Susan Dulong Langley - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Susan Dulong Langley
Routledge eBooks, Dec 15, 2022
NAGC receives similar questions from teachers and parents; however, rarely is there an opportunit... more NAGC receives similar questions from teachers and parents; however, rarely is there an opportunity to explore how the "other side" might be facing the issue. Interestingly, both groups benefit from the same information even though they look at it from different perspectives and have different roles to play in helping gifted children reach their potential. Our ongoing goal is for teachers and parents to develop a broader understanding of children's potential and thus create stimulating learning environments.
Educational Policy
Differentiation is an instructional practice teachers employ to modify their classroom content, p... more Differentiation is an instructional practice teachers employ to modify their classroom content, process, and products based on student readiness, interest, and learning profile. Many school districts recognize the benefits of differentiated instruction and thus mandate allotted classroom time for its implementation. In this article, we investigate how teachers in one such district resolved differentiation policy to practice in a high-stakes testing environment. We found, during the designated time for differentiation, teachers regularly remediated small groups but did not similarly address the academic needs of advanced students, thus not enacting the disciplinary standard for differentiation. We suggest teachers are recoupling practice and policy but misaligning it to the disciplinary definition of differentiation, which we contend has broader implications for instructional policymaking.
Qualitative Research, 2020
Though qualitative research has become more prevalent in practice over the last 30 years, there i... more Though qualitative research has become more prevalent in practice over the last 30 years, there is still considerable uncertainty among researchers regarding how to ensure inter-rater consistency when teams are tasked with coding qualitative data. In this article, we offer an explanation of a methodology that our qualitative team used to achieve systematic coding of our dataset in a way that preserved the contextual, subjective nature of the data, lent itself to the deductive and inductive creation of a layered codebook, and ensured consistent application of the codebook to varied types of data. This methodology prepared us to draw logical and substantiated conclusions during subsequent analyses; hence, the process serves as a welcome addition to the literature on consistently coding qualitative data in a manner that honors its defining characteristics.
the Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children, 2021
Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 2020
The underrepresentation of English learners (ELs) in gifted and talented programs is a societal a... more The underrepresentation of English learners (ELs) in gifted and talented programs is a societal and research problem that merits investigation. Three state departments of education and their state directors of gifted programs supported our access to 16 schools across nine districts. In these three states with gifted identification and programming mandates, ELs were proportionally represented in gifted and talented programs in the 16 schools we visited. Interview data from 225 participants revealed four themes: adopting universal screening procedures, creating alternative pathways to identification, establishing a web of communication, and using professional learning as a lever for change.
Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 2016
Gifted students’ learning gains result from complex, advanced, and meaningful content provided by... more Gifted students’ learning gains result from complex, advanced, and meaningful content provided by a knowledgeable teacher through high-quality curriculum and instruction at an appropriate pace with scaffolding and feedback. These elements exert influence that increases with dosage and within structures that facilitate student engagement in rigorous experiences, including interactions with one another. Talent development is a two-part process. First, educators and parents must provide opportunities for talent to surface, and then they must recognize the talent and provide educational opportunities that engage the emerging talent and move it to exceptional levels. Unfortunately, a variety of barriers exist that limit underserved students’ participation in this process. We discuss these barriers within a proposed model of talent development.
International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 2018
Students who exhibit giftedness alongside a learning disability (GLD) often display asynchronous ... more Students who exhibit giftedness alongside a learning disability (GLD) often display asynchronous academic development, and a combination of strengths that mask areas of struggle. Early identification and intervention may offset students experiencing low self-confidence and motivation, ineffective selfefficacy, or a loss of love for learning (Reis, McGuire, & Neu, 2000). It is essential to understand the unique patterns of strengths and weaknesses that gifted students (GTs) with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) display in order to develop interventions that leverage strengths while targeting weaknesses. In this study, we compared GLDs' performances to those of GTs and SLDs on the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Third Edition (KTEA-3). While GTs outperform GLDs and GLDs outperform the SLDs across all of the academic subtests, the analysis of the academic error scores indicate GLDs only differ from GTs for basic phonic decoding and math calculation. GLDs had fewer errors than SLDs across all error scores with the exceptions of intermediate letter-sound knowledge, basic phonic decoding, and addition. Consequently, GLDs have a unique profile of errors that indicates that their ability to decode is comparable to the SLD sample, and their error patterns in other areas suggest academic difficulties. KEYWORDS twice exceptional; gifted learning disability; higher-level processing demands; lower-level processing demands; interventions These individuals may be able to sustain apparently adequate academic functioning by using compensatory strategies, extraordinarily high effort, or support, until the learning demands or assessment procedures (e.g.,
Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 2016
An understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, and achievement profiles of students with giftedne... more An understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, and achievement profiles of students with giftedness and learning disabilities (G&LD) is needed to address their asynchronous development. This study examines the subtests and error factors in the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement–Third Edition (KTEA-3) for strength and weakness patterns of students with G&LD in higher and lower level thinking skills by comparing G&LD students ( n = 196) with academically gifted (GT; n = 69) and specific learning disability (SLD) students ( n = 90). Several one-way MANCOVAs were conducted with subtest error factor scores as dependent variables and grouping variable (G&LD, GT, or SLD) as the independent variable. The G&LD means scores across subtests were in between the two control groups. On many higher level thinking tasks, the G&LD group scored similar to the gifted group. The results support the use of error analysis to gain further understanding into the profile of students with G&LD.
Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 2016
The kinds of errors that children and adolescents make on phonological processing tasks were stud... more The kinds of errors that children and adolescents make on phonological processing tasks were studied with a large sample between ages 4 and 19 ( N = 3,842) who were tested on the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement–Third Edition (KTEA-3). Principal component analysis identified two phonological processing factors: Basic Phonological Awareness and Advanced Phonological Processing. Canonical analysis and correlation analysis were conducted to determine how each factor related to reading, writing, and oral language across the wide age range. Results of canonical correlation analysis indicated that the advanced error factor was more responsible for reading, writing, and oral language skills than the basic error factor. However, in the correlation analysis, both the basic and advanced factors related about equally to different aspects of achievement—including reading fluency and rapid naming—and there were few age differences.
Proceedings of the 2021 AERA Annual Meeting
Gifted students are present in every population of students in "all levels of society regardless ... more Gifted students are present in every population of students in "all levels of society regardless of sex, race, socioeconomic , or ethnic origin" (Brown, 1997, p. 159), including diverse ethnic groups (Adler, 1967; U.S. Department of Education: Office for Civil Rights [OCR], 2014a). The federal government has asserted that education of gifted and talented learners is needed to benefit "students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities" (No Child Left Behind [NCLB], 2001, p. 535). However, identifying students as gifted and providing accompanying services is left to the discretion of individual states with some states not requiring gifted identification or services and with others offering one or both (National Association for Gifted Children & Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted [NAGC & CSDPG], 2015). Within this disparity of gifted identification among states is the additional challenge of equitable identification of underserved populations of gifted learners, including students of color, children from low socioeconomic status backgrounds, and students with limited English language (Callahan, 2005; Plucker & Callahan, 2014). Statement of Problem Of all underserved populations of gifted learners, English learners (ELs) are the least likely to be commensurately identified for gifted services (Callahan, 2005; Matthews, 2014). This is of concern as ELs are the fastest growing population of learners in the United States (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2013). So substantial and pervasive is the issue of underidentification and underrepresentation for gifted ELs, the U.S. Department of Program Plans Districts were required to produce comprehensive gifted education program plans for 2012-2016. Program plans included all elements in sections 12.02(2)(a) through 12.02(2)(l) of the ESEA rules for communication, definition, identification, programming, student accountability and accreditation, student accountability and program evaluation, personnel, budget, record keeping, early access, and dispute resolution. Additionally, program plans included descriptions of what already existed in the district as well as target/s for improvement (Colorado Board of Education, 2015). Stakeholders All administrators, teachers, parents, and students involved in the education and development of gifted and talented children (CDEOGE, 2015, p. 593). Underrepresented Populations. "Underrepresented or Underserved Populations-Those populations within a school/district that are not proportionately represented among the learners provided with accommodations for their giftedness. Traditionally underserved populations include low socioeconomic, English language learners, and minority groups" (CDEOGE, 2012, p. 594). Universal Screening Universal screening provides baseline data and recognizes strengths of high-and low-performing students. From the Guidelines document This data becomes part of a body of evidence that may lead to identification or determine a need for additional assessment before formal identification occurs. Examples of universal screening tools include cognitive and achievement tests or behavioral observations. These screenings may identify a need for early supports and services, prior to formal identification, especially for underrepresented student groups. (CDEOGE,
Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 2020
Although the number of English learners (ELs) in the United States continues to increase, this po... more Although the number of English learners (ELs) in the United States continues to increase, this population remains underserved by gifted and talented (GT) education programs across the nation. This underrepresentation represents a societal and research dilemma for reasons we address in this systematic review of the most effective practices documented to identify and serve ELs for GT programs. We examine 50 theoretical and empirical articles according to four major themes: nomination, screening/assessment, services, and identification models. We discuss identification recommendations, including outreach and professional learning to foster stakeholder recognition of GT potential in all ELs, an equitable referral process based on a multiple-lens approach, and observation of students completing problem-solving tasks. Finally, we address perceived best practices in serving GT ELs, including making accommodations for ELs in GT programs.
