Exceptional Students Research Articles

Extraordinary Teachers, Exceptional Students

The interplay between master teachers and gifted students offers lessons that can be applied to all teachers who want to develop the potential of their students.

University of Florida College of Medicine

University of Florida College of Medicine

Why Isn't Talent Development on the IEP? SEM and the Twice Exceptional Learner

Why isn't talent development included on the Individual Educational Plan of 2E students? Twice exceptional students have unique issues that respond especially well to a talent development approach especially within the context of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model Through case studies and a review of successful projects using SEM with at risk populations, this article provides a rationale for using a talent development approach. The article concludes with an in-depth look at a school designed for 2E learners showing how the elements of the Model are helping this special population of students to thrive.

Engaging undergraduates to solve global health challenges: a new approach based on bioengineering design.

Recent reports have highlighted the need for educational programs to prepare students for careers developing and disseminating new interventions that improve global public health. Because of its multi-disciplinary, design-centered nature, the field of Biomedical Engineering can play an important role in meeting this challenge. This article describes a new program at Rice University to give undergraduate students from all disciplines a broad background in bioengineering and global health and provides an initial assessment of program impact. Working in partnership with health care providers in developing countries, students in the Beyond Traditional Borders (BTB) initiative learn about health challenges of the poor and put this knowledge to work immediately, using the engineering design process as a framework to formulate solutions to complex global health challenges. Beginning with a freshman design project and continuing through a capstone senior design course, the BTB curriculum uses challenges provided by partners in the developing world to teach students to integrate perspectives from multiple disciplines, and to develop leadership, communication, and teamwork skills. Exceptional students implement their designs under the guidance of clinicians through summer international internships. Since 2006, 333 students have designed more than 40 technologies and educational programs; 28 have been implemented in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, southeast Asia, and the United States. More than 18,000 people have benefited from these designs. 95% of alumni who completed an international internship reported that participation in the program changed or strengthened their career plans to include a focus on global health medicine, research, and/or policy. Empowering students to use bioengineering design to address real problems is an effective way to teach the new generation of leaders needed to solve global health challenges.

Teachers as Bridges: Educating for a Better Tomorrow

Teachers act as bridges for their students. Teachers link young individuals to the knowledge and traditions of society. Through their professional practice and dedication, they help students develop the skills to succeed in school and in the world. In their classes, teachers help students relate to each other across cultures, which is crucial to the development and vitality of civil society in a changing world. Dedicated teachers are bridges reaching out to exceptional students or to underappreciated subjects. Visionary teachers develop innovative approaches that offer hope of a brighter future for everyone. The articles in this issue of Brock Education all highlight different ways in which educators are bridges to a better tomorrow.

Demographic Changes on Public Education for Culturally Diverse Exceptional Learners: Making Teacher Preparation Programs Accountable

The changing demographics in public schools have called for strategic changes in how students in general and special education are educated. While this trend is increasingly becoming apparent, many educators and leaders are still entrenched in traditional methods of learning and teaching. As a result, culturally diverse exceptional students continue to be misidentified, misassessed, miscategorized, misplaced, and misinstructed. These entrenched practices have ramifications for preservice and inservice obligations of teacher education and leadership programs. This article discusses the impact of demographic changes on public education for culturally diverse exceptional learners. In addition, it discusses how teacher preparation programs can be made accountable to all learners.

Horatio Alger Lives in Brooklyn: Extrafamily Support, Intrafamily Dynamics, and Socially Neutral Operating Identities in Exceptional Mobility among Children of Mexican Immigrants

By analyzing the life course of an exceptionally successful Mexican student, Emmanuel of Brooklyn, this article interrogates current theories on the incorporation of immigrant youth, including “segmented assimilation.” The author explains Emmanuel's unlikely and exceptional achievement as the result of intrafamily dynamics, including his keeping of the immigrant bargain; extrafamily supports, including “first chance, fast track” programs for exceptional students in the New York City public schools and the involvement of mentors; and Emmanuel's development of “socially neutral operating identities” to negotiate his membership in new and disparate social worlds. The study shows the reach and limitations of current theories on the children of immigrants and opens new avenues for further research.

