Constructing Culturally-Authentic Differentiated Access Points Using the Content Imperatives

The need to create culturally authentic and specific learning experiences is a call to action that all teachers must answer. Current definitions of differentiation either avoid or exclude topics of culture and race. These definitions are incomplete and must be expanded if the needs, interests, abilities, and cultural assets of gifted learners are to be addressed in a classroom. Under this expanded definition, differentiation strategies must be culturally authentic and purposefully integrated into the opportunities provided to gifted learners. It is incumbent upon teachers to reorient differentiation strategies they employ with gifted and advanced learners, so they become culturally authentic and contextually relevant. This chapter provides the reorientation of one differentiation strategy: the content imperatives. This chapter (1) defines the content imperatives, (2) demonstrates how they can be used as the catalyst for honoring the funds of knowledge that students bring into any learning experience, and (3) creates culturally-authentic access points into content for all learners.

Supporting elementary gifted learners during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey of teaching practices

The present mixed methods study aimed to understand the challenges faced by teachers of the gifted and how elementary gifted learners were supported and taught during the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey was administered to 310 elementary school teachers of the gifted across the United States between March and June 2021, one year after initial school closings. Focus groups were utilized to further explore how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the work of teachers of the gifted in their schools. Educators shared lessons learned from this experience related to (a) a better understanding of how to utilize remote instruction, (b) reimagining the gifted education classroom, and (c) use of a variety of strategies to provide more student choice, differentiation, and individualized pace. Results from this study provide insights that can guide educators, curriculum specialists, and school administrators to improve online instruction for gifted learners in the future.

Designing and Implementing Interactive, Collaborative Family Literacy Events

Shared experiences through school-hosted events, such as family literacy events, can afford opportunities to support and extend academic learning while fostering positive home–school relationships. This article describes the importance of developing primary-grade students’ literacy skills through a talent development lens and explains several ways to nurture students’ literacy skills and recognize potential, gifts, and talents during family literacy events. This article features one of the activities from the family literacy events, Environmental Print Bingo, a modification of I-Spy and Bingo which uses rich and varied environmental print resources. A description of this activity, necessary resources, and implementation tips are provided. Options for differentiating this learning activity to provide more challenge for gifted learners are suggested. Throughout the article, the application of a pedagogy for early childhood gifted education and Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence as a framework are discussed; these approaches informed the design of all family literacy activities. A brief overview of nine additional family literacy event activities is also shared. Welcoming and involving families of English learners is an important consideration in many communities, and therefore, preparation tips and considerations for facilitators that will help maximize the participation of all families are included. Finally, reflections and helpful advice for implementing family literacy events in your school communities are presented, including advice for implementing online family literacy events. Ultimately, this article should help readers conceptualize, plan, and implement family literacy events in their school communities.

Gifted and Talented Children

Scholarship about gifted children is relatively recent when compared to other topics in education, but the existence of gifted children is not new. Curiosity about children with unique gifts and talents goes back thousands of years to early Chinese dynasties. It should be noted that the word gifted is often fraught with confusion and concern about what exactly is a gifted child and what terminology should be used. Whether we use the terms highly capable, high ability, gifted and talented, children of promise, high potential, or talented children, we have an intrinsic understanding of who we mean by “gifted children.” Nomenclature aside, when we speak about gifted children, most often we are referring to children who demonstrate advanced abilities or development and learn more quickly than their age-related peers. As indicated in the Definitions and Conceptions of Giftedness section of this chapter, there is no agreed-upon definition of giftedness. The study of gifted children and how to accommodate their cognitive and affective needs has increased in the past century, beginning when Lewis Terman began his study of children who scored in the top ranges of his test, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, a translation of Frenchman Albert Binet’s test. In the decades since, people have continued to debate what terminology should be used when referring to children who score well on cognitive measures, to determine the most salient characteristics and traits of these children, and to discuss the schooling most appropriate for them. The majority of the scholarship about gifted children and their education has occurred in the past forty-plus years. This is evidenced by the fact that the first issues of three major journals in the field were printed in 1978. Although not everyone would agree, it appears a paradigm shift in the field of gifted education is occurring, because we see more articles and research focused on a broadened conception of giftedness and discussions about intelligence not being a fixed trait. We see more discussions about using local norms rather than national norms on assessments used for identification. And we see more attention being devoted to recognizing and addressing the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse, gifted learners. The field of gifted education is evolving and readers should “stay tuned.”

Perceptions of Giftedness and Classroom Practice with Gifted Children – an Exploratory Study of Primary School Teachers

The Decree-Law 54/2018 combined with Ordinance 223-A / 2018 - Article 33 regulates the inclusion of gifted students in Portuguese schools. This study aims to investigate primary school teachers` perceptions of giftedness and their experiences of working with gifted children in their regular classes. This is an exploratory study with 13 teachers and the data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Our participants tended to represent giftedness with an emphasis on the intellectual traits of gifted learners and to adjust their pedagogical approach accordingly. Their assessment practices focused essentially on product-oriented approaches instead of process-oriented approaches. Our findings suggest that there is still a long way to go, especially in terms of formal teacher training, to tailor teaching to the needs and characteristics of gifted learners.