Creating Conditions for Developing and Nurturing Talent: The Work of School Leaders (original) (raw)
Related papers
Asia Pacific Education Review, 2015
This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be self-archived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your article, please use the accepted manuscript version for posting on your own website. You may further deposit the accepted manuscript version in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later and provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The final publication is available at link.springer.com".
Education Sciences , 2024
The foundation for talent development as a framework for gifted education can be found in a synthesis of the psychological literature on creativity, eminence, giftedness, and high performance. The talent development framework acknowledges the contributions of both general cognitive ability and domain-specific abilities to achievement, as well as the malleability of these ability constructs. Talent development is also consistent with research on the contributions of non-cognitive or psychosocial factors to school achievement, as well as studies on factors that influence the attainment of scholarly productivity and artistry within specific domains of non-academic talent. Although there are several theoretical frameworks and models of giftedness, talent development, ability, and intelligence, each with varied areas of emphasis and desired outcomes, the research base and practical applications for the talent development megamodel (TDMM) can serve as a guide to leaders and school administrators in making fiscal and programmatic decisions that maximize short-and longterm impacts for individuals and society. In this article, we discuss some of the practical implications of the model for assessment, curriculum and instruction, and psychosocial development within a school context.
Fostering Brilliance: Systematizing Gifted and Talented Education in Massachusetts
Programming for gifted and talented elementary and secondary students, or students with marked intellectual, academic, or creative ability, in Massachusetts is haphazard: there are no centralized guidelines from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for school districts to identify and serve these students. This brief intends to address this gap by offering potential strategies for DESE and school districts to develop systematic policies for the provision of gifted and talented education. As a distinct population of students with educational needs that vary from their typically developing counterparts, gifted and talented students require support that is currently not available in many Massachusetts schools. Some schools have programs for high-achieving students, but many gifted and talented students may not earn high grades in the classroom because of boredom, disengagement, or a disability. Furthermore, Black and Latino students are less likely to be identified as gifted and talented because of systemic racial bias and identification techniques that do not take into account racial disparities in educational outcomes. While there is a common misconception that very intelligent or creative students will manage on their own without adaptive education, this is untrue. The consequences of not meeting these students’ educational needs can be dire. Denying these students an education commensurate with their skills can lead to disengagement from the classroom, failing grades, an elevated risk of dropout, and other detrimental outcomes. DESE should develop a systematic set of guidelines for assessing and serving gifted and talented students in the Commonwealth, including provisions for identification, assessment, and service provision for these students to ensure that they can receive an enriching, challenging education that allows them to thrive both in the classroom and in adult life after leaving the school system. DESE should root this rubric for gifted and talented assessment and services in principles of equity, inclusion, and educational needs to ensure that all students who will benefit from gifted and talented education receive the chance to participate. These guidelines include assessment procedures that consider multiple facets of intellectual and creative giftedness, universal giftedness screening, protocols for grade-skipping and other forms of acceleration, and comprehensive educational planning for gifted and talented students.
1995
This monograph addresses the role of gifted education in total school improvement by describing three service delivery components (the Tota? Talent Portfolio, Curriculum Modification Techniques, and Enrichment Learning and Teaching) and several organizational components of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM). The report describes how the SEM can serve as a structure for schools trying to develop the talents of all students. It describes each of its three components: (1) the total talent portfolio, a vehicle for systematically gathering and recording information about a student's abilities, interests, and learning style preferences; (2) regular curriculum modification including curriculum differentiation, provision of in-depth learning experiences, and integration of enrichment activities; and (3) enrichment learning through provision of enrichment clusters to multi-age heterogeneous groups of students. The report also addresses schoolwide enrichment and educational reform, key ingredients of school improvement, a gentle and an evolutionary (but realistic) approach to school improvement, and starting the school improvement process. Twelve frequently asked questions about schools for talent development are answered. A glossary is attached. (Contains 25 references.) (DB)
Targeting TalentDevelopment in the Comprehensive School System
2007
This paper reports on a study of one such initiative, a "talent class" established in a Danish municipality. On the basis of interviews with pupils and teachers as well as other types of data we analysed the context and the objectives of the project, the capital resources of the pupils, the attitudes of pupils and teachers towards talent development and the teaching and learning practice in the talent class. An important finding is that the organisation of the class as an after-school activity allows the participants to benefit from a new learning environment without distancing themselves from the peer cultures of their ordinary schools. We discuss our finding on the background of other research on giftedness and education.
Journal of Advanced Academics, 2009
Experts have developed varying, and sometimes conflicting, conceptions of academic talent and giftedness. Classroom and school composition often are tied to these conceptions of academic talent and giftedness, and magnet and charter schools select certain students who best “fit” their particular conception of giftedness. Educators’ perceptions and attitudes regarding academic talent and giftedness thus impact what services are delivered to which students. Little is known about educators’ beliefs regarding conceptions of academic talent and giftedness. The current national study surveyed 900 public school educators, including regular classroom teachers, administrators, and gifted education specialists, regarding their definitions of academic talent and giftedness. The educators believed that all traditional and popular conceptions of academic talent and giftedness were valid, but they were less likely to support definitions involving talents in less-traditional areas. Educators accep...
The Major Goals of Gifted Education And Talent Development Programs
Academia Letters, 2021
Little To No Academic Boost, New Study Says," the author cites a recent research study Redding & Grissom, 2021) based on the same old way most researchers gather data on any types of school performance. Indeed, most contemporary education research almost universally focuses only on things that can be measured down to an exact percentile or standard deviation from the mean. There are many characteristics that are important in all kinds of human performance, and above quote by a well-known American statistician calls our attention to this reality. And to make matters even worse, the popular press, news feeds, and publications such as the Hechinger Report come out with headlines such as "Study: Gifted Programs Not Beneficial," which appeared in a recently popular news feed. Is it any wonder that special programs for gifted education and talent development continue to be an endangered undertaking? If the author of the Hechinger Report and the cited researchers believe that focusing on common core standards and increasing reading and math scores on standardized achievement tests are the major goals for gifted education, they simply do not understand the difference between lesson-learning giftedness and creative productive giftedness. The major goal of gifted education is not to standardize young learners. Rather, most people in the field believe such programs are intended to expand the reservoir of people who will contribute to creative
GIFTED AND TALENTED EDUCATION: WRESTLING WITH THE CONCEPT
An athletic analogy can be used to help address issues related to the definition and identification of students in gifted education. Gifted athletes are those who are capable of outstanding performance within an athletic domain. This view of giftedness reflects Gardner’s (1983) definition of intelligence. And, while standardized measures indicate specific attributes which may enhance performance, students with outstanding talent are identified by their performance within the context of a specific domain. Thus, a more holistic concept of giftedness and a matching procedure for identification should be applied in order to help develop a wider variety of talents.