This document outlines a presentation on motivation and advocacy for gifted children. It discusses promoting achievement among gifted students through identification, addressing factors affecting achievement, and potential interventions. It also covers the importance of parent advocacy, including meeting with teachers and starting parent groups. The presentation provides information on understanding and supporting underachieving gifted students by addressing issues like self-efficacy, goal valuation, environmental perceptions, and developing self-regulation strategies. Research on effective interventions is presented, such as a study that found implementing individualized strategies led to improved academic achievement.

1. Motivation and Advocacy
for the Gifted Child
Lisa DaVia Rubenstein, Ph.D.
Ball State University
April 6, 2013

2. Agenda
• Promoting Achievement Among Gifted Students
• Definition/Identification
• Factors Affecting Achievement
• Potential Interventions
• Parent Advocacy
• Importance
• Meeting with Teachers
• Starting Parent Groups
• Discussion and/or Questions

3. Promoting Achievement in
Gifted Students

4. "It is not impossibilities
which fill us with the deepest
despair, but possibilities
which we have failed to
realize."
— Robert Mallet

5. Importance
• McCall, Evahn, & Kratzer
(1992): School Achievement
Matters
• Peterson & Colangelo (1996):
Persistent Patterns

6. Problems?
• 18-25% of high school
dropouts are in the gifted
range (Solorzano 1983;
Renzulli & Park, 2000)
• Underachievement becomes a
pattern - only 26% of high
school underachievers are able
to reverse the pattern in
college (Peterson, 2000)

7. Identification

8. Most Popular Definition (Reis & McCoach, 2000)
“Underachievers are students who exhibit a severe
discrepancy between expected achievement (as
measured by standardized achievement test scores or
cognitive or intellectual ability assessments) and actual
achievement (as measured by class grades and teacher
evaluations). To be classified as an underachiever, the
discrepancy between expected and actual achievement
must not be the direct result of a diagnosed learning
disability and must persist over an extended period
of time. Gifted underachievers are underachievers who
exhibit superior scores on measures of expected
achievement (i.e., standardized achievement test scores or
cognitive or intellectual ability assessments).” (p. 157).

9. Are we all
underachievers in
some areas?

10. Identification
Problems
• Duration
• Degree
• Different for gifted students and regular students
• Standardized test scores/ IQ test scores
• Twice exceptionality
• Selectivity

11. 2006 Study Findings
5.00
3.75
Implementation
2.50 No Implementation
1.25
0
PreGrade PostGrade

13. Understanding the Underachieving
Student

14. Characteristics
• Antidotal reports from counselors
• Qualitative studies
• Quantitative studies

15. Possible
Characteristics of
Gifted Underachievers
May be dependent
May develop coping
mechanisms which
successfully reduce short term
stress, but which inhibit long
term success.
May be socially immature
May be antisocial or rebellious
..........

16. Characteristics of
Gifted Underachievers
The most common
characteristic is low self-
esteem.
Sometimes these students
don’t believe they are
capable of accomplishing
what their families and
teachers expect.

17. But wait...a challenge?
• McCoach & Siegle: academic
self-perceptions was equal
between the 2 groups
• Difference between qualitative
and quantitative
• Largest predictors: Motivation
and task valuation

18. A model of motivation:
Achievement
Orientation Model

19. Possess the
Adequate
Skills
From Del Siegle and Betsy McCoach

20. Possess the
Adequate
Skills
Confidence in Ability
to Perform Task
Self Efficacy
From Del Siegle and Betsy McCoach

21. Flexible
OR
Stable/Fixed

22. Types of Praise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTXrV0_3UjY

23. Perfectionism

24. How to Build Self-
Efficacy
• Compliment of skills they develop
• Practice lack-of-effort explanations for poor
performance
• Avoid the appearance of unsolicited help
• Recognize progress during a lesson
• Help students to set goals, document their growth
• Peer models and self-model

