Preparing to Teach Gifted Students

What to teachers think about their gifted students? How can school districts and administration help prepare teachers to teach gifted students in their classroom.

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Most secondary institutions are made up of honors and AP classes, which provide acceleration, as their only option. There is a lot of evidence to show that gifted and talent students are being shortchanged in their secondary education programs. When students in secondary education are asking their principals for more rigor, it comes as a surprise because principals are used to students not caring about school (Gallagher, 2001, p. 133). My post aims to explain the research of what teachers currently think of gifted education and research on how to better prepare teachers to teach gifted students.

What Teachers Believe About Gifted Education

Teachers were interviewed and explained their perceptions of gifted education today and what it means to be a teacher of gifted students. I find many of these to apply to me as a high school AP science teacher as well. The many thoughts from teachers in this study explain their perceptions of being in gifted education. The first is that giftedness is a challenge to define and classify because there is not a specific federal guideline to follow. Giftedness is also inherent, however; it does need to be trained to reach its full potential (Russell, 2018, p. 287). Another main thought from teachers is that when teaching gifted students, differentiation is the hardest part. This is because teachers feel they lack the time to plan more for the gifted students. This hits home with me because for my AP classes, students have to learn so much material to be successful on their exam. In order to meet gifted students’ needs, I know I need to differentiate for their levels, interests, and creativity but there just never seems to be enough time in the school day or year. (Nevertheless, knowing that it is important to work to meet the needs of your gifted students is a great place to start). Teachers are the best advocators for their gifted students (Russell, 2018, p. 289).

Another concept teachers mention is the social and emotional needs of gifted students. Teachers of the gifted imply that not only are they teaching content, they are also helping in the growth of the individual (Russell, 2018, p. 288). Many teachers of gifted students are classified as gifted themselves. Therefore, these teachers feel that they have more of a natural understanding of these students and can better serve them (Russell, 2018, p. 289). However, in many schools, teachers who are not themselves gifted end up teaching gifted students. This is where the final thought comes in. Teachers also believe that in order to meet the needs of gifted students in their classrooms there needs to be better training from district leads and administrators to better understand the nature and needs of gifted students as well as teaching strategies (Russell, 2018, p.285).

School Programs for the Gifted

There is a lack of programs in secondary institutions to meet the needs of gifted students. When creating or identifying programs to teach gifted students, district and school administrators must find ways to adequately and effectively address three main criteria so that their most brightest students are challenged to their full potential (Gilson, 2001, p. 37). The first criteria to be addressed is identification. This currently is one of the most controversial topics in gifted education. While there is no federal criteria for identifying gifted students, research shows that many areas of criteria should be considered when identifying a gifted student. These should also not be limited to only measureable objectives. For example, grades, teacher nominations, test scores, parental nomination, and self or peer-nomination are all areas that should be considered when identifying a student as gifted. In addition, something to keep in mind, just because a student is not gifted does not mean they are not academically intelligent (Gilson, 2009, p. 37).

The second area to address when identifying or choosing a program for secondary gifted students is college planning. It is important that there are avenues within a program and the school to provide students with the knowledge they need to help make decisions about their future. If students focus on only one academic area their entire high school career, they could miss opportunity to be exposed to areas in which they have talents. An idea from Gilson (2009) is to “empower 9th and 10th grade students to identify goals” (p. 39) and then when they are 11th and 12th graders these goals can help prepare students for their futures. The final area that needs to be addressed when choosing or creating a program for gifted students is staff development. The administrators need to work to find teachers appropriate workshops, trainings, conferences, and coaches to help teachers master their skills in teaching gifted students (Gilson, 2009, p. 38).

Examples of Professional Development

Teachers must be trained to teach gifted students effectively and it is the role of the administration to help in this. An article by James Gallagher (Referenced below) identifies different strategies for providing teachers with professional development to meet the needs of gifted students. I have condensed them into the list below.

1. Online Modules- District staff can create or look into already created online modules that teachers can complete in their own time. These modules should be short, about an hour long, and over various topics in gifted education. The modules should cover the standards for gifted and talented instructors as well as the nature and needs of gifted students. Usually the entire program consists of about ten modules. When the teacher completes the module, they will get a certification.

2. Distance Learning- Teachers should be provided information about classes that are offered in universities or community colleges close by that would teach them in the standards of gifted education, the nature and needs of gifted students, and instructional strategies for gifted education. However, with improvements in technology, now teachers can do their “Distance Learning” online through online instruction from a university.

3. Summer Programs- These include annual conferences and two to three week training programs at universities. I know with AP programs, the trainings are a week long during the summer. While they teach you about the course, there is no mention of gifted students (because AP is not for only gifted students). Something similar however could be found for meeting the needs of gifted students. I find summer to be a time to recharge, and what better way to do so than to learn about how to better meet the needs of your students.

4. Local Staff Development- These can take place during the summer or even during the school year if a school district has staff development days built into the year. These are either put on by experts in different fields within the district or brought in by the district. These can include sessions of daylong workshops. It is important that district personnel research different instructors of workshops in order to make sure that the program and instructor are knowledgeable and have proper credentials. If not, some programs can seem professional but are out of date with incorrect information and are a waste of the districts money.

References

Gallagher, J. J. (2001). Personnel preparation and secondary education programs for gifted students. The Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 12(3), 133-138.

Gilson, T. (2009). Creating school programs for gifted students at the high school level: an administrator's perspective. Gifted Child Today, 32(2), 36-39.

Russell, J. L. (2018). High school teachers’ perceptions of giftedness, gifted education, and talent development. Journal of Advanced Academics, 29(4), 275–303.