The Journal of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children

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After reading and analysing the final section of students’ reflective journals which required them to reflect on how their opinions had altered over the semester and their overall journey of learning two major themes emerged. One related to the realisation of their previous lack of knowledge and understanding about giftedness and the second related to the value of the unit’s content for their teaching in general, as illustrated in the following representative comments: “Looking at the changes in my attitudes I can’t believe how little I knew about gifted students and I was one myself! I just feel that I am much better prepared now” (Julie, 2010). “My journey through this subject has been one of fantastic enlightenment. I found that the more I studied, the more I felt compelled to learn more in an attempt to affect change…… The growth in my knowledge in this area has made me reflect on my teaching practices over the past 25 years, which at times has been very uncomfortable, but definitely necessary” (Allison, 2008). “I have really enjoyed this unit on giftedness. I feel it has opened my eyes to important issues I would have been completely unaware of. I now feel I am developing important insight into how to recognise gifted students and how to go about providing for them. Giftedness is such a complex issue with many dimensions to consider. These students won’t always stand out, often they can be the quiet ones that don’t want to be noticed or they can suffer from other disabilities which mask their brilliance. These disabilities can range from Asperger’s syndrome, ADHD to learning disabilities. Awareness and provision for the gifted in schools is slowly increasing, but there is still a long way to go and even further to go for the future of disabled students who are also gifted. Research concludes the gifted that are accelerated or grouped have positive experiences and excel both academically and socially. Social-emotional needs and aspects of gifted students are matched and met when they are placed with like-minded peers. Often to achieve this they have to be placed with older students or paired with a mentor to help them progress and develop their abilities” (Gayle, 2010). Moreover, there was an almost unanimous perception within every cohort over the three year period, of the need for a compulsory unit on gifted education. “I am really grateful that I chose this unit but can’t believe it isn’t compulsory – I have told all my friends to make sure they do it as otherwise they won’t have any idea what to do if they get a gifted kid in their class. My mum is a teacher and she is amazed at what I tell her – she has taken a few of the readings to her school for the staff and even asked my advice about one of her students who she now thinks might be gifted” (Sue, 2009). Finally the following heartfelt statement from one recent student sums up what many students perceive as the inherent value of this elective unit on giftedness: “I made a bold statement when beginning my journal for this subject: “throughout my academic career, no single unit has left me feeling as astonished and baffled by my own ignorance as EDF4512”. I stand by my words. Being in the final year of a Bachelor of Education, and having completed a law degree a year earlier, I felt as though I was well-equipped to soon enter the classroom as a teacher. Then along came this unit! It wasn’t as if this subject made me feel incompetent, but rather that I simply couldn’t fathom that someone in my position could be so oblivious of an educational issue that almost every single teacher will encounter in their profession. Gifted education cannot be considered in isolation; it permeates all subject areas, across all levels, and I think it’s a real shame that units such as this aren’t made compulsory in teacher education courses. As a pre-service English teacher I feel eternally grateful that I’ve been made aware of key issues surrounding gifted education now, before I formally enter the education profession. But, I do wonder about all those who – due to unavailability of the subject, timetable reasons or otherwise – have not been exposed to this educational issue. I worry because for all the excellent information provided on the characteristics of gifted students, the problems with identification, cultural disparity, and grouping and acceleration alternatives, our response to these issues turns so much on the attitude and knowledge of the teacher. Without an appreciation of what we’ve covered in this course, a teacher is unlikely to instinctively be on the lookout to respond positively and appropriately to the needs of gifted students. This is a real shame. Until there is broader education about giftedness, I feel as though many of the myths and misunderstandings that have punctuated this issue for decades (eg. the ‘zero-sum’ idea that investing in ‘gifted’ and ‘handicapped’) will continue to be peddled. But, on the plus side, you’ll have another lecture theatre full of staunch advocates out there in the schools fighting for proper provisions for the gifted. A small step? Maybe. But a step nonetheless. Thank you for a wonderful semester” (Nigel). Gifted and Talented International – 26(1), August, 2011; and 26(2), December, 2011. 43
