CHALLENGE OF WORKING WITH GIFTED CHILDREN

gifted

Preparation:

Course organizers will send to the participants list of materials related to the course topic they can read in order to prepare for the course. Organizers will be available in case participants need any information related to the accommodation, plane tickets or any detail necessary in organizing the course.

Course description

Gifted education, also referred to as Gifted and Talented Education (GATE), is a term that comprises the methodologies, procedures, practices and theories employed in the education of gifted or talented children. However, there is no universally agreed upon definition of what exactly it means to be gifted. So how we define the term "gifted" as it relates to children? Some educators define giftedness in terms of IQ. Others in terms of academic performance. How giftedness is measured and defined may vary within a given state, district, or individual school.
We can say that gifted children exhibit the potential for higher than normal performance in areas of intellectual, creative, artistic, academic and leadership capacity, and in order to fully develop their talents and capabilities require educational and non-curricular activities not provided in a traditional school setting.
However, giftedness can be defined in children in terms of reasoning and learning ability. Specifically, the association classifies children as gifted if they demonstrate exceptional levels of aptitude or competence in one or more structured areas of academic activity such as mathematics, music, language, etc.; or in a set of sensorimotor skills such as dance, athletics, art, etc. While IQ is useful for identifying academically capable students, most experts agree that assessment of giftedness should be based on a variety of measures of capability and potential rather than relying on just one. Measures for assessing giftedness should include academic, creative, artistic, and leadership performance; capability and potential; and overall performance relative to other students.
This course will help you to detect gifted child at an early stage of development; the sooner you detect it, the earlier you will be ready to react and adapt your program to the gifted child.

Methodology:

The methodological approach implicates:

  • Team – Building Sessions;
  • Outdoor activities;
  • Ice – Breaking and Warm – Up Sessions;
  • Energizers
  • Group Discussions;
  • Debates;
  • Science projects;
  • Creation of individual learning pathway for the learners;
  • Problem – Solving Activities;
  • Project – Solving Activities
  • Inquiry – Based Activities
  • Questioning;
  • Goal – Setting sessions;
  • Decision – Making Sessions;
  • Action – Based Strategies;
  • Brainstorming;
  • Planning and Structuring;
  • Negotiation and Persuasion;
  • Self – Motivation Sessions;
  • Questionnaires

Objectives:

  • Learning the terminology regarding gifted children
  • Developing tools and techniques for working with talented children
  • Learning how to detect the gifted child at an early stage of development
  • Increase gifted students’ engagement by outdoor activities
  • Encouraging gifted student to fulfill their potential
  • Stimulating learner-based approach in “gifted education”
  • Learning how to perform different projects with gifted children
  • Learning how to engage gifted students through game-based approach

Learning Outcomes:

  • Integration with teachers from various European countries
  • Improvement of language and communication skills
  • Increased capacity to cooperate on international level
  • Getting practical ideas for applying in classroom
  • Enhanced intercultural awareness
  • Internationalization at the level of education
  • Broader understanding of practices, policies and systems in inclusive education
  • Improve the teaching of strategies and methods in “gifted education”
  • Learn what kind of training is needed to teach gifted children
  • Enhance diversity and intercultural awareness, critical thinking and cyber media literacy
  • Encouragement of sharing best practices, ideas and materials between colleagues within the EU
  • Mastery of teaching techniques, e.g. multiple intelligences, editing and structuring reading texts, reinforcement and different approaches to teaching.
  • See and analyze examples of good practice

Follow-up:

Trainees will be given soft and hard copies of all lesson materials, which they presenting to their colleagues at their own organizations to generate interest in 21st-century teaching methods with creative thinking. In addition, a mailing list of participants will be created in order to exchange ideas/experiences. Self-evaluation materials will be provided. At the end of the course the participants will accomplish a questionnaire in order to get a detailed feedback for the effectiveness of the training event.

Program of training activities day-by-day:

Day 1 – MONDAY

  • Welcome and registration
  • Introduction to the topic of gifted children: Is there a definition of gifted?
  • The importance of environment that stimulates gifted children
  • What are the ways the gifted children are served in the classroom?
  • Every gifted child is different – the program for gifted children

Day 2 – TUESDAY

  • Ice – breaking activities
  • Multiple intelligence theory
  • Helping gifted students to fulfill their potential in the mixed classroom
  • Examples of “gifted education” from European countries 

Day 3 – WENDESDAY

  • Practical exercises aimed for gifted students
  • Encouraging gifted child’s learning by stimulating them with various learning materials
  • Early detection of gifted child (from 0 to 6)
  • Critical debate: Advantages and disadvantages of having gifted children in the classroom

Day 4 – THURSDAY

  • The importance of parental involvement and cooperation in stimulating gifted children’s abilities
  • Art and learning: Stimulating picture smart children in inclusive classroom
  • Creating lessons plan for gifted students

Day 5 – FRIDAY

  • How to explore in learning: Workshop for “gifted education”
  • The advantage of gamification: Games as a vehicle for learning
  • Frequently asked questions about gifted education

Days 6/7 – SATURDAY and SUNDAY Workshops and Cultural/Sightseeing Activities

Day 8 – Monday

  • Music and learning: Stimulating effect of music for gifted students
  • Inclusive classroom strategies
  • Project-based learning

Day 9 – Tuesday

  • Kind of training teachers need to work with gifted children
  • How do I know that program for gifted children is of high quality – discussion
  • The most common myths concerning gifted and talented education

Day 10 – Wednesday

  • Project – based teaching: My 6 months' plan for dealing with gifted children in the classroom
  • Feedback, course evaluation and dissemination focus