Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Sarah J. Koonce
The term gifted and talented, as defined by Gagns Differentiated Model of Giftedness
and Talent, refers to students who have exceptional potential (gifted) and/or performance (talent)
in one or more domains of human ability (e.g., intellectual, creative, psychomotor) (Fraser-Seeto,
Howard, Woodcock 2014). Despite recognizing the importance of educators in meeting the
needs of gifted and talented students, research indicated that teachers often lack the essential
knowledge, skills and confidence to identify and meet the needs of gifted and talented students
(Fraser-Seeto, Howard, Woodcock 2014). Given that gifted students in the United States
typically know up to half of the curriculum content for a given grade before the school year even
begins, and that children in the highest ranges of intellectual ability often have mastered even
more, their opportunities for "good learning" in the academic areas are significantly less than
those of their classmates unless individual adaptations are made to the curriculum (Kearney
1996). Like all other students in the school, highly gifted children need daily opportunities to
learn new things, even though the pace, depth, and even subject matter may be different from
I chose to address this topic in my classroom because I had four students who finished
their work very quickly and spent in class work time reading to self or helping me around the
classroom. I proposed that by creating a virtual learning environment for the gifted and talented
students, time that these students spend engaged in active learning would increase, which would
be measured by a decrease in the amount of time these children currently spend reading to self
and helping in the classroom. After implementing online learning environment the gifted and
talented students in my class spend work time actively engaged in extended learning activities.
REFLECTION GIFTED AND TALENTED 3
Additionally, the students completed a Reading Interest Inventory to help guide reading choices.
Students are excited about the online learning environment and finding books that they enjoy
reading. I will continue to use Action Research to add resources onto the online learning
environment, so there are always online learning lesson extensions for students that finish their
work quickly. I will also use the data from the Reading Interest Inventory to gather more books
The graduate programs promote synthesis, integration, interpretation, and critical analysis
of new knowledge through rigorous, problem-centered, scholarly study (University of St. Mary
2011). I began by researching diverse students in the classroom, then narrowed down my topic to
meeting the needs of gifted and talented students. I continued to research how I could engage
these students in more learning throughout the school day. I implemented an online learning
environment and Reading Interest Inventory, and collected and studied the artifacts to decide the
next course of action. This follows the University of St. Mary Knowledge in Action Framework.
This Action Research project meets the criteria for the second point of the University of
St. Mary Graduate Program Outcomes which states; Candidates demonstrate knowledge of
diverse learners, including all forms of exceptionality, and create instructional opportunities that
meet the needs of all learners (University of St. Mary 2011). It also meets the eighth point which
examining research, advocating solutions, implementing a plan, and measuring and evaluating
outcomes (University of St. Mary 2011). These points were both addressed in my area of focus
statement which stated that by creating a virtual learning environment for the gifted and talented
students, time that these students spend engaged in active learning would increase, which would
REFLECTION GIFTED AND TALENTED 4
be measured by a decrease in the amount of time these children currently spend reading to self
and helping in the classroom. These were measurable by a journal that showed an increase in
time students spent actively engaged in learning, an attitude scale that showed students went
from being bored with all of the time spent in reading to self to being excited to continue
learning in the online learning environment, and more awareness about what books they students
This Action Research Project met four out of five of the National Board of Professional
teaching standards; teachers are committed to students and their learning, teachers are
responsible for managing and monitoring student learning, teachers think systematically about
their practice and learn from experience, teachers are members of learning communities
(National Board of Professional Teaching Standards 2002). I am committed to students and their
learning. I monitored and managed the needs of the gifted and talented learners in my class. I
thought systematically about how to meet their needs and will continue to learn from experience.
I am also a member of the learning community with the University of St. Mary graduate program
References
(1-15).
Kearney, K. (1996). Hightly Gifted Children in Full Inclusion Classrooms. Highly Gifted
Children, Summer/Fall.
National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. (2002). What Teachers Should Know and Be
University of St. Mary. (2011) Conceptual Framework for Graduate Programs. Leavenworth,
KS.