Exploring Gifted Education focusses on the most fundamental and pressing topics in gifted education from across Australian and New Zealand contexts and gives particular attention to evidence-based practices and research findings. The wide variety of topics presented include: identification of gifted learners, creativity, twice-exceptional learners, affective considerations, teaching the gifted, curriculum considerations, programs and services, STEM, early childhood learners, rural and remote contexts, and parents of gifted learners. Each chapter provides guiding questions and key ideas to help orient the reader, and discussion questions synthesise the chapter’s concepts at the conclusion. The first book of its kind to synthesise research-based findings in gifted education from across New Zealand and Australia, it is an essential reference tool for researchers and a key text for courses in gifted education. Practitioners and parents will also find the assembled research illuminating and informative in understanding and addressing the needs of gifted learners.

A Field Guide to Gifted Students is a practical manual to the unique characteristics of gifted and advanced learners. Presented as a concise 32-page, full-color booklet available in sets of 10 print copies or a single eBook copy, this resource: Can be used in teacher workshops and other group professional learning settings. Assists educators in understanding and meeting the academic and social-emotional needs of gifted students. Includes a companion online facilitator's guide. Features practical tips based on current research and best practices. Is packed with illustrations, checklists, space to write notes, and a glossary of terms. School can feel like the wrong fit for many gifted learners, but through learning how to notice and support gifted students' diverse traits and needs, educators can build ideal classroom climates for student success. Readers will understand how to identify giftedness and related traits, including twice-exceptionality, introversion and extroversion, perfectionism, sensitivity, and intuitiveness. The online facilitator's guide includes everything workshop leaders need to conduct a brief course for classroom teachers, coordinators, counselors, or even parents.

This volume brings together experts in gifted education to explore critical perspectives in talent development across the lifespan, guiding readers toward a deeper understanding of advanced learners and their education. Chapters in the first section delve into the foundational theory, research, and models of practice underpinning gifted education and talent development, while the second section examines the practical applications of talent development in assessment, programming, and ongoing research. The book concludes with an exploration of talent throughout the lifespan, featuring detailed case vignettes to illustrate development across diverse fields of practice. Ideal for researchers as well as students of gifted education and creativity studies, this comprehensive handbook challenges readers to interrogate what they think they know about giftedness and talent development.

One hundred years in the future, Government Observers roam the classrooms of average learners, looking for the rare gifted learners still left in the general population. One gifted child, who has been carefully coached by his mother to appear average, is unaware that his abilities have been documented by an Observer for years, until he is tricked into showing his mathematical strengths. He is devastated to receive a letter requiring him to test at The School for Gifted Potentials, but he cleverly sabotages the tests and is prepared to leave, only to discover that his mother has abandoned him at the school she has raised him to fear. During his one week orientation, as he undertakes an enlightening journey of self-discovery, he uncovers a secret about his mother's past that leads him to question everything that he once believed.

It’s time to say NO to trying to fit square-peg kids into rounds holes, and YES to raising them from a place of acceptance and joy. Today millions of kids are stuck in a world that doesn’t embrace who they really are. They are the one in five “differently wired” children with ADHD, dyslexia, giftedness, autism, anxiety, or other neurodifferences, and their challenges are many. And for the parents who love them, the challenges are just as numerous, as they struggle to find the right school, the right support, the right path. But now there’s hope. Differently Wired is a revolutionary book—weaving together personal stories and a tool kit of expert advice from author Deborah Reber, it’s a how-to, a manifesto, and a reassuring companion for parents who can so often feel that they have no place to turn. At the heart of Differently Wired are 18 paradigm-shifting ideas—what the author calls “tilts,” which include how to accept and lean in to your role as a parent (#2: Get Out of Isolation and Connect). Deal with the challenges of parenting a differently wired child (#5: Parent from a Place of Possibility Instead of Fear). Support yourself (#11: Let Go of Your Impossible Expectations for Who You “Should” Be as a Parent). And seek community (#18: If It Doesn’t Exist, Create It). Taken together, it’s a lifesaving program to shift our thinking and actions in a way that not only improves the family dynamic, but also allows children to fully realize their best selves. “In this generous and urgent book, Deborah Reber lets the light in. She helps parents see that they’re not alone, and even better, delivers a positive action plan that will change lives.”—Seth Godin, author of Linchpin “Differently Wired will help parents of children who think differently to accept their child for who they are and facilitate their successful development.”—Temple Grandin, author of Thinking in Pictures and The Autistic Brain

According to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), evidence-based practices are supported by rigorous research designs and demonstrate that they improve student outcomes, but the actual implementation of these practices in schools is limited. This essential guidebook assists coordinators of gifted education in implementing three evidence-based practices: universal screening, grouping, and acceleration. Each module includes an overview of research, administrative and assessment considerations, forms for implementing the practice, scripted presentation slides for educators and parents, and resources. Modules may be used by educators within a series of workshops for an entire school district, on an individual campus or for important stakeholders.

Based on constructivist learning theory, The Multiple Menu Model presents six practical menus that guide curriculum developers as they bring together an understanding of a discipline, its content and methodologies, and a vast array of instructional techniques. Teachers have successfully used this approach to challenge learners on all levels and make learning more meaningful, relevant, and engaging. The Knowledge Menu aids educators as they locate a topic in the realm of knowledge, uncover the basic principles and concepts, and explore the methodology used by practicing professionals in the field. The Instructional Objectives and Student Activities Menu helps teachers address issues of balance between content and process objectives as they write curriculum. The Instructional Strategies Menu reminds educators of the wide range of teaching strategies they can use within a lesson or unit. The Instructional Sequences Menu helps educators organize and sequence a unit or lesson to maximize impact and outcomes. The Artistic Modification Menu encourages teachers to inject the curriculum with their own creative contributions, such as personal stories, collected memorabilia, and hobby materials. The Instructional Product Menu presents the outcomes of learning experiences. Using the six menus, step-by-step planning guides, and reproducible templates, curriculum developers can: challenge all students with opportunities for higher level learning; place a premium on organization and pursuit of authentic knowledge; use real-world investigative skills in the classroom; blend advanced content and higher level thinking processes; teach enduring concepts and principles instead of trendy topics and transitory information; focus on representative topics that are used as a vehicle for process development; inject personal stories, experiences, and realia into lessons to heighten motivation and engage imagination; differentiate lessons to meet the needs of all students; and engage students in pursuing topics of their own personal interest and producing authentic products of their own choosing. Teachers using the Multiple Menu Model provide challenging curriculum opportunities for all students and guidance for exploring and applying knowledge in the real world.

This guide is for leaders of pre-K-12 gifted education programs and for district personnel who are responsible for planning and implementing professional development activities for teachers at all levels of schooling.

Although the best way to provide professional development for educators is through field experiences and hands-on practice, it is not always easy or even possible to organize such encounters, especially in the field of gifted education. In order to better prepare educators to work with gifted and talented students, Exploring Critical Issues in Gifted Education: A Case Studies Approach presents problem-based learning scenarios that explore authentic situations found in K-12 classrooms. The scenarios can be read and discussed in a short amount of time, allow the reader to gain greater understanding through empathy, require an analysis of multiple perspectives, and support the standards of excellence set forth in the 2010 NAGC Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards. Using the cases in the book, educators will gain the insight needed to improve the identification of and services for gifted and talented students in light of these standards.