Conclusions The World Council for Gifted and Talented Children Every year since it was first introduced in 2008, EDF4512 has featured as one of the top ranking units for the university according to formal student evaluations. Moreover, the results of this study illustrate the significant impact that involvement in a single semester unit has had on the opinions of preservice teacher education students towards the gifted and their education. Through pre and post survey responses and detailed reflective journals, participants illustrated the development of more positive understandings towards gifted students and their education. During the thirteen week period in which students were immersed in literature, research and discussion they were also asked to complete a reflective journal which provided a valuable source of data about their journey of learning about giftedness. While each of the 6 categories identified by Gagne and Nadeau (1985) were impacted, the effect size was noticeably more positive in relation to resistance to objections, dealing mainly with the importance of appropriate education for the gifted for social justice reasons, followed closely by the category relating to needs and support of the gifted. As research in the field has established strong links between specific knowledge and understanding on the development of positive opinions, and the concomitant impact on appropriate provisioning for gifted students, it could be argued that even a semester of study in an Education faculty at university (of units such as EDF4512) can make a substantive difference in helping students learn to be a more informed teacher of the gifted. References Adams, C. M., & Pierce, R. L. (2004). Attitudes of American and English preservice teachers toward gifted learners. Gifted and Talented International, 19(1), 15-23. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2009). Schools, Australia. Available: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4221.0. Accessed June 2011 Baldwin, A. (1993). Teachers of the gifted. In Heller, K.A., Monks, F.J., & Passow, A.H., (Eds.), International handbook of research and development of giftedness and talent, 621-629. Bangel, N. J., Moon S. M., & Capobianco, B. M. (2010). Pre-service teachers’ perceptions and experiences in a gifted education training model. Gifted Child Quarterly, 54(3), 209-221. Bohner, G., & Wanke, M. (2002). Attitudes and attitude change. East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press. Burney, V. H. (2008). Applications of social cognitive theory to gifted education, Roeper Review, 30(2), 130-139. Callahan, C., Cooper, C., & Glascock, R. (2003). Preparing teachers to develop and enhance talent: The position of national education organizations. (ERIC Document Services, No. ED477882). Cashion, M., & Sullenger, K. (2000). Contact us next year: Tracing teachers’ use of gifted practice. Roeper Review, 23(1), 18-21. Clark-Carter, D. (2004). Quantitative psychological research: A student’s handbook (2 nd ed.). New York: Psychology Press. Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2 nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Colangelo, N., Assouline, S .G., & Gross, M. U. M. (Eds.) (2004). A nation deceived: How schools hold back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2, pp. 59-68). Iowa City: Belin-Blank Centre for Gifted Education and Talent Development. Copenhaver, R. W., & McIntyre, D. J. (1992). Teachers’ perception of gifted students. Roeper Review, 14. 151-153. Croft, L. J. (2003). Teachers of the gifted: Gifted teachers. In N. Colangelo, & G. Davis (Eds.), Handbook ofgifted education (pp. 588-571). Boston; Pearson Education. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper Row. Davis, G., & Rimm, S. (2004). Education of the gifted and talented (5 th ed.). MA: Allyn & Unwin. Denzin, N., & Lincoln, Y. (2005). The Handbook of qualitative research (3 rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Dixon, A. (2006). What teacher education can do; Professional development: An overview. In A. Dixon & S. Moon (Eds.), Handbook of secondary gifted education (pp. 561-565). Waco: Prufrock Press. Ellis, Paul D. (2010). The essential guide to effect sizes: An introduction to statistical power, meta-analysis and the interpretation of research results. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Feldhusen, J. F. (1997). Educating teachers for work with talented youth. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds.), Handbook for gifted education, (pp. 547-552). Boston, MA: Allyn & Unwin. Feldhusen, J. F., Haeger, W. W., & Pellegrino, A. S. (1989). A model training program in gifted education for school administrators. Roeper Review, 11, 209-214. Feldhusen, J. T., & Moon, S. M. (1992). Grouping gifted students: Issues and concerns. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36, 63-67. 44 Gifted and Talented International – 26(1), August, 2011; and 26(2), December, 2011.
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