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644637

research-article2016
GCTXXX10.1177/1076217516644637Gifted Child TodayGifted Child Today

GIFTED CHILD TODAY July2016

Feature

Pedagogy for Early Childhood Gifted Education


Sandra Kaplan, EdD1 and Nancy B. Hertzog, PhD2

Abstract: Federal attention is focused currently on critically important window of opportunity to develop a
investing and improving the quality of early childhood childs full potential and shape key academic, social, and
education, so that childrens potential and talent cognitive skills that determine a childs success in school
development can be used as a natural resource for the and in life (Whitehouse, 2013).
future of our country. This article engages readers in
transitioning their thinking about early childhood gifted Together with federal awards, this amounts to a collective
education from a traditional advanced skills-based approach investment of over $1 billion in the education and
that introduces young children to academic standards earlier development of Americas youngest learners (Whitehouse,
and faster, to an education that honors the developmental 2014).
stages of young children and the experiential emphasis
The time is right to attend to the


that parallels how they learn. The
framework proposed empowers quality of early childhood programs
teachers to design learning contexts
It is more that develop talent and potentialto
that elicit talent, potential, and
emerging abilities, and challenges
challenging for embrace pedagogies from gifted
education that focus on challenge and
all learners to display their teachers to identify student-directed learning. These are
strengths. Practical suggestions are high expectations for early childhood
given to develop a pedagogy that childrens strengths, programs to develop childrens full
enables young children to learn potential; unfortunately, practice does
in developmentally appropriate
interests, and not always reflect engaging
play-based and student-focused
environments.
abilities through curriculum and instruction that truly
develops and elicits students
curricular and strengths and talents.
Keywords: young gifted, gifted instructional
education, pedagogy
practices. What Is Quality Early
