RunningHead:PHILOSOPHYOFGIFTEDEDUCATION

PhilosophyofGiftedEducation
MeghanLee
EDUC7761
CharacteristicsofGiftedChildren
Summer2016
KennesawStateUniversity

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PhilosophyofGiftedEducation

Somearebored,patientlywaitingforpeerstolearnskillsandconceptsthattheyhad
masteredoneortwoyearsearlier.Somefindschoolintolerable,feigningillnessor
creatingotherexcusestoavoidtrivia.Manydeveloppoorstudyhabitsfromtheslowpace
andlackofchallenge.Somefeelpressuredtohidetheirkeentalentsandskillsfrom
uninterestedandunsympatheticpeers.Somegiveuponschoolentirely,droppingoutas
soonastheylegallyable(Davis,Rimm&Siegle,2011).
GiftededucationisatopicthatIfeelpassionatelyaboutduetomyownexperiencesasa
youngpersonthatwasplaguedbyunderachievementduetotwiceexceptionality.Thequote
abovefromDavis,Rimm&
Siegle
(2011)aptlysummarizesmyownschoolexperienceminus
droppingout.Ioncebeggedtodoso,butluckily,myparentsandteachersheardmypleafor
intervention.
Fromtheviewpointofaneducatorofyoungpeople,Ihaveoftenfeltfrustratedbythe
lackofenrichmentandsupportavailabletostudentsthatdemonstratedasynchronous
developmentcommonlyobservedinthegiftedandtalentedespeciallyinmytimeteaching
abroadwithincountriesthatdonothavesimilarresourcesinplacetoserveuniquestudent
populations.Havingspentallofmycareerabroadworkingintheeducationfield,myphilosophy
ofgiftededucationtakesawiderapproachthatembracesandcelebratestheuniquenessofall
learnersandcombinesmyvisionforthecultivationofglobaldigitalcitizenswiththebenefitsof
culturallyresponsivepedagogythatisstudentdrivenwithteachersactingasfacilitatorsto
learning.

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AccordingtoDavis,Rimm,&
Siegle
(2011)giftedandtalentedaretwotermsthat
aredifficultfortheworldtodefineandevenwithintheeducationfield,thereisaconstantdebate
onthequalifiersforbeingidentifiedasagiftedand/ortalentedindividual.Thoughmany
definitionsexistforwhatconstitutesgiftedness,theonethatresonatesthemostwithmeis
theorizedbyJosephS.Renzulli(197819862011)whostatedthattheThreeRingConception
ofGiftednessisatheoryportrayingthemaindimensionsofhumanpotentialforcreative
productivitycomprisingofthreetraitclusterstermedAboveAverageAbility,Task
Commitment,andCreativityandtheirconnectiontohumanperformance.Renzullidistinguishes
betweenwhathecallslessonlearninggiftednessandcreative/productivegiftednessinhis
3Ringtheory.Ibelievethisisaveryimportantdistinctiontomakebecausemanystudentsmiss
outonbeingapartofthegiftedprogrambecausetheydonotexcelinlessonlearning(namely,
highachievement)throughexcellentgrades,leadershipinclubs,hightestscores,etc.butrather
demonstratetheirasynchronousdevelopmentbeyondtheirpeergroupthroughcreativity.
RenzullisEnrichmentTriadModel(2011)isahighlyusefulmodelforthedevelopmentof
learningexperiencesthatchangestheroleofthelearnerfromconsumertoproducerof
knowledge(p.306).IparticularlyrelatetoRenzullis(2011)desiretoinstillgiftededucation
withthemissionofusingsocialcapitalforthebettermentofsocietyaswholebycoachingthem
towardsachievingabalanceofthemarkersofsuccesswiththeidealsofthecommongood(p.
307).
Atraitthatiscommoningiftedandtalentedlearnersisobservableasynchronous
developmentinoneormoreareasthatisbeyondthattypicallyseeninthepeergroup.BeforeI
tookthiscourse,Iwouldnothavedefinedgiftednessinthismannerhowever,myresearchand