25. Think about
something at
which you are
successful.

30. A Balancing Act
Interest
Ability Effort

31. Possess the
Adequate
Skills Motivation
Confidence in Ability Value the Task
to Perform Task Meaningfulness/Goal
Self Efficacy Valuation
From Del Siegle and Betsy McCoach

32. Daniel Pink
Autonomy

34. From Get Off My Brain, by Randy McCutcheon, illustrated by Pete Wagner

36. Whenever there is a problem to solve…that
is good for me…. I get really interested in
current events and ethics and morality…
I remember when I first connected something from science
and literature and psychology. It was so exciting!...I was
seeing something, how things were working in the world,
and I wasn’t just looking for a test.
...where if you are playing a team that’s worse
than you, you kind of stoop down to their
level...that’s how I felt in a lot of my
classes...because the ones that didn’t challenge
me were the ones I didn’t try at all in.

37. I've ended up getting lower grades than my
classmates many times because I didn't feel
like the course was challenging enough to
try in. Then, when a test did come, there
were times I was unprepared because I've
always had a hard time believing I needed to
study for a test. That shaped my work ethic,
even in college to believing that I can get
through any class without external studying
or preparation.

38. Goal Valuation
Intrinsic Value
• Interest enhancing activities (games, challenges,
anecdotes)
• Choices
• Pre-assessment and matched challenges (AP)
• Immediate feedback
• Enthusiasm and equal treatment of students
Attainment Value
• Authentic and significant tasks
• Personally meaningful
• Provide models who value academic achievement

39. Goal Valuation
Utility Value
• Explain purpose
• Connect to current wants or future goals
• Real world applications
• Personal stories
• Connections between prior, current, and future learning
Rewards
• Reward for reaching a specific instructional goal
Conferences
• Constructive confrontation
• Active listening
• Clarify goals
• Make plans to achieve goals

40. Expect to Succeed
Environmental Perception
Possess the
Adequate
Skills
Confidence in Ability Value the Task
to Perform Task Meaningfulness/Goal
Self Efficacy Valuation
From Del Siegle and Betsy McCoach

42. School Climate
• Lack of respect for individual child
• Negative expectations
• Strongly competitive environment
• Inflexibility, rigidity
• Exaggerated attention to errors
• Unrewarding curriculum
• Peer pressure

43. School Perception
• Identify faulty cognitions
• I must perform well all the time.
• Everyone must treat me well all the time.
• Conditions must be favorable all the time.
• Categories
• What events occur
• Attributions about why events occur
• Expectancies or predictions of what will occur
• Assumptions about the nature of the world
• Belief what should be
• Is it valid and/or reasonable to have this thought?
• Are their distortions blocking what is true? (Examples
include overgeneralizations, minimization,
catastrophizing, absolute thinking)

44. School Perception
Choice Theory
• All behavior is chosen and the only person whose
behavior we can control is our own.
• No thing, event, or person makes us to anything.
Solutions
• Set good goals that are positive, in the student’s own
words, current, specific, and in the student’s control.
• Start small, in the present and focus on how to actively
change it. Point out successes. Follow up.

45. Teachers
Expect to Succeed
Environmental Perception
Possess the
Adequate
Skills Motivation
Confidence in Ability Value the Task
to Perform Task Meaningfulness/Goal
Self Efficacy Valuation
From Del Siegle and Betsy McCoach

46. Classroom Practices
Study
Teachers reported that they
never had any training in
meeting the needs of gifted
students.
61% public school teachers
54% private school teachers
Archambault, F. X., Jr., Westberg, K. L., Brown, S. W., Hallmark, B. W., Emmons, C. L., & Zhang, W. (1993).
Regular classroom practices with gifted students: Results of a national survey of classroom teachers
(Research Monograph 93102). Storrs, CT: The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented,
University of Connecticut.

47. Classroom Practices
Observational Study
Students experienced no instructional or curricular
differentiation in 84% of the activities in which they
participated:
Reading Language Arts
Mathematics Social Studies
Science
Westberg, K. L., Archambault, F. X., Jr., Dobyns, S. M., & Salvin, T. J. (1993). An observational study of
instructional and curricular practices used with gifted and talented students in regular classroom
(Research Monograph 93104). Storrs, CT: The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented,
University of Connecticut.