A Study on the Status of the Education Assessment of Exceptional Students in Middle School in Yeungnam area and Special Education Teachers' Perception

A Study on the Status of the Education Assessment of Exceptional Students in Middle School in Yeungnam area and Special Education Teachers' Perception

God's Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America

Patrick Henry College is a private Christian school located near Washington D.C. Exceptional students and faculty from the college were chronicled in this book by Hanna Rosin.

Competencies and educational needs of special teachers for transitional education of exceptional students integrated in regular school

Competencies and educational needs of special teachers for transitional education of exceptional students integrated in regular school

Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction

The Council for Exceptional Children is pleased to partner with the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCREST) to periodically include in TEACHING Exceptional Children topical briefs to support your efforts in addressing the learning needs of exceptional students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Counseling Exceptional Individuals and Their Families: A Systems Perspective

This article presents three models of counseling exceptional students from a systems perspective. The authors present their definition of counseling, the goals of counseling, and the counseling relationship from a systems perspective. Each model is described, including assessment and intervention techniques appropriate for working with children, adolescents, and their families when giftedness and learning disabilities and other disabilities are part of the context. The authors discuss implications for school counselors and provide several cases as examples.

Counseling Exceptional Individuals and their Families: A Systems Perspective

This article presents three models of counseling exceptional students from a systems perspective. The authors present their definition of counseling, the goals of counseling, and the counseling relationship from a systems perspective. Each model is described, including assessment and intervention techniques appropriate for working with children, adolescents, and their families when giftedness and learning disabilities and other disabilities are part of the context. The authors discuss implications for school counselors and provide several cases as examples.

Modifying Schoolworkin Inclusive Classrooms

This article focuses on the instructional aspects of inclusive education and describes how collaborating teams of general education and special education teachers can adapt instruction so that students with disabilities and their classmates without disabilities can learn together in shared activities. A model for creating individualized adaptations for the range of exceptional students encountered in inclusive schools is presented. The adaptations model is designed to facilitate the achievement of the goals of inclusive education by modifying schoolwork in the least intrusive way possible and ensuring social and instructional participation by students with disabilities. The steps of a process for designing curricular and instructional adaptations are summarized, and several planning tools to assist in making the process more efficient for teachers and more effective in enhancing student achievement and social belonging are described.

Recognizing Gifted Students: A Practical Guide for Teachers

By watching for certain behaviors and characteristics, teachers in the general education classroom can identify and better understand exceptional students.

The Constants: Change and Professional Growth

Mr. C, my principal, invited me into his office. How do you think you are doing? he asked. So far, so good. don't think I've missed anything yet, answered. He continued, I think you're working out fine. You know you're here on probation this year. don't have time to train you so you're on your own. My natural apprehension for a new position, new job classification, and new coworkers intensified with those words. was the only counselor in a small junior high school with no counselor mentor and no one to share my concerns. This began my school counseling experience. The next 16 years of my career were spent as the counselor at Bethel Junior High/Middle School located at the foot of Mount Pisgah in the beautiful Smokey Mountains of rural western North Carolina. As reflect on my career, the one constant is change. When began on August 6, 1989, school counseling was inclusive. was expected to fill any shoe or hat that my administrator wanted me to fill. My responsibilities included scheduling, record keeping, attendance, test coordinating, and referring exceptional students. was in charge of all types of special programs. In addition, often served as coordinator or committee chairperson regardless of my expertise, and represented our school on central office and community committees. coordinated all school clubs, honor societies, and award programs. In my role as school counselor, held conferences with parents, teachers, and students and counseled students on academic, personal, and career issues. An important responsibility included facilitating transitions from elementary to junior high and from junior high to high school. The job was overwhelming. Many days would get to school early and stay several hours late in order to have time to spend with students. As the years progressed, my job changed. Five years after was assigned to Bethel Junior High, it became Bethel Middle School, and the focus changed to the middle school concept with emphasis on a team approach and the social/emotional developmental needs of students. At the same time, the focus of educational reform in North Carolina centered on academic success as demonstrated by student test scores in reading and math. Haywood County created a lead teacher position, and test coordination became part of the duties of this position. As time progressed, administrative support staff used computerized record keeping and scheduling to complete many tasks that were previously mine. As my duties changed, was able to devote my time and energy to promote the academic, social/ emotional, and career development of students. …

