Identification in Talent Areas
Talent aptitudes include: Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Music, Dance, Psychomotor*, Creative or Productive Thinking and Leadership.
Identification in specific talent aptitudes requires the examination of a variety of instruments and the multiple pathways that lead to identification. It is important to understand the unique and varied characteristics a student may demonstrate in the talent domains. Within these areas, several years of talent development may be needed before formal gifted identification can be made. Students may be included in a talent pool to foster potential over time. The student may require further development to build a body of evidence that supports formal gifted identification.
Identification for gifted programming must be a team decision. This might mean the Response to Intervention (RtI) team, or a team created for gifted education (more than one person) with the inclusion of experts in the appropriate areas of strength. Parents and students should be involved and included in communication about identification from the first step!
The purpose of identification is to ensure that appropriate programming meets the needs of identified gifted students. Identification may be initiated at any time by teachers, support staff, parents. In DCSD we use a body of evidence to determine a need for gifted programming.
In order to be identified for gifted programming in a talent area, a team must review a body of evidence (BOE) that includes:
• A portfolio of work demonstrating performance
• Data from more than one source
• All data points aligned to one or more areas of strength
• All assessments and instruments reliable and valid
• All assessments and instruments culturally fair
Talent Identification Review Document
Facilitators who have already completed the Canvas Course but would like to access the training videos for quick reference.
Follow-up email for families interested in referring their student for a Talent Area ID process