Culturally Responsive Teaching in Gifted Education

Our guest today on #gtchat was Dr. Joy Lawson Davis, Award-winning Author, Expert Scholar in Diversity and Equity in Gifted & Advanced Learner Programs.

What is culturally responsive teaching? Culturally responsive teaching uses cultural characteristics and experiences of ethnically diverse students to teach more effectively and make learning more relevant and meaningful (Gay, 2000). It matches curriculum with the needs of Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian, LGBTQ, low-SES, 2E/3E GT students (Davis, 2022) and employs curriculum which respects individual student and attempts to increase awareness by relating culture to course content.

Culturally responsive teaching is essential for GT students. It allows them to connect their multicultural backgrounds and experiences to content (Ford, 2015). Linked to wide-ranging positive outcomes, it has been shown to improve attendance, academic persistence, and overall interest in school. Specifically for GT students, culturally responsive teaching addresses stereotype threat (conforming to a stereotype) and affects identity development, equity & excellence, and the management of student emotions.

A culturally responsive educator should have democratic attitudes and values including an understanding of the nature of social justice. Teachers should appreciate and respect the diversity represented in their classrooms and recognize the existence of biases and prejudices. Culturally responsive educators understand how cultural identity develops and attempts to view social issues from various perspectives.

A culturally responsive classroom recognizes and honors diversity and acts as a safe haven for students where learning takes place in a less judgmental atmosphere. In it, teachers possess cultural awareness and seek to learn about their students specific cultural backgrounds. Curriculum is culturally relevant and multicultural content is infused into lessons and activities in a culturally responsive classroom.

Effective strategies for developing a culturally responsive curriculum include adopting student-centered approaches to diversity, questioning traditional concepts and evaluating its effectiveness. A culturally responsive curriculum should be evaluated for overtly discriminatory practices which could hamper talent development and the presence of unrealistically high expectations (Stambaugh & Ford, 2015). Adapting MTSS strategies can be helpful for 2E/3E students by addressing both remediation and challenge, and providing culturally relevant opportunities for deeper investigation (K. Henry Collins, 2020).

The transcript for this chat can be found at Wakelet.

Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Thursdays at 8E/7C/6M/5P in the U.S. and Fridays at 1AM GMT to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Wakelet. Our Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community.

About the author: Lisa Conrad is the Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT and Social Media Manager of the Global #gtchat Community. She is a longtime advocate for gifted children and also blogs at Gifted Parenting Support. Lisa can be contacted at: gtchatmod@gmail.com

Resources:

Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice 3rd edition (book)

A Personal Case of Culturally Responsive Teaching Praxis (pdf, book excerpt)

Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Diverse Students (book)

Culturally Responsive Teaching in Gifted Education: Building Cultural Competence and Serving Diverse Student Populations (book)

Empowering Underrepresented Gifted Students: Perspectives from the Field (book)

Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (pdf)

Identifying and Serving Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Gifted Students (Position Statement, pdf) | NAGC

UHD Faculty Address: Culturally Responsive Teaching’s Impact on Gifted Students

Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms for Gifted Students

Bright, Talented & Black (2nd edition, book) | Dr. Joy Davis

Increasing Equity in Gifted Programs

Supporting Gifted ELLs in the Latinx Community

Supporting Special Populations in Gifted Education

OK State Department of Education: Culturally Responsive Teaching for Gifted Students (pdf)

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students and Gifted and Talented Programs (thesis)

TAGT Book Study Series: Culturally Responsive Teaching & Serving Diverse Populations in Gifted Education

Cybraryman’s Culture Page

Cultural Competence to Help Diverse Students | MiddleWeb

Using Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in the Gifted Classroom (pdf) | Dr. Joy Lawson Davis

Photo courtesy of Dr. Joy Lawson Davis.

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad.

Gifted Role Models in Literature

By building relationships with GT students, teachers can gain insights into books from which students can most benefit; especially those with characters with whom they can relate. Gifted protagonists can inspire GT students and well written books can be much more appealing to these students who may aspire to be writers themselves. Literature portraying strong gifted and talented characters provides GT students with role models who let them see they are not alone and it’s okay to be talented or exceptional in a field of interest.

What are some favorite gifted characters from literature? My favorite is Everett in Allis Wade’s The School for Gifted Potentials. This character is highly relatable for gifted kids and especially for those with intense feelings. Another favorite is Artemis in the Artemis Fowl series. I have often recommended these books to kids interested in sci-fi. Jake in Surviving the Applewhites series by Stephanie Tolan is a great read for young GT students.

Classics that are appropriate for GT students include A Wrinkle in Time, Matilda, The Mysterious Benedict Society series, The Magic Treehouse series, and Ender’s Game. Additional classics include The View from Saturday, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Redwall, All About Sam, and Cam Jensen.

As with classics, there are many good books available for GT students. Some current selections are Coasting Casey A Tale of Busting Boredom in School, Your Fantastic Elastic Brain, and The Boy Who Loved Math. Series books such as Tom Ripley and Encyclopedia Brown are good choices as well as The Boy Who Loved Words and Up In The Garden Down In The Dirt. More in current literature includes Violet the Pilot, Going Places, and Olivia.

There are some excellent resources available online for locating literature for GT students with gifted role models. One of the best resources is Mensa for Kids’ Excellence in Reading Program (membership NOT required) with grade level reading lists and reading activities. Book publishers who specialize in books for the gifted community are a good resource: Prufrock (Routledge), Free Spirit Publishing, Royal Fireworks Press, Gifted Unlimited LLC, and Tumblehome Books.

A transcript of this chat can be found at Wakelet.

Resources:

Gifted Role Models in Literature and Film

Book Lists for Gifted Learners

Some of My Best Friends Are Books: Guiding Gifted Readers (3rd edition) (book)

Books for Gifted Children with Gifted Characters (pdf) | Columbus (OH) City Schools

Books Featuring Gifted Girls as Main Characters | Byrdseed

Books Featuring Gifted Guys | Byrdseed

Books whose Protagonists are Especially Gifted, Intellectually

Books for Gifted Kids | Lisa VanGemert

A Little Bit of Everything: Great Things for Gifted | Lisa VanGemert

14 Great Picture Books for Gifted Preschoolers and Kindergarteners

Gifted Bibliotherapy | Washington County (VA) Public Schools

Books for Developing Self-Awareness and Mindfulness in Young Gifted Children (Books that Feature Young Gifted Characters)

Books for Children, Featuring Gifted Children | Hoagies Gifted

Nurturing Social And Emotional Development In Gifted Teenagers Through Young Adult Literature | SENG

Gifted Fictional Characters

Finding Age Appropriate Books for Gifted Readers | Gifted Parenting Support

Association for Library Service to Children

Tumblehome Books

Royal Fireworks Press

Mensa for Kids’ Excellence in Reading Program

Meeting the Educational Needs of Young Gifted Readers in the Regular Classroom (pdf)

Goodreads (Group): Gifted Children and Adults: Finding a Community

14 Great Picture Books for Gifted Preschoolers and Kindergarteners

5 Book Series that Show Gifted People Being Creative

Book Lists for Gifted and Avid Readers | Davidson Gifted

Gifted Reading List | Davidson Gifted

Reading List: Good Books for Bright Kids | CTY Johns Hopkins

Children’s Books with Gifted Protagonists (Pinterest) | Boulder Valley Gifted and Talented

Inspirational Books for Gifted Students

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad.

STEM: Career Opportunities for GT Students

STEM careers can be a good fit for GT students; especially as young gifted students often have greater competency in foundational skills at an early age making them ready for STEM integration at the elementary level. Many GT students possess strong cognitive ability, talent, creativity, and task commitment necessary for STEM careers (Putranta & Kuswanto, 2018). GT students may also have extraordinary thinking capacity and natural reasoning ability needed in many STEM fields (Yusof, Mokhtar, et al, 2020).

GT students often possess core characteristics such as curiosity, innovative thinking, complex problem-solving which are needed for emerging STEM fields (Stancek, 2022). They can have multiple potentiality, cross-domain interests, and diverse abilities may be drawn to more complex STEM fields (Putranta & Supahar, 2019) such as AI, robotics, and coding. GT students who are drawn to mathematics can perform well in fields such as quantum computing which requires quantum mechanics, linear algebra, machine learning, and information theory.

Gifted girls are constantly faced with misperceptions and negative stereotypes regarding careers in STEM fields at an early age. Teachers can counter these by recognizing female contributions in the classroom. By integrating STEM into the curriculum, gifted girls are naturally integrated into collaborative learning rather than competitive learning in the classroom with male students. Teachers with the support of school counselors can help gifted girls realize opportunities available in STEM fields and the value of their own potential contributions.

STEM education “has a positive effect on the teaching-learning environment, increasing academic success at knowledge, comprehension, and application levels of gifted students” (Jen & Moon, 2015). It helps GT students “make progress in terms of acceleration and enrichment”. It increases motivation and meets their “educational needs through challenging content suited to their higher abilities (Ozkan & Kettler, 2022). STEM education helps GT students “reach targeted learning goals, configure the newly acquired knowledge, and develop self-management and self-confidence skills (Ozkan & Kettler, 2022).

STEM career resources are abundant online, but GT students and their parents can benefit from taking advantage of information provided by state and national gifted organizations which often link to GT specific resources. A rich resource for GT students seeking information regarding STEM careers is university programs with summer academic camps (such as Governor’s Schools) and dual-enrollment options for high school students. School guidance counselors can direct GT students to programs by national providers such as NASA, JPL, or the National Science Foundation.

A transcript of this chat can be found at Wakelet.

Resources:

Top 19 New Technology Trends Emerging in 2023

7 Emerging Technologies that will Reshape Education in 2022 | National Commission for Science, Technology, and Innovation

Consistency between Personality Career Interest with Sciences Field among Gifted and Talented Students (pdf) | Journal for the Education of Gifted Young Scientists

Bias in Gifted Identification and Education: Gifted Girls in STEM

UK: STEM Careers That Will Unlock the Door to Success

The Effects of STEAM-based Activities, Gifted Students’ STEAM Attitudes, Cooperative Working Skills, and Career Choices | Journal of Science Learning

A Public School CTE STEM Program can Prepare Students for Valuable Careers in Cybersecurity, Engineering, Biomedicine, Coding, and Renewable Energy

DreamFest Gives Gifted Students a Chance to Utilize STEM Talents and Socialize | Northern Kentucky University

Effects of STEM Education on the Academic Success and Social-emotional Development of Gifted Students (Todd Kettler) | Journal of Gifted Education and Creativity

Choices Gifted Women Made in Education, Personal Life, and Career: A Qualitative Study in the Netherlands | Gifted and Talented International

TKS: The World’s Top Global Accelerator for Teens

4 Ways to Inspire our Most Creative Thinkers to Love STEM

MIT: MITES STEM Resources

Gifted Elementary Students from Sealy Schools Gain Valuable STEM Experience at Texas A & M Engineering Spark Outreach Program

STEM Careers: 2023 Guide to Career Paths, Options & Salary

Discovery Education, Caterpillar Foundation, and Learning Undefeated Launch New Initiative to Inspire Next Generation of STEM Professionals

AZ: TGen Researchers Lead STEM Program at Kinsey Elementary

STEM Education | UT – Austin College of Education

The “STEM Expert” Fallacy A Deeper Dive into the Education Sector’s Talent Deficit

Great STEM Expo Exposes Local Middle School Students to Various Gadgets, Future Career Opportunities

AR: UALR Workshop Explores Teaching [STEM]

Where do college graduates work? A Special Focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad

Finding Quality PD in Gifted Education

There are multiple reasons educators (both GT & gen. ed.) should seek PD in gifted education. In states where certification is required, it may be mandated. Very few undergraduate teaching programs offer coursework in gifted education. PD provided insights into GT students’ needs, vital advocacy tools, and strategies in the field. GT students benefit from being taught by educators who are prepared to meet their unique learning and social-emotional needs.

In 2021, the WCGTC released Global Principles for Professional Learning developed by a committee of international scholars. A link to this work is provided in this chat. Quality PD in gifted education should be evidence-based, have tiered content, address the whole child, and take into consideration equity in gifted programming. When seeking PD, educators should look for offerings which are comprehensive, ongoing, sustainable, consider school-wide initiatives, and be empowering.

PD in gifted education provides information specific to gifted learners and their needs. It can increase awareness of the most recent local requirements and state laws regarding its implementation. Gifted education PD advances knowledge in the field which benefits GT students in gifted programs as well as the general ed. classroom. It combats myths and negative attitudes about gifted students.

In recent years, gifted organizations have expanded their options by offering specialized conferences in addition to annual conferences; such as, ones concerning leadership and twice-exceptional students. Often, conference attendees can network with presenters and keynotes to learn about additional opportunities throughout the year available to LEAs. Many education professionals offer PD in gifted education both in-person and online. This has increased opportunities and reduced costs.

International, national, and state gifted organizations are excellent sources of PD. Many organizations offer Speaker Bureaus, online options (webinars, Zoom), and annual or biannual conferences (in person and online). Educators can find quality PD by forming and participating in PLNs and book studies, joining professional organizations, and accessing research-based materials. Last, but not least, Twitter educational chats can also provide PD with topic specific resources and a way to network with colleagues, authors, and professionals.

A transcript of this chat can be found at Wakelet.