QUESTION for

with a question 4 strategy for a unit every month of the school year. But this article outlines four steps that your team can take immediately, in your next unit, to address question 4.

ere are a few key considerations to keep in mind as you begin this work. Please understand that the work we are advocating is not tracking. Qualifying for question 4 work isn’t based on the “gifted” education list that comes from the district o ce. Rather, we base quali cation on what students demonstrate in the classroom and on materials per unit. e following table helps di erentiate the two types of practice. When the unit is complete, a new cycle of determining who already knows the material will emerge with the next unit.

Also, it is important to note that much of this work is grounded in personalized learning. Personalized learning is a way to give students voice and choice as they learn the agreedon standards and objectives for a unit of study. When students have choice and are coached to try new, hard, creative, and challenging tasks, everyone wins.

We contend that the personalized learning approach that is best for all students is short-cycle cluster grouping (Hattie, 2008). ese short-cycle cluster groups are based on what students know on a common preassessment and last for individual units of instruction. In some classrooms, students engaging in question 4 activities can look like a standards-based genius hour or a schoolwide enrichment session.

So, what can your team do right away during this school year to begin this work? While there is a great deal of information teams can use and routes a team can take, we have outlined four steps you can follow with your next unit to support question 4 students on a regular basis.

Criteria vary state by state, district by district.

Criteria are based on national norms.

Student is labeled as gifted for the long term.

Criteria are the same for all classrooms in each grade level.

Criteria are based on norms determined at the grade and classroom levels.

Student is considered a question 4 student for the short term based on a common assessment.

Student is labeled as gifted in all subjects.

Student gets extended learning opportunities in fragmented time frames.

Student is considered a question 4 student skill by skill, subject by subject.

Student gets extended learning opportunities when necessary.