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reflectionalongwiththediscussionfromcolleagueshasmotivatedmetoutilizethisdefinition
becauseitisnotbasedsolelyonIQscores,highachievement,exceptionaltalent,etc.Basingthe
definitionofgiftednessinasynchronicityofdevelopmentabovethatofthepeergroupinatleast
onedomainand/orsubdomainexpandstheumbrellaofgiftedandtalentedtoencompassmany
morelearnersthanthecurrentidentificationmethodsusedinmanyschools.
Giftededucationisoftenanunderservedareawithinschoolswithmostresourcesand
fundingdevotedtomeetingproficiencylevelsofthestudentpopulationasawhole.Itisoften
oneoftheareasthatschoolscuttosavefundswithonlyoneteacherservingtheentireschools
giftedpopulationgivingthestudentsverylittletimeforworkthattrulychallenges.Thisrealityis
dishearteningbecausegiftededucationgreatlybenefitsthestudentsitserveslongitudinally
(Davis,Rimm&
Siegle,
2011).Cuttingfundingandprovidingsporadicornonexistentsupport
forgiftedstudentscanresultinmanynegativeoutcomesthataffectstudentsimmediatelyandin
thelongtermfromtheincreasedrisksofunderachievement,substanceabuse,delinquency,and
droppingoutofschool.Itiscrucialforallstudentstobechallengedtoachievetotheirhighest
potentialbecausetheydeservetheopportunitytopursuetheirdreamsandcultivatealifelong
enjoymentoflearning.
ItakeaprogressivestanceinmyphilosophyofgiftededucationbecauseIbelievethat
educatorsmustalwaysbeflexibleandcognizantoftheplace,thetime,andthecircumstances.
MyphilosophicalapproachtogiftededucationisalsoapragmaticonebecauseIrealizethatmy
roleistohelptopreparetodayslearnersforagloballyconnectedworldthatrequiresstrong
skillsinresourcefulness,teamwork,multiculturalresponsiveness,andsolidcriticalthinking.
Throughoutmystudiesintherealmofinstructionaltechnologyintheeducationalfield,Ihave

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realizedthatthebestteachingpracticescomprisefacilitationoflearningthroughauthentic
experiencesthatpiquestudentsuniquecuriosities/interestsandredefinelearningtaskstoutilize
technologytoolsandresourcesinaninnovativemannerbeyondsimplysubstitutingtypinga
paperonthecomputerinsteadofwritingitbyhand.
MyphilosophyofgiftededucationrequiresthatIencouragemanyopportunitiesfor
problemsolvingandactionorientedlearningtasksthatarerootedinauthenticexperiencesofthe
world.Metacognitionisacrucialelementtoservingthelearningneedsofgiftedstudentsand
problemsolvingwithinauthenticlearningtasksisaneffectivewaytodemonstratetogifted
studentsthattheirbrainsarebestutilizedtodecidestrategiccoursesofactionthatconsider
shorttermandlongtermresultsaswellpossibleeffectsofactionsoncommongoodinsteadof
thegoodofoneselfonly.
Ibelieveitisamoralimperativetomentorgiftedstudentsintherecognition,cultivation,
andapplicationofwisdomoverall.
Epistemologyisapartofmyphilosophyofgiftededucation
becauseIbelieveitiscrucialforstudentstobeabletoexplainhowtheyarrivedattheknowledge
andanswertheyhave,andhowthestudentsdeterminethattheiransweristhecorrectone.
Giftededucationprogramstandardsrequirethattheyaddressintellectual,academic,
leadership,artistic,andothercreativedomainsinordertotrulyservetheneedsofstudents.I
believethatmanygiftedprogramssadlyfallshortofthesestandardsespeciallyinregardto
minoritystudentswhoareunderservedingiftededucationataratevaryingbetween30%and
70%(Davis,Rimm&Seigle,2011).Thisiswhyitiscriticalforeducatorstoworkdiligentlyto
dispelpersonalbiasesandbeanadvocateandallytominoritystudentstoensureequitable
treatment.AccordingtoSternburg(2004)andDavis,Rimm&Siegle(2011)giftedstudentsthat

