Gifted students want to be challenged and engaged in their learning process. Teachers of gifted students want to provide differentiated instruction in lesson planning that is rigorous, relevant and results oriented. Parents of gifted students want the best learning environment for their gifted children. The common thread for all three-(gifted students, teachers and parents) is that they want academic engagement and outcome in the classroom.
By providing parents with a form of differentiated instruction that addresses their parental needs in addressing the learning environments for their gifted children is a mandate for teachers who are working to educate the 'whole' child. Read on below to see how parents can work with teachers cooperatively in raising the academic bar for gifted students.
- Listening to gifted students and hearing about what they need in the classroom is the first step for both parents and teachers. Listening to parents who may provide additional perspective about their students in regards to learning processes and learning styles can help the teacher individualize his/her lesson planning and outcomes for gifted students.
- Inviting parents into the classroom as parent volunteers can provide teachers with additional support and encouragement in creating a more challenging course of study for gifted students. By being inclusionary of parents in the classroom, a team approach can occur that will promote a healthier academic and behavioral partnership for students at the core of gifted learning.
- In creating differentiated instruction for the gifted student, a teacher must create assignments and learning objectives that promote challenge in the classroom. However, this challenge must also be extended and differentiated for parents in understanding that rigor in a lesson is necessary to push the gifted student to excel and maintain engagement in learning outcomes.
When parents understand the complexity of differentiated instruction and planning that teachers make in insuring the most effective learning environment for their gifted students, trust can become the norm with gifted students being at the core of academic engagement and challenge in the classroom.