Self-realization, self-awareness and sense of social responsibility promoted by personalized learning arrangements (PLA)

Paper

<p>Gifted students need to recognize their above-average potentials in order to be motivated for personal efforts and to find sense in using their capabilities. In addition to these attitudes they need to develop strategies to transfer their abilities into high achievement. Apart from these learning aspects, they become aware that they “march to the beat of a different drummer” within their social and learning surroundings and need promotion to deal with their specific situation.</p>

<p>Students can develop these competencies in «learning architectures» which are going to evoke self-directed and self-reflective learning. Within these arrangements they develop learning strategies but also their self-concept, including competencies of self-realization, learning attitudes, volition, co-cognitive and executive competencies. The learning arrangements are based on the «Ecological Model of Gifted Education».</p>

<p>Core activities in these learning-environments are learning dialogues and professionalized coaching and mentoring that innervates self-reflection and self realization of the individual, combined with a sense of co-responsibility for the learning community.<br>
The presentation introduces a concept of self-driven learning that enables gifted students to learn in their individual «zone of proximal development». The learning architectures have been developed in collaboration with classroom teachers and educationalists. The learning activities of the students and the actions of the teachers were recorded using full-view and head-mounted cameras. This allowed an in-depth exploration of micro-learning processes of the students, and into practices of support and interventions provided by their teachers. The research focused upon learning processes of the students, but also upon changes in the comprehension of personalized learning and upon the convictions and teaching behaviors of the teachers.</p>