Gifted and Talented

I chose to include the National Association for Gifted Children website (NAGC) in my resource collection. Enrichments are described as providing differentiated instruction to gifted students to supplement their curriculum. Typically, this is considered a horizontal approach as it does not advance a student to a higher level or grade, rather it just adds additional content. (McGuire, 2022) "The common element across enrichment programs is the expansion of the existing curriculum. Students are allowed and encouraged to study topics in depth that extend beyond the scope of the general education curriculum. The goals behind enrichment activities are to allow opportunities for critical thinking and problem solving through in-depth analyses of specific content areas." (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2018) Enrichment activities help students perform at their proper level of acheivement. 

Some educators may be unsure of the need of using enrichments for gifted and talented students in their classroom. The NAGC website provides a link called "Informal Education and The Path to Enrichment." This link provides a quick snap shot of the benefits of enrichment in the classroom. The link states that, "Removing students from their “normal” learning world and placing them into an environment with new texture and life— assuming there is a standards-aligned, rigorous and passionate approach to teaching—can truly open their eyes to new possibilities and views. If we strategically expose children to new experiences and environments, we can change their trajectories and interest levels significantly." (NAGC) The link also gives many examples of enrichment activities that all students would benefit from. This link also has links to a blog with an abundance of different topics. I would use this resource to help me create amazing enrichment instruction in my classroom.

One of my main goals as a teacher is to be able to understand the circumstances that my students or their parents are going through. The link "Resouces for Parents" will greatly help me do this. Specifically within that link there is an "Advocate for your Child" link. First, this link will help me create a "plan" that will already be ready for when a gifted/talented student enters my classroom. This will also help me view the circumstance from the parents perspective and help me support their student.

Resources

Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (2018). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective differentiated instruction (6th ed.). Pearson.

McGuire, D. (n.d.). Take online courses. earn college credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. Study.com | Take Online Courses. Earn College Credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://study.com/

National Association for Gifted Children |. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2022, from https://www.nagc.org/