According to the online essay writers community, some of the best gifted and talented education professional development information is available for free from the National Association for Gifted Children.
As teachers prepare for differentiating their lesson plans with gifted children in mind, it is a good time to check in with the NAGC and see their revised standards for Pre-K though 12 grade Gifted Programming Standards. Even regular classroom teachers can benefit from the standards, because part of gifted programming includes regular classroom acceleration.
Free Gifted and Talented Education Standards Book
The NAGC offers a free PDF ebook detailing their current gifted and talented program standards, as well as a web-version that has a lot of information for parents and teachers. According to the introduction written by NAGC's president, Ann Robinison, the changes move from having a focus on best teacher practices to best student practices. " You will note an increased focus on diversity and collaboration – two powerful principles that guide high quality programs and services," she writes, "The new standards use student outcomes, rather than teacher practices, as goals. Both revisions create stronger standards and align them with current thinking in education standards generally."
The standards address six areas: learning and development, assessment, curriculum and instruction, classroom and learning environments, programming, and professional development. Each of the sections has related resources and guiding questions, making it an ideal tool for seasoned teachers who are looking for reflection questions to improve their practices and find areas that need growth and development. You can download NAGC Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards: A Blueprint for Quality Gifted Education Standards for free; it is an excellent resource for gifted education teachers to share with their faculties, and it includes a glossary of common terms in gifted education.
Gifted and Talented Education Standards for All Teachers
NAGC has useful position papers, long and short, that address common concerns in gifted education. They offer three Knowledge & Skill Standards in Gifted Education For All Teachers, and these are quick and easy guiding principles for teachers who are working on differentiation for gifted students and modification for special needs students. Read more at the essay writing help.
When it comes to differentiating for gifted students, the NAGC says that all teachers (which means classroom teachers, core teachers, and gifted education teachers) should "differentiate instruction, content, and assignments for them (including the use of higher-order critical and creative-thinking skills), and to nominate them for advanced programs or acceleration as needed."
As cluster grouping and in-class differentiation are becoming increasingly common, accelerated and advanced programming is more manageable in a single classroom setting except in cases of highly gifted, exceptionally advanced students. It is difficult to differentiate without training, resources, and support, so free resources such as the NAGC's ebook and the standards for teachers are good discussion points and leang tools.
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