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alsoaredealingwithadisability(commonlytermed
twiceexceptional
or
2e
)areatriskofbeing
underserved,also.ThiswasmyownexperienceinschoolasIwentunidentifiedasgifteduntil
mylastfewyearsofhighschoolwhenIwasfinallygiventhechancetoachievetomypotential
afterstrugglingalottocopewithissuesinmathematicsandtotalboredominmyothersubjects.
IconcurwithDavis,Rimm,&Seigle(2011)regardingtheneedforteacherstofocuson
studentsstrengthsratherthandeficitsinordertoavoidnegativelyimpactingthegiftedstudents
learningdevelopment.Havingaprogressiveandpragmaticapproachtogiftededucationhelps
metoaddresstheseindividualizedneedsofallstudentsandtoassisteducatorsinservingthis
specialpopulation.
Withingiftededucationaswithinthestudentbodyandsocietyitself,thereisadiverse
populationofindividualsinneedoflearningsupport.Remainingprogressiveinmyapproachto
giftededucationallowsmetosupportthespecificlearningneedsofspecialpopulationswithin
thegiftedpopulacebybeingculturallyresponsiveinmypedagogicalapproachbyusing
inclusivelanguagethatembracesthediverseexperiencesofmystudentsfromawidevarietyof
cultural,ethnic,religious,nonreligious,socioeconomiclevels,genderidentities,sexual
orientations,etc.
Giftededucatorsmustfosterconnectionswithstakeholdersincludingstudentsfamilies
andcommunitypartnersinordertokeepthedialoguebetweenallconcernedpartiestohelp
studentsachievewithintheirfullpotential.Giftededucationstandardsrequirethatthelearning
programsemphasizetheuniquesocialabilities,interests,values,andattitudesofthestudents
theyserve.Thisrefersspecificallytotheethicalimplicationsofgiftededucation.Failureto
upholdthestandardsforgiftededucationthatmeettheneedsofthestudentsservedresultsin

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greatlyincreasedriskofunderachievementandpoorfutureoutcomesforstudentsinthe
program.Thus,axiological(ethical)concernsshouldbethetoppriorityintheestablishmentof
giftededucationwellbeforeanycurriculumgoalsforthegiftedstudentsareinplace.Ibelieve
thatfailingtoplanisplanningtofail,andbeginningagiftedprogramwithoutinputfromthe
stakeholdersimpactedwouldbeamajorfolly.Thus,myphilosophyofgiftededucationrequires
extensiveinputandoversightfromstakeholdersregardingtheeffectivenessandqualityofthe
giftedprogramoverall.Ibelievethatgiftededucatorsmustworktogetherwithstakeholdersto
identifyandservegiftedandtalentedstudentswithintheguidelinesofthegiftedprogramsin
placeintheschool.Studentsthatdonotqualifyforgiftedservicescancertainlybenefitfrom
enrichmentprovidedbytheteachersandparentsattheirdiscretionwithguidancefromthegifted
educatorthrutrainings.
Underachievementisparticularlyconcerningtomeasaneducatorandisoftenindicated
bythepresenceoflowselfesteeminthestudentandalackofinterestingandchallenging
learning.Itisveryimportanttointerveneinunderachievementearlybeforetheconsequences
suchaspoorgradeshasanegativeoutcomeonfutureprospects.Ibelievethatunderachieving
studentsareinneedofsocialandemotionalsupportfirstwithacademicinterventiononcethe
social/emotionalaspectofthelowselfesteemhasbeenidentifiedandimproved.Workingwith
familiesandsupportpersonneliscrucialinaddressingtheneedsofunderachievingstudents
becausethecausecansometimeshavenothingtodowiththestudentsgiftedness,butrather
homeproblems,bullying,poorhealth,etc.Underachievingstudentsoftenbenefitgreatlyfrom
theopportunitytogetinvolvedinanissuetheyfeelpassionatelyaboutinordertomakevaluable

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contributionstosociety.Thiscanboosttheconfidencelevelofagiftedstudenttofeel
empoweredandselfactualized.
Fortunately,asaninstructionaltechnologycoach,Iaminauniquepositiontobeableto
workdirectlywithteacherstoimproveservicetogiftededucatorsandmodelappropriatelessons
thatservethespecialneedsofallstudents,includingthegiftedandtalented,aswellasESOL.
HavingworkinginavarietyofinternationalschoolsteachingEnglishtoyounglearners,Ifeel
confidentinmyabilitytocontinuetocoachandmodelthebestteachingpracticesutilizing21st
centurytechnologytoolsandresourcestoinnovateandredefinelearningtofiteverychild.

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References
Davis,G.A.,Rimm,S.B.,&Siegle,D.(2011).Educationofthegiftedandtalented(6thed.).
UpperSaddleRiver,NewJersey:PearsonEducation,Inc.
Renzulli,J.S.(2011).Theories,Actions,andChange:Anacademicjourneyinsearchof
findinganddevelopinghighpotentialinyoungpeople.
GiftedChildQuarterly,

55
(4),
305308.doi:10.1177/0016986211421875
Sternberg,R.J.(2004).Definitionandconceptionsofgiftedness.ThousandOaks,
California:CorwinPress.