Educating Exceptionally Talented Students Essay -- Special Education

Concern for at-risk learners forces the education of high ability learners to take a backseat in traditional classroom. Standard instruction and curriculum based on a pacing and sequencing method does not always allow students to accelerate. By definition, the term â€Å"gifted† exemplifies exceptionality often regarding intellect, creativity and leadership. An identification of gifted suggests that an individual requires specialized services and curriculum that are not always addressed by traditional methods of education. High ability learners require a challenging curriculum and specialized educators to prosper academically. The negligence in discharging one’s exceptionality can often lead high-ability learners to foster resentment, boredom and frustration. Traditional instruction and curriculum is not always structured to benefit the needs of exceptional learners. Gifted education programs are essential in educating exceptionally talented students due to the indivi dualized approach toward a student’s unique learning-style. Self -contained gifted classrooms offer a structured environment that allow for social and intellectual growth opposed to the traditional classroom. The inherent flexibility within the gifted program facilitates gifted development of a high-ability learner through acceleration and enrichment. Self-contained gifted classrooms serve as a school within-a-school segregating exceptional learners from the traditional classroom and curriculum. This offers a more individualized approach towards learning and instruction required in adapting to the unique abilities and learning styles of a gifted student. Homogenous classrooms of gifted students allows for accommodations of content, instruction and environment creati... ...litate intellectual and social growth due to the inherent flexibility which adequately accommodates for diverse learning styles. High ability learners deserve the same amount monitoring and guidance as underachieving students. Gifted programs are targeted at rendering an affective curriculum that challenges high-ability learners where as some traditional classrooms exercise pacing and sequential methods. Through a self-contained gifted classroom one receives the individualized attention and guidance needed to reach full potential. Works Cited Refrences Acceleration. (2004). Retrieved from http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=383 Delcourt, M.A.B., Cornell, D.G.,& Goldberg, M.D. (2007). Cognitive and affective learning outcomes of gifted elementary school students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 51 (4), 359-381. from Research Library. (Document ID: 1390043111).