

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Common Core State Standards and Gifted Education

What does the Common Core mean for gifted students?
Join experts in the field of gifted education to learn more about the Common Core State Standards. Practical examples will be provided to illustrate how the CCSS can be differentiated to meet the learning needs of gifted students.

April 9, 2014 8:30 am 3:00 pm Philadelphia Convention Center Philadelphia, PA

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! THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE GIFTED INVITES YOU TO TAGS ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM Common Core State Standards and Gifted Education Wednesday, April 9, 2014, 8:30 am 3:00 pm

WINTER, 2014

Come be a part of this exciting symposium focused on the Common Core State Standards and gifted education. You will have a wonderful opportunity to engage in learning with leaders in the field of gifted education regarding practical applications of the CCSS to meet the unique learning needs of gifted students. For more information about registration, visit www.cectag.org or Dr. Jennifer Jolly at [email protected] -------------------------------------------------The Association for the Gifteds (CEC-TAG) Annual Symposium Common Core Standards and Gifted Education Wednesday, April 9, 2014 $75.00 per person

COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN CONVENTION Philadelphia Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA

Name: __________________________________________________________________________ Affiliation: _______________________________________________________________________ Position: _______________________________________________________________________ Mailing Address: _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Email Address: ___________________________________________________________________ Number of people attending: ______ Amount Enclosed: _________

Form of payment: _____ Enclosed Check (Payable to CEC-TAG) _____ Purchase Order Please mail this registration form and check to: CEC-TAG Attn: Lynette Breedlove 422 Muirwood Ln.! Sugar Land, TX 77498 To register online and pay with a credit card, visit http://www.cectag.org

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