https://padlet.com/karen_weaver3/z9ozuzuo9rvkc2gy en-us 2023-08-04 17:12:13 UTC 2023-08-04 17:37:00 UTC hello@padlet.com karen_weaver3 https://padlet.com/karen_weaver3/z9ozuzuo9rvkc2gy/wish/2656214035 Collaboration among gifted, general, special education, and related service professionals is crucial to meet the varied needs of today's diverse student population. Specialized educators share their expertise and insights to plan for students across programs and services. Giftedness is complex, impacting the whole child's development, necessitating collaboration among various specialists. However, in my observed experience gifted students are not currently being serviced in this way. I have rarely if ever observed special education teachers service gifted students in our division. When I first started teaching, I was empowered to differentiate instruction and provide deeper dives for students who already had proficient understanding of grade level standards. Now with everything that is placed on the plate of a classroom teachers, and many times little to no planning time, gifted students are not prepared for and serviced with the same intensity as lower achieving students. I believe one solution that could solve this problem and many others is to provide more planning and prep time (uninterrupted) for teachers. ]]> 2023-08-04 17:18:13 UTC https://padlet.com/karen_weaver3/z9ozuzuo9rvkc2gy/wish/2656214035 karen_weaver3 https://padlet.com/karen_weaver3/z9ozuzuo9rvkc2gy/wish/2656220817 Gifted Education is founded in the principals that every child has unique academic and social strengths and potential that should be recognized and nurtured throughout a child's educational experiences. The goal is for gifted education systems to provide gifted students with challenging and enriching learning opportunities. There is a lot of academic research to support gifted education. First is research that advocates for underrepresented populations of students to be more represented in gifted education programs and services. Plucker and Peters (2016) in their publication, Excellence Gaps in Education discuss the benefits of expanding opportunities for diversifying and increasing representation of all student groups in gifted education. Other research that I found highlighted the importance of collaboration between all stakeholders to best serve gifted students. The study emphasized that collaboration among teachers, parents, and other stakeholders is essential to fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment. Finally, the last body of research that I examined focused on addressing the whole child and paying close attention to the social, emotional, and mental health of all students, but especially gifted students who can sometimes face mental health, anxiety, fear, and self-doubt when learning new things or taking risks. Pressure can be placed whether intentional or unintentional that can affect students in negative ways. One article, Addressing the Social and Emotional Needs of Twice Exceptional Students highlighted challenges that gifted students can face through expectations placed on them when they are labeled as gifted. As educators, it is our responsible to care for the whole child and support social and emotional growth in addition to academic growth, increase representation of underrepresented groups, and collaborate with all stakeholders to provide a quality education experience for gifted students. ]]> 2023-08-04 17:36:49 UTC https://padlet.com/karen_weaver3/z9ozuzuo9rvkc2gy/wish/2656220817