Gifted Child Quarterly
The importance of alignment between identification processes and program design is widely noted i... more The importance of alignment between identification processes and program design is widely noted in gifted and talented education literature. We analyzed publicly available district gifted program plans (Grades 3-5) from two states to examine the extent to which district identification practices matched intervention strategies. Our team developed a coding scheme matrix with 133 items for State 1 ( n = 115) and State 2 ( n = 178). The results of this study indicated that, at least in terms of planning, districts in the two states we examined appeared to be aligning identification and programming practices to meet the needs of gifted students identified in mathematics and/or reading/English language arts. In State 1, at least 60% of the districts reported the following intervention strategies in mathematics and reading/English language arts: faster pace of coverage, regular grade-level standards, in-depth coverage, preassessment, above grade-level standards, and expanded grade-level st...
Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 2017
Children’s oral language skills typically begin to develop sooner than their written language ski... more Children’s oral language skills typically begin to develop sooner than their written language skills; however, the four language systems (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) then develop concurrently as integrated strands that influence one another. This research explored relationships between students’ errors in language comprehension of passages across oral and written modalities (listening and reading) and in language expression across oral and written modalities (speaking and writing). The data for this study were acquired during the standardization of the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement–Third Edition (KTEA-3). Correlational analyses from the total sample ( n = 2,443-3,552) and within grade bands revealed low to moderate correlations (.26-.50). No evidence of convergent or divergent validity was found when comparing correlations of “same-name” error types (e.g., inferential errors across modalities) with correlations of “different-name” error types. These results ...
Routledge eBooks, Dec 15, 2022
NAGC receives similar questions from teachers and parents; however, rarely is there an opportunit... more NAGC receives similar questions from teachers and parents; however, rarely is there an opportunity to explore how the "other side" might be facing the issue. Interestingly, both groups benefit from the same information even though they look at it from different perspectives and have different roles to play in helping gifted children reach their potential. Our ongoing goal is for teachers and parents to develop a broader understanding of children's potential and thus create stimulating learning environments.
Educational Policy
Differentiation is an instructional practice teachers employ to modify their classroom content, p... more Differentiation is an instructional practice teachers employ to modify their classroom content, process, and products based on student readiness, interest, and learning profile. Many school districts recognize the benefits of differentiated instruction and thus mandate allotted classroom time for its implementation. In this article, we investigate how teachers in one such district resolved differentiation policy to practice in a high-stakes testing environment. We found, during the designated time for differentiation, teachers regularly remediated small groups but did not similarly address the academic needs of advanced students, thus not enacting the disciplinary standard for differentiation. We suggest teachers are recoupling practice and policy but misaligning it to the disciplinary definition of differentiation, which we contend has broader implications for instructional policymaking.
Qualitative Research, 2020
Though qualitative research has become more prevalent in practice over the last 30 years, there i... more Though qualitative research has become more prevalent in practice over the last 30 years, there is still considerable uncertainty among researchers regarding how to ensure inter-rater consistency when teams are tasked with coding qualitative data. In this article, we offer an explanation of a methodology that our qualitative team used to achieve systematic coding of our dataset in a way that preserved the contextual, subjective nature of the data, lent itself to the deductive and inductive creation of a layered codebook, and ensured consistent application of the codebook to varied types of data. This methodology prepared us to draw logical and substantiated conclusions during subsequent analyses; hence, the process serves as a welcome addition to the literature on consistently coding qualitative data in a manner that honors its defining characteristics.
the Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children, 2021
Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 2020
The underrepresentation of English learners (ELs) in gifted and talented programs is a societal a... more The underrepresentation of English learners (ELs) in gifted and talented programs is a societal and research problem that merits investigation. Three state departments of education and their state directors of gifted programs supported our access to 16 schools across nine districts. In these three states with gifted identification and programming mandates, ELs were proportionally represented in gifted and talented programs in the 16 schools we visited. Interview data from 225 participants revealed four themes: adopting universal screening procedures, creating alternative pathways to identification, establishing a web of communication, and using professional learning as a lever for change.
Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 2016
Gifted students’ learning gains result from complex, advanced, and meaningful content provided by... more Gifted students’ learning gains result from complex, advanced, and meaningful content provided by a knowledgeable teacher through high-quality curriculum and instruction at an appropriate pace with scaffolding and feedback. These elements exert influence that increases with dosage and within structures that facilitate student engagement in rigorous experiences, including interactions with one another. Talent development is a two-part process. First, educators and parents must provide opportunities for talent to surface, and then they must recognize the talent and provide educational opportunities that engage the emerging talent and move it to exceptional levels. Unfortunately, a variety of barriers exist that limit underserved students’ participation in this process. We discuss these barriers within a proposed model of talent development.
International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 2018
Students who exhibit giftedness alongside a learning disability (GLD) often display asynchronous ... more Students who exhibit giftedness alongside a learning disability (GLD) often display asynchronous academic development, and a combination of strengths that mask areas of struggle. Early identification and intervention may offset students experiencing low self-confidence and motivation, ineffective selfefficacy, or a loss of love for learning (Reis, McGuire, & Neu, 2000). It is essential to understand the unique patterns of strengths and weaknesses that gifted students (GTs) with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) display in order to develop interventions that leverage strengths while targeting weaknesses. In this study, we compared GLDs' performances to those of GTs and SLDs on the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Third Edition (KTEA-3). While GTs outperform GLDs and GLDs outperform the SLDs across all of the academic subtests, the analysis of the academic error scores indicate GLDs only differ from GTs for basic phonic decoding and math calculation. GLDs had fewer errors than SLDs across all error scores with the exceptions of intermediate letter-sound knowledge, basic phonic decoding, and addition. Consequently, GLDs have a unique profile of errors that indicates that their ability to decode is comparable to the SLD sample, and their error patterns in other areas suggest academic difficulties. KEYWORDS twice exceptional; gifted learning disability; higher-level processing demands; lower-level processing demands; interventions These individuals may be able to sustain apparently adequate academic functioning by using compensatory strategies, extraordinarily high effort, or support, until the learning demands or assessment procedures (e.g.,
Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 2016
An understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, and achievement profiles of students with giftedne... more An understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, and achievement profiles of students with giftedness and learning disabilities (G&LD) is needed to address their asynchronous development. This study examines the subtests and error factors in the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement–Third Edition (KTEA-3) for strength and weakness patterns of students with G&LD in higher and lower level thinking skills by comparing G&LD students ( n = 196) with academically gifted (GT; n = 69) and specific learning disability (SLD) students ( n = 90). Several one-way MANCOVAs were conducted with subtest error factor scores as dependent variables and grouping variable (G&LD, GT, or SLD) as the independent variable. The G&LD means scores across subtests were in between the two control groups. On many higher level thinking tasks, the G&LD group scored similar to the gifted group. The results support the use of error analysis to gain further understanding into the profile of students with G&LD.
Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 2016
The kinds of errors that children and adolescents make on phonological processing tasks were stud... more The kinds of errors that children and adolescents make on phonological processing tasks were studied with a large sample between ages 4 and 19 ( N = 3,842) who were tested on the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement–Third Edition (KTEA-3). Principal component analysis identified two phonological processing factors: Basic Phonological Awareness and Advanced Phonological Processing. Canonical analysis and correlation analysis were conducted to determine how each factor related to reading, writing, and oral language across the wide age range. Results of canonical correlation analysis indicated that the advanced error factor was more responsible for reading, writing, and oral language skills than the basic error factor. However, in the correlation analysis, both the basic and advanced factors related about equally to different aspects of achievement—including reading fluency and rapid naming—and there were few age differences.
