Education of Children Who Are Gifted/Talented/Creative focused on how to identify and teach giftedness. My undergraduate studies never even touched on this theme, so it was really interesting to delve into how to challenge these students and allow them to benefit from the public education system as much as all of the other students. I think many teachers know that our schools as a whole often ignore elite learners in order to focus on students that “need our help more”. It is important to remember that in Canada everyone has the right to an education that challenges them and scaffolds their learning.
Sharing ideas on how to plan for gifted learners in my classroom has left me more prepared to enable them to reach their full potential. The course left me with several valuable resources to reference teaching methods and that could be used directly in my classroom.
I also learned a lot about how the traditional view of someone labelled as a “gifted student” leaves a lot to be desired. Many students with massive potentials from minority and impoverished backgrounds are often ignored due to their circumstances and surroundings. It is also extremely difficult to measure the concept of “giftedness” and consequently our reliance on traditional means (such as IQ tests) leaves many gifted students unidentified and in many cases growing frustrated (a reasonable response frankly) in our classrooms.
My artefact from this course looks at giftedness in a setting much different than the one I grew up in. I completed a film analysis of the movie Freedom Writers. The main character is a teacher in an urban part of California named Ms. Gruewll. Ms. Gruwell’s classes epitomized diversity in several different areas and were certainly nothing like the “traditional classrooms” of yesteryear. With many different cultures, learning styles, ability levels, and socio-economical considerations, these classes could have been overwhelming had she not had such a strong plan suited specifically to her unique students. The individualized plans for success in room 203 had a strong grounding in universal design principles, positive formative assessment feedback loops, consistent expectations and routines, as well as an unparalleled dedication and work ethic on the part of Ms. Gruwell.
04:760 Education of Children who are Gifted Talented and Creative Outline