H.O.T.S.(higher order thinking skills) & Strategies

A variety of approaches can be used to meet the needs of the gifted learner in the regular classroom. In developing the curriculum the teacher can consider making changes in four areas:

Compacting

...the student spends less time on regular classroom assignments and has more time to work on applications... Compacting is a strategy designed to streamline the amount of time the student spends on the regular curriculum. This strategy allows students to demonstrate what they know, to do assignments in those areas where work is needed, and then to be freed to work on other curricular areas based on their readiness and/or interest.

Independent Study

Independent study is an opportunity for students to pursue areas of personal interest or to individually investigate course topics. Components of an independent study program include:

• identifying and developing a focus,
• developing skills in creative and critical thinking,
• using problem solving and decision making strategies,
• learning research skills,
• developing time management strategies,
• keeping learning logs,
• evaluating the process and product,
• sharing the product with an intended audience.

Independent studies help the student move from being teacher-directed to student-directed. With teacher support and coaching, the student learns how to decide on a focus, how to develop a plan of action and follow it through, and how to monitor the process. Students take part in developing criteria for evaluation and begin to work with the teacher as a partner.

Tiered Assignments

Tiered assignments are designed to meet the needs of a group of learners functioning at various levels. Students work on the same content, but are asked different questions and are provided with different activities which are assigned according to ability. Some teachers involve students in the process by using choice charts. By teaching the students Bloom's taxonomy and creative thinking skills, students can design questions and activities for different levels of thinking. The teacher works with the students in deciding which questions and activities they will be responsible for completing and in setting evaluation criteria (rubrics).

TABA

The main purpose is to develop abstract thinking with this strategy. The TABA technique relys heavily on concept development. There are several steps to TABA.

1. Recalling data--brainstorming or listing specific items related to a topic of study

2. Classifying data--grouping, categorizing, and labeling the items

3. Defining cause-effect relationships--discussion centering around causes/effects leading to generalizations.

4. Evaluating generalizations for accuracy, abstractness, applicability, tentativeness, and qualification.

Creative Problem Solving

The ability to use a multiple set process to identify, research, plan, and evaluate a problem that requires a novel, yet workable solution in order to remedy or alter a problematic situation.

Kaplan Icons

   Teachers use Kaplan’s icons of depth and complexity when creating and teaching lessons. These concepts were developed by Dr. Sandra Kaplan, President of the National Association for Gifted Students and a Clinical professor of Education at USC, with the intention of meeting the needs of the gifted student. These strategies change questioning, utilize thinking and problem-solving, and organize information and planning for teachers and students alike.  The dimensions of depth/complexity allow all teachers the opportunity to define, implement, and evaluate their differentiation of instruction and to plan learning experiences that provide activities suited to the content and learners’ needs.
           
Depth refers to the concept of challenging learners by enabling them to dig deeper, venture further and more elaborately into a current area of study.  Complexity refers to the concept of broadening the learners understanding of an area of study by making relationships and associations between and across subjects and disciplines.

Depth includes a set of eight elements that help facilitate learning within a discipline at differing levels of sophistication.

•  Language of the discipline – specialized vocabulary, skills and tasks particular to people working within the discipline
•  Details – parts, attributes, factors, elements, variables
•     Patterns – repetition, predictability
•   Trends – influence, force, direction, course of action
•  Unanswered questions – discrepancies, missing parts, unclear ideas, incomplete ideas
• Rules – structure, order, hierarchy, explanation
•   Ethics – points of view, different opinions, judging
•  Big ideas – generalizations, theory, principles, overarching ideas

Complexity is the set of three elements that help facilitate learning content or subject matter by focusing on the relationship between various disciplines, analyzing how disciplines have changed overtime, and examining various issues from a variety of perspectives.

•   Overtime – relationship between past, present, future, or within a time period
•   Multiple perspectives – opposing viewpoints, differing roles and knowledge, different perspectives
•  Interdisciplinary relationships – within the discipline, between/across disciplines