Gifted and Talented Education
Proposal
Up to 10% of students are in the gifted and talented range. These highly-able students have enormous potential but frequently underachieve and may be neglected, largely because they’re considered to be doing fine on their own. Here we are mistaken. Given their inner sensitivities and advanced mental processing, the evidence worldwide is that they can be quite vulnerable and ‘at risk’, often missed (underachieving and / or twice exceptional (2e) with a gift and a disability). To optimise their potential they require informed supports in teaching, parenting and counselling. These learners are a gift to the world and deserve to be supported in their own right. The continuous professional development (cpd) I provide for teachers points the way forward.
CPD Objective: To enable teachers to identify, understand and support gifted and talented students.
Change happens when CPD is sustained over time. Below are the various steps. Steps 1,2,3 can be done on the same day or over two days.
Fidelma provides a listening/briefing zoom with leaders in advance of CPD for best outcomes.
Feedback indicates that teachers and students find the CPD leads to higher outcomes and increased levels of fulfilment, strengthening inclusion, equality and diversity across the school.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Kind regards,
Dr. Fidelma Healy Eames, PhD, MSc., BEd.
About ‘The Gifted Learner: How to Help’ book
Background reading of ‘The Gifted Learner: How to Help’ – all chapters are beneficial but chapters 23 and 24 on best practice make for crucial reading for the team in this regard – available at studyandcareers.ie/shop/ and distributed by Otb.ie Learning Resources
About the Author
Dr. Fidelma Healy Eames, PhD, MSc., BEd. is director of Study and Careers, an independent education, wellbeing and careers consultancy based in Galway. A teacher, teacher educator, author and trained facilitator, she loves facilitating education events. More about Fidelma is available at https://studyandcareers.ie/about-us/
‘The Gifted Learner: How to Help’
‘The Gifted Learner: How to Help’ is a book authored and researched by Fidelma Healy Eames, PhD., MSc, BEd. Published by Pavilion Publishing (UK), and distributed by Outside the Box Learning Resources (otb.ie) this book is designed as a resource for teachers and parents of gifted learners. Comprising up to 10% of the population, these highly able learners are often neglected in classrooms largely because they are deemed lucky and privileged to be so bright. Yet, what is frequently forgotten and not understood is their need for challenge and their internal struggle at a social and emotional level arising from their heightened intensities and sensitivities, which result from their extraordinary mental processes.
Research. Fidelma carried out original research for this book over a two and a half year period. The 19 case studies (comprising 57 interviews with learners ranging in ages from 10-58 years, parents and teachers) help us to recognise, identify, understand and support the learner.
Chapters addressing their strengths and challenges range from Curiosity, Problem-solving, Avid reading to Perfectionism, Intensity, Boredom, Self-Criticism, Worry and Stress. Chapters on curriculum provision, differentiation and best practice point the way forward.
Uniquely, in each chapter there is a ‘how to help’ section for teachers and parents which many claim provide useful strategies and suggestions for all learners. Importantly, this book also addresses the under-achieving gifted learner and the ‘twice-exceptional’ learner, a young person with a disability and a gift. Accommodating these learners through appropriate curriculum provision is discussed.
” Given that 10% of our learners are in this range, my wish for this work is that every school would have CPD on this subject. But there is added value too – the good news is that facilitating a gifted and talented programme in your school lifts all boats for all learners’’, said Fidelma.
‘The Gifted Learner: How to Help’ is distributed by otb.ie and is available at studyandcareers.ie/shop/,