Negotiating the Sands of Time: The First Hundredth XX

Abstract

In the first decade of the millennium, gifted child education profit by looking back as a field and documenting where we have been. Dialogically, we also need to set a course for the future with clearly defined statements of intention grounded in the best practice of the present. In this opinion piece, I convey and discuss three foci--teacher education, research approaches, evaluation and accountability--each ripe for exploration and exploitation as scholars and practitioners of gifted child education pursue a broader sphere of influence in public education. Teacher Training People only see, what they are prepared to see.-Walt Whitman The search for excellence in education has challenged the classic approach to teacher education that includes coursework in lesson planning, classroom management (i.e., behavior control), practice teaching in small groups, and adolescent and child development. One learns about pedagogy, but not enough about children. Teacher shortages (either perceived or real) pressure teacher education programs to accelerate the certification of candidates. Little opportunity exists for preservice teachers to explore the philosophy behind their notion of teacher and learner or the diverse classroom environments they will inherit as practicing professionals. As preservice teachers gain experience working in the dynamic setting of a school, teacher education programs have migrated out from the university setting, with the aim of theory meeting practice. Awareness Training The next decade presents an opportunity for educators and practitioners trained in gifted child education to influence the preparation of teachers by modeling student-based teaching, enrichment for all, and appropriately directed differentiation based on diverse student abilities and interests. Preservice teacher field experiences must contain a component focused on education of the gifted and talented. Emphasizing gifted awareness training at the preservice level will help disseminate understandings about gifted child education as teacher candidates form their impressions about the students they will encounter in their classrooms. Once introduced to gifted and talented learner needs, they will be ready for additional opportunities to learn about students in their charge and be more likely to identify barriers to learning in the classroom. Leadership and Model Teaching Lively classroom teaching (and learning) can occur as behavioral objectives and classroom management are replaced by classroom leadership and investigations into student and teacher perceptions, expectations, and prior experiences in and across content areas. Teachers will no longer be in control of the content. Students will actively develop curriculum and be responsible for depth and breadth of knowledge acquisition and use. To accomplish these goals, gifted child educators in teacher training programs will need to enter school classrooms as day-to-day teachers, rather than researchers and scholars visiting in brief spurts, telling classroom teachers what they should be doing, and then returning to the ivory tower. Blitzkrieg research conducted for intense but brief periods with (or on) gifted children provides limited information about the complex lives these individuals lead. Such studies may earn a publication or two, but they contribute little to the depth and breadth needed to understand giftedness as something more than a test score, product, or performance. Flexible Programming In many schools, services for gifted children are limited to the program as it originally was proposed and approved by the school board. This is too often limited to academic areas involving language arts, mathematics, science, and sometimes creativity studies. If you are gifted in one of these areas, there are opportunities available to you. However, if you are gifted in foreign language acquisition, leadership, or have an emotional intensity, you are less likely to have your education or guidance needs met. …