A 21st-Century Model for Identifying Students for Gifted and Talented Programs in Light of National Conditions: An Emphasis on Race and Ethnicity

S chools began providing services for gifted and talented (GT) students in the 1860s (DeLeon & VandenBox, 1985). However, GT programs in public schools did not become common in the United States (U.S.) until about 100 years later. Terman’s (1925) scholarship helped establish standards for GT programs when he identified intelligence as an important, perhaps the most important, marker of gifted students, and he suggested they should score among the top 2% on nationally standardized intelligence tests. These standards for identification continue in many locations. For example, 73% of school districts rely on standardized measures of cognitive abilities when identifying GT students (Heward, 2000). GT programs are intended for students who display exceptional qualities, whose needs are not sufficiently served in regular education programs, and are likely to benefit from special education and related services. Although GT programs presumably are intended to meet students’ needs, support for the programs is highly dependent on whether they meet local, state, and national needs. The federal government highlighted the importance of educating GT children following the Soviet Union’s launch of its first satellite in 1957. Congress passed and the President implemented the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) in an effort to educate exceptional students for the purpose of closing the gap between the Soviet Union and U.S. in science and technology. Prior to the Act’s ratification, only six states had legislation addressing the needs of GT students. With NDEA funding, services for GT students reached an all time high and were found in all states (DeLeon & VandenBox, 1985).

Teacher Beliefs, Professional Preparation, and Practices Regarding Exceptional Students and Sexuality Education

Abstract Sexuality education, part of the comprehensive school health education component of a Coordinated School Health Program, interests many health educators as well as special education teachers. In this study, Florida special educators reported their beliefs about teaching sexuality education to educable mentally disabled students, the range of sexuality topics they teach, and their professional preparation in sexuality education. Respondents (n = 494) completed a mailed instrument that included the 36 sexuality content areas identified by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. Respondents believed strongly that many of the sexuality topics and content areas should be taught to educable mentally disabled students. However, most reported delivering only a modest amount of sexuality education, and they rated their professional preparation as inadequate. Regression analyses documented that respondents’ beliefs predicted the topics they actually taught within 5 of the 6 key concepts. This study supports collaboration between health educators and special education teachers to adapt existing sexuality curricula for students with special needs, improve professional preparation of special education teachers to teach sexuality education, and to more effectively implement comprehensive school health education through the Coordinated School Health Program model to special education students. (J Sch Health. 2005;75(3):99-104)

Teacher beliefs, professional preparation, and practices regarding exceptional students and sexuality education

Sexuality education, part of the comprehensive school health education component of a Coordinated School Health Program, interests many health educators as well as special education teachers. In this study, Florida special educators reported their beliefs about teaching sexuality education to educable mentally disabled students, the range of sexuality topics they teach, and their professional preparation in sexuality education. Respondents (n = 494) completed a mailed instrument that included the 36 sexuality content areas identified by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. Respondents believed strongly that many of the sexuality topics and content areas should be taught to educable mentally disabled students. However, most reported delivering only a modest amount of sexuality education, and they rated their professional preparation as inadequate. Regression analyses documented that respondents' beliefs predicted the topics they actually taught within 5 of the 6 key concepts. This study supports collaboration between health educators and special education teachers to adapt existing sexuality curricula for students with special needs, improve professional preparation of special education teachers to teach sexuality education, and to more effectively implement comprehensive school health education through the Coordinated School Health Program model to special education students.

Creating Culturally Dynamic Materials for Rural Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Students

In order to provide culturally appropriate instructional materials for rural Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional (CLDE) students, a variety of culturally dynamic methods and materials have been developed for teachers of Mexican-American and Native American CLDE students in rural areas of Arizona. The instructional materials that are described can be easily adapted for use with other rural CLDE populations by changing the native language and native culture frame of reference to match those of the rural students in the local community.