Proceedings of the 2021 AERA Annual Meeting
Gifted students are present in every population of students in "all levels of society regardless ... more Gifted students are present in every population of students in "all levels of society regardless of sex, race, socioeconomic , or ethnic origin" (Brown, 1997, p. 159), including diverse ethnic groups (Adler, 1967; U.S. Department of Education: Office for Civil Rights [OCR], 2014a). The federal government has asserted that education of gifted and talented learners is needed to benefit "students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities" (No Child Left Behind [NCLB], 2001, p. 535). However, identifying students as gifted and providing accompanying services is left to the discretion of individual states with some states not requiring gifted identification or services and with others offering one or both (National Association for Gifted Children & Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted [NAGC & CSDPG], 2015). Within this disparity of gifted identification among states is the additional challenge of equitable identification of underserved populations of gifted learners, including students of color, children from low socioeconomic status backgrounds, and students with limited English language (Callahan, 2005; Plucker & Callahan, 2014). Statement of Problem Of all underserved populations of gifted learners, English learners (ELs) are the least likely to be commensurately identified for gifted services (Callahan, 2005; Matthews, 2014). This is of concern as ELs are the fastest growing population of learners in the United States (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2013). So substantial and pervasive is the issue of underidentification and underrepresentation for gifted ELs, the U.S. Department of Program Plans Districts were required to produce comprehensive gifted education program plans for 2012-2016. Program plans included all elements in sections 12.02(2)(a) through 12.02(2)(l) of the ESEA rules for communication, definition, identification, programming, student accountability and accreditation, student accountability and program evaluation, personnel, budget, record keeping, early access, and dispute resolution. Additionally, program plans included descriptions of what already existed in the district as well as target/s for improvement (Colorado Board of Education, 2015). Stakeholders All administrators, teachers, parents, and students involved in the education and development of gifted and talented children (CDEOGE, 2015, p. 593). Underrepresented Populations. "Underrepresented or Underserved Populations-Those populations within a school/district that are not proportionately represented among the learners provided with accommodations for their giftedness. Traditionally underserved populations include low socioeconomic, English language learners, and minority groups" (CDEOGE, 2012, p. 594). Universal Screening Universal screening provides baseline data and recognizes strengths of high-and low-performing students. From the Guidelines document This data becomes part of a body of evidence that may lead to identification or determine a need for additional assessment before formal identification occurs. Examples of universal screening tools include cognitive and achievement tests or behavioral observations. These screenings may identify a need for early supports and services, prior to formal identification, especially for underrepresented student groups. (CDEOGE,
Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 2020
Although the number of English learners (ELs) in the United States continues to increase, this po... more Although the number of English learners (ELs) in the United States continues to increase, this population remains underserved by gifted and talented (GT) education programs across the nation. This underrepresentation represents a societal and research dilemma for reasons we address in this systematic review of the most effective practices documented to identify and serve ELs for GT programs. We examine 50 theoretical and empirical articles according to four major themes: nomination, screening/assessment, services, and identification models. We discuss identification recommendations, including outreach and professional learning to foster stakeholder recognition of GT potential in all ELs, an equitable referral process based on a multiple-lens approach, and observation of students completing problem-solving tasks. Finally, we address perceived best practices in serving GT ELs, including making accommodations for ELs in GT programs.
Gifted Child Quarterly
The importance of alignment between identification processes and program design is widely noted i... more The importance of alignment between identification processes and program design is widely noted in gifted and talented education literature. We analyzed publicly available district gifted program plans (Grades 3-5) from two states to examine the extent to which district identification practices matched intervention strategies. Our team developed a coding scheme matrix with 133 items for State 1 ( n = 115) and State 2 ( n = 178). The results of this study indicated that, at least in terms of planning, districts in the two states we examined appeared to be aligning identification and programming practices to meet the needs of gifted students identified in mathematics and/or reading/English language arts. In State 1, at least 60% of the districts reported the following intervention strategies in mathematics and reading/English language arts: faster pace of coverage, regular grade-level standards, in-depth coverage, preassessment, above grade-level standards, and expanded grade-level st...
Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 2017
Children’s oral language skills typically begin to develop sooner than their written language ski... more Children’s oral language skills typically begin to develop sooner than their written language skills; however, the four language systems (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) then develop concurrently as integrated strands that influence one another. This research explored relationships between students’ errors in language comprehension of passages across oral and written modalities (listening and reading) and in language expression across oral and written modalities (speaking and writing). The data for this study were acquired during the standardization of the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement–Third Edition (KTEA-3). Correlational analyses from the total sample ( n = 2,443-3,552) and within grade bands revealed low to moderate correlations (.26-.50). No evidence of convergent or divergent validity was found when comparing correlations of “same-name” error types (e.g., inferential errors across modalities) with correlations of “different-name” error types. These results ...