48. No Differentiation
Advanced Content
Advanced Process
Advanced Product
Indep. Study w/
Assigned Topic
Indep. Study w/
Self-selected Topic
Other
Differentiation
Gifted Students Were Involved
Types of Differentiation in Which

49. Matching Effort with
Outcome
Possible Outcomes
Positive Negative
Positive
Achievers Underachievers
Possible Effort
Negative
Underachievers Underachievers

50. T
e
a
c
h
e
r
s

51. Teachers Peers
Expect to Succeed
Environmental Perception
Possess the
Adequate
Skills Motivation
Confidence in Ability Value the Task
to Perform Task Meaningfulness/Goal
Self Efficacy Valuation
From Del Siegle and Betsy McCoach

52. 66%

53. Teachers Peers
Expect to Succeed
Environmental Perception
Possess the
Adequate
Skills Motivation
Confidence in Ability Value the Task
to Perform Task Meaningfulness/Goal
Self Efficacy Valuation
Parents/Family
From Del Siegle and Betsy McCoach

54. Family Characteristics
Uncontrollable
• Poor family morale
• Family disruption
Controllable
• Parent overprotection
• Authoritarian
• Excessive permissiveness
• Inconsistencies between
parents

55. Family Issues
Affecting Academic
Underachievement
• Family dysfunction/ Power patterns
• Strained relations with family members
• Problems with siblings and sibling rivalry
• Inconsistent role models and value systems in the
family
• Minimal/Hyper paternal academic monitoring,
guidance, and expectations

56. Parental
Considerations
• DON’Ts: Do not put them in their place or foster
learned helplessness. Avoid excessive pressure or
conveying too much power. Don’t use their talent as an
excuse.
• DOs: Show them attitudes of respect, compromise,
and working together to solve a problem. Negotiate a
fair contract and stick to it. Model intrinsic and
independent learning, positive commitment to career,
and respect for school and teachers.

57. Teachers Peers
Expect to Succeed
Environmental Perception Realistic
Possess the Expectations
and
Adequate Appropriate
Skills Motivation Strategies
(Self Regulation)
Confidence in Ability Value the Task
to Perform Task Meaningfulness/Goal
Self Efficacy Valuation
Parents/Family
From Del Siegle and Betsy McCoach

59. Self-Regulated Learning
Zimmerman (1989) defines self-regulated learning as involving the regulation of
three general aspects of academic learning.
1. Control of Resources
(control their time, their study environment- the place in which they study, and
their use of others such as peers and faculty members to help them)
2. Control of Motivation and Emotions
(control self-efficacy and goal orientation to adapt to the demands of school and
control emotions and affect (such as anxiety) in ways that improve learning)
3. Control of Cognitive Strategies
(decide upon processing strategies that result in better learning and increased
performance such as outlining or highlighting or creating pictures)

60. Self-Regulation
Strategies
• Setting Short and Long Term Goals
• Identifying Rewards for Work Completed and Goals Met
• Time Management/Organization Strategies
• Study and Learning Strategies (Flash cards, testing yourself, finding the right
environment, chunking study time over several days)
• Test-taking Strategies (Comparing class notes with material from the book,
meeting with friends to brainstorm questions, arranging time with teachers for
review)
• Developing an Individual Plan to Be More Successful in School
• Reflecting on What Has Occurred and Evaluating Progress

61. Achievement and
Engagement
Teachers Peers
Expect to Succeed
Environmental Perception Realistic
Possess the Expectations
and
Adequate Appropriate
Skills Motivation Strategies
(Self Regulation)
Confidence in Ability Value the Task
to Perform Task Meaningfulness/Goal
Self Efficacy Valuation
Parents/Family
From Del Siegle and Betsy McCoach

62. Don’t mistake activity
for achievement.
John Wooden

63. Achievement and
Engagement
Teachers Peers
Expect to Succeed
Environmental Perception Realistic
Possess the Expectations
and
Adequate Appropriate
Skills Motivation Strategies
(Self Regulation)
Confidence in Ability Value the Task
to Perform Task Meaningfulness/Goal
Self Efficacy Valuation
Parents/Family
From Del Siegle and Betsy McCoach

64. Researched
Interventions

65. Students’ Perceptions
(Linda J. Emerick’s Study)
• Out of School Interests
• Parents
• The Class
• Goals
• Teacher
• Self

66. Interventions
• Whitmore (1980)
• Supplee (1990)
• Baum, Renzulli, & Hébert (1995)
• Siegle, Reis, & McCoach (2006)
• Rubenstein (2011)

67. U
A Study to Increase
Academic Achievement
for
nderachieving
GIFTED STUDENTS
from The National Research Center on the Gifted and
Talented
Principal Investigators: Del Siegle and Sally M. Reis
Study Development Team: Del Siegle, Sally M. Reis, and D. Betsy McCoach
Intervention Development Team: Del Siegle, Sally M. Reis, Meredith Greene, D. Betsy McCoach, and
Ric Schreiber
Field Test Team: D. Betsy McCoach and Del Siegle
Study Implementation Team: Del Siegle, Sally M. Reis, Becky Mann, and Scott Davie

68. Basic Assumption:
Students Underachieve for a Variety of Reasons
They based their interventions on five different types
of underachievers:
Those who…
… believe the environment is at fault
(environmental perception)
… don’t value the goals of school (goal valuation)
… don’t believe they have the ability to do well
(self-efficacy)
… are not challenged by the curriculum
(curriculum-compacting and Type IIIs)
… lack organization and study skills (self-
regulation)

69. Monitor
Student’s
Academic
l Achievement (n=24)
nt ro
Co
Goal Valuation (n=22)
Self-Efficacy (n=27)
School Percept (n=8)
Treatment Curriculum
Compacting and Type
IIIs (n=21)
Self-Regulation (n=36)

70. 2006 Study Findings
5.00
3.75
Implementation
2.50 No Implementation
1.25
0
PreGrade PostGrade

71. 2006 Study Findings

72. 2006 Study Findings

73. Implementation of
Strategies
Resource for all strategies: www.gifted.uconn.edu/
NRCGT.html
• Click on Underachievement Study.
• Each strategy has its own module.
• There are also lesson plans, worksheets, and videos.

74. Project ATLAS

75. 20%
50%

76. Student understands
standards.
Content
Process
Product
Project
ATLAS Student proposes
assignment...for engagement.

77. Findings
• Students’
home
lives
have
a
large
effect
on
students’
school
lives.
• A
caring
individual
who
takes
an
interest
in
a
student’s
life
can
make
a
difference
for
that
student.
Signing
the
permission
form
may
have
affected
the
students’
performance.
• Underachievement
interventions
must
be
student
speci=ic,
and
Project
ATLAS
may
be
effective
for
some
students.
• In
Mrs.
Hemmingway’s
class,
students
rarely
had
an
opportunity
for
active
engagement,
and
when
they
did,
the
underachieving
males
in
the
study,
both
Jason
and
Daniel
found
it
challenging
to
use
that
time
appropriately.

78. Call for Action

79. Call for Action
Mentorships
Community Partnerships
Autonomy
Action Counseling
Quality Curriculum
Research Technology
Social Justice
Acceleration
Try something...

80. Parent Advocacy

81. Strange Position
W anting the Best
Arrogance/Bra%ing
Learning Opportunity
Questioning the
Seeing the Importance
Necessity
Hating Con"ontation Needing Change
Understanding your
Teachers are experts.
Child

82. Strange Position
W anting the Best
Arrogance/Bra%ing
Learning Opportunity
Questioning the
Seeing the Importance
Necessity
Hating Con"ontation Needing Change
Understanding your
Teachers are experts.
Child
Are you able to relate to this tension?

83. “Parental persistence was the
key factor in success in working
with schools.”
(Gogul, McCumsey, & Hewitt, 1985)

84. Overarching Steps for Local
Advocacy
• Talk to your child. What are their feelings or
needs?
• Talk to the teacher. (PRIVATELY)
• Move up the ladder. (Hopefully...this is
unnecessary.)

85. Preparing for the Meeting:
Talk to your Child
• What is your (math) class like?
• What are you learning? The goal is not for the child to
criticize the teacher but rather to
• Do you ever need help? reflect upon his/her learning.
• What are your most interesting questions?
• Describe your favorite class.
• What would your ideal class be like?

86. Preparing for the Meeting:
Research
What does your district offer? • Enrichment: after
What are the best options for school, in school,
your child? subject specific,
enrichment clusters,
Acceleration: single interdisciplinary... (See
• Schoolwide Enrichment
subject, grade level,
college courses, early Model)
entry... (See Nation • Compacting
Deceived) • Cluster grouping
• Differentiation
• Problem-Based Learning
• Independent Study
• Mentorships

87. Preparing for the Meeting:
Record
• Record what you want to share. What do you
notice? What data do you have? Be able to give
examples. Do not oversell.
• What do you want to happen? Why? How can you
support your ideas? What is your tangible goal?
• Perhaps avoid the “gifted” conversation. You really
want your child to experience challenge and to
learn something new everyday.
• Expect the teacher to be open. Believe the best.

88. At the Meeting
• Remember: teachers may not see the same things you
do. They are also trying to meet everyone’s concerns.
• Thank them. If you can, be specific.
• Ask what the teacher sees at school & share what you
see at home. Discuss strengths and weaknesses.
• Avoid saying, “My child is bored.” Give specific
examples...my child knows this because...he really loves
this subject and I want him to continue to love it...

89. Resist the urge to be confrontational. “Parents
will accomplish more by being pleasant ‘pushy
parents’ and by allying with teachers, gifted
coordinators, and principals.”
(Davis, Rimm, & Siegle, 2012)

90. At the Meeting
• Brainstorm some ideas to engage your child.
Share your thoughts.
• Work together. At the end of the meeting,
summarize your conclusions. Create a timeline.
• Experiment. This is an iterative process.
• Evaluate. Extend option or experiment with a
new option.

91. How well did your meeting go?
• Your child was the main focus.
• Both you and the teacher listened to each other and
considered each other’s points of view.
• You negotiated for solutions that will meet your child’s
needs without disregarding the teacher’s responsibilities or
your knowledge of your child.
• You came to an understanding.
• You both agreed to work on a solution that will help your
child.
• You agreed to continue to work together and you both
made commitments and scheduled further actions.

92. If it did not go well...
• The teachers are not trained or do not have
the time/ability to meet the high ability
students’ needs.
• Programs are not offered for your child’s grade.
• The school holds other priorities.

93. If more is necessary...
• Talk to the principal, and move up the ladder.
• Karnes and Marquardt’s comprehensive court
cases on gifted education
• Gifted Children and the Law
• Gifted Children and Legal Issues in
Education
• Gifted Children and Legal Issues in
Education: An Update

94. Quality gifted education exists
in places with strong parent
groups.
Joel McIntosh

95. Starting a Parent Advocacy
Group
• Check out the following free resource: https://
www.nagc.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/
startingaparentgroup.pdf.
• In addition to other parents, look for others who may
wish to join you, like teachers, friends, principals, school
board members, content experts, or retired individuals.
• Use creative problem solving. Set an initiative.
• Advocate for a continuum of services.

96. Parent Group Ground Rules
• Establish a group culture.
• Be positive and constructive.
• Skip the competition.
• Share findings. Share resources. (Book club
discussion?)
• Focus on common ground.

97. More Resources
Websites:
http://www.iag-online.org/page17/index.html
http://www.nagc.org/welcomeparents.aspx
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/
Journals:
Parenting for High Potential

98. Thank You.
lmrubenstein@bsu.edu