Date Awarded

2009

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Department

Education

Advisor

Joyce VanTassel-Baska

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which the Norfolk Public Schools, Virginia, district elementary gifted grouping model was aligned with the National Association for Gifted Children Standards and its Local Plan for the Education of Gifted Students in regards to curriculum and instruction, as well as to provide data on classroom instruction techniques and the curriculum currently being used to provide gifted education services in the district.;The evaluation questions were (1) to what degree has the eighth recommendation of the 2005-06 evaluation study been implemented in the Norfolk Public Schools (NPS) district in regards to curriculum and instructional practices? (2) Are there differences between gifted resource teachers and cluster teachers in the use of differentiated instructional practices? (3) to what extent does the Local Educational Plan for the Education of the Gifted (LEA) for Norfolk Public Schools align with the Curriculum and Instructional NAGC standards?;Data were collected from gifted resource teachers and gifted cluster teachers via surveys and focus group interviews as well as an interview with the Director of the office of Gifted Education. Teachers also self-reported their use of differentiated strategies and their effective use on the COS-R scale.;Results indicated that differentiated is not being consistently used with gifted students and that the NPS LEA is not aligned with the NAGC Curriculum and Instruction standards. Teachers are more likely to use differentiated curriculum and instruction in reading and math than science, social studies or writing. Stakeholders report limited response to gifted students needs in classrooms. Cluster and resource teachers report the use of differentiated strategies as "somewhat effective." Cluster teachers report significantly more effective use of curriculum, planning, and delivery than resource teachers.;Implications for practice include: revision of the NPS Gifted Cluster model in regards to curriculum and instruction; monitor the progress of the revisions of differentiation practices; provide more support in order to effectively meet the needs of gifted students in classrooms; increase professional development focused on differentiated instruction and curriculum on gifted students' learning.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25774/w4-m7vt-qp11

Rights

© The Author

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