The Diverse Gifted Child
The first class of the 4-course licensure sequence is titled The Diverse Gifted Child. In this class, I was able to explore the giftedness through the lenses of culture, economics, place, exceptionalities, and social/emotional needs. This course helped me to have a greater understanding of how these aspects of a child's life can impact the way that gifted characteristics manifest themselves. Whereas many teachers are quick to label students as gifted based upon stereotypical characteristics, this course helped me to begin to see that giftedness is much more complex than a quick, simple label. Rather, recognizing giftedness requires a more holistic approach. It requires that I learn to see each and every student as a unique individual. If I am to recognize potential giftedness in any student, I must first understand a student's background. Gifted expert Carol Tomlinson wrote: "Teaching is about building sound lives through the medium of the most worthwhile knowledge, understanding, and skill. That happens learner by learner as we show each learner how learning has meaning in his or her life and how that life takes on new meaning as it grows in the power of learning" (2003, p.90). I must come to recognize each student that crosses my path as a human being with a unique story, not just a name on my roster and a test score. With the issues surrounding the under-representation of minority and low socio-economic students in gifted education, it is my duty to ensure that every child is given a fair chance at displaying and having their potential for giftedness recognized and developed.
Take a look at this presentation, which was designed to help teachers understand the unique needs of students from low-income backgrounds and how to address those needs within the context of the classroom, as well as in the gifted identification process. This product showcases my strong knowledge base of how one's socio-economic status affects the manifestation of giftedness, as well as ways in which to address this issue in a way that gives greater equity to the gifted identification process.
This Fact Sheet was designed as a resource for teachers. It displays my understanding of the issue underachievement in gifted students, as well as my understanding of strategies to help these students, and my ability to help others learn to see issues from a different perspective. This product also highlights one of many ways that I will use to educate teachers on issues in gifted education and resource them to become more adept at recognizing gifted potential in their classroom.
Take a look at this presentation on meeting the needs of NC's gifted students in rural areas where I dig into the unique challenges that rural schools/districts face in meeting the needs of their gifted students. I also lay out some promising practices that can be put into place to combat these challenges. This presentation showcases my strong knowledge base on rural gifted education and understanding of the effects of place on the services and education received by a student.
Take a look at this presentation, created for a quarterly parent night. It details the social/emotional needs of gifted students, specifically in regards to self-esteem and perfectionism. It showcases my ability to help parents understand what it is is like for their child to be gifted, and resource them with ways they can help their child at home.
In this product , I completed two case studies of culturally different students in my classroom, analyzing the ways in which they each manifested traditional and/or non-traditional gifted characteristics and how it is crucial for teachers to be culturally responsive and have a solid understanding of the effect of culture on the manifestation of gifted characteristics.