Creating encouraging environment for talented students – practical examplesPaper
Talented children are individuals with high abilities who are capable of accomplishing great achievements and are identified as such by experts (Ferberžer, 2002).
Contemporary trends in literature and practical experience show, among other things, that we should change the way we work with these gifted learners: we should focus on quality and not quantity of work, we should aim at developing specific area of individual’s talent, we must acknowledge important role of parents in all phases of the talent’s development. Also, it is crucial to include new educational strategies and technologies (Bezić, 2001).
“In schools, gifted students need teachers who understand their unique educational needs, the need of social acceptance, learning challenges and socializing. Teachers must provide various enriching activities (activities that are suited for gifted students and are aimed at expanding different perspective of knowledge and encouraging wholesome personal development outside regular class).” (Juriševič, 2012, p. 6).
Examples of good practice include cross-curricular integration. School subjects of natural sciences and social sciences are intertwined. Students actively participate in activities that are prepared according to the meaningful goals written in syllabus. Teachers use various teaching methods and techniques. This type of learning develops and improves collaboration skills, team work, reading comprehension competence, creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving creativity. Classroom work is combined with field work, museum and gallery tours nationwide and abroad.
Successful work with gifted students is based on three key elements: the teachers, who work with talented students and are motivated, innovative, willing to educate themselves and seek effective possibilities for collaboration; the school counsellors, who continuously supervise the work and personal development of gifted learners, and last, but not least, a headmaster, who represents a link among all participants and manages staff, finance and work space so that all the plans can be carried out.
Key words: cross-curricular integration, innovative teaching methods and techniques, development and improvement of competencies for 21st century.