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A Model for Growing Teacher Talent Scouts: Decreasing Underrepresentation of Gifted Students

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Handbook of Giftedness and Talent Development in the Asia-Pacific

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

Abstract

Underrepresentation of some talented students of promise has been an intractable issue in US public schools (Boothe D, Stanley JC, In the eyes of the beholder: Critical issues for diversity in gifted education. Prufrock Press, Waco, 2004; Ford, J Negro Educ 64:52–62, 1995). Because giftedness as a concept is culturally bound, it is no surprise that the values of a culture contribute to the identification of who the gifted and talented are as well as the special educational services they receive. Access for high-ability students to programs and classes can positively impact an individual’s future education and professional opportunities. Teacher development as an approach for opening access and opportunity and growing diverse learners’ academic potential is addressed in this chapter. An overview of theories, models and effective practices shown to develop teachers’ knowledge and skills to recognise and grow emergent talent of students from diverse backgrounds (Olszewski-Kubilius P, Clarenbach J, Unlocking emergent talent: supporting high achievement of low-income, high ability students. National Association for Gifted Children, Washington, DC, 2012; Subotnik RF, Olszewski-Kubilius P, Worrell FC, Psychol Sci Public Interest 12:3–54, 2011) provides grounding in what is known. The overview connects talent development to key research in educational psychology, for example, motivation, persistence, and grit (Duckworth A, Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Scribner, New York, 2016; Dweck C, Mindset: The new psychology of success. Ballentine, New York, 2007). Exemplars of successful teacher-focussed programs and projects (Coleman MR, Coltrane SS, Harradine C, Timmons LA, J Urban Educ Focus Enrichment 6:59–67, 2007; Gavin MK, Casa TM, Adelson JL, Carroll SR, Sheffield LJ, Gift Child Q 53:188–202, 2009; VanTassel-Baska J, Stambaugh T, Overlooked gems: a national perspective on low-income promising learners. National Association for Gifted Children, Washington, DC, 2007) that raise rigor and challenge for all students via advanced curriculum and instruction translate theory into practice. The model of talent development that emerges consists of three primary components: cultural influences (Gay G, Culturally responsive teaching. Teachers College Press, New York, 2000; Ladson-Billings, The dreamkeepers: successful teachers of African-American children. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2009), psychology of learning (e.g. Duckworth A, Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Scribner, New York, 2016; Dweck C, Mindset: The new psychology of success. Ballentine, New York, 2007) and powerful curriculum and instruction that utilises the Integrated Curriculum Model (VanTassel-Baska J, The integrated curriculum model. In: Callahan C, Hertberg-Davis HL (eds) Fundamentals of gifted education considering multiple perspectives. Routledge, New York, pp 315–326, 2013) with student-driven inquiry (Gavin MK, Casa TM, Adelson JL, Carroll SR, & Sheffield LJ, Gift Child Q 53:188–202, 2009). Research-based approaches (Swanson JD, Brock L, Kessler L, Talent development academies: providing access and opportunity to advanced learning for Title I students. Manuscript in preparation, 2018) used to advance professional learning of teachers, including whole group, small group, fidelity observations and differentiated teacher learning, are shared. The chapter concludes with a discussion of a framework for growing student talent through focussed teacher development and the implications for adoption of such a framework in the field, and potential directions for further research.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this work comes from the US Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Education Act, Grant Award Number S206A140029.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA

    Julie Dingle Swanson

  2. Javits Project, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA

    Lara Walker Russell & Lindsey Anderson

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  1. Julie Dingle Swanson
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  2. Lara Walker Russell
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Correspondence to Julie Dingle Swanson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Susen R. Smith

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  1. St. John's University, New York, NY, USA

    Seokhee Cho

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Swanson, J.D., Russell, L.W., Anderson, L. (2019). A Model for Growing Teacher Talent Scouts: Decreasing Underrepresentation of Gifted Students. In: Smith, S. (eds) Handbook of Giftedness and Talent Development in the Asia-Pacific. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3021-6_55-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3021-6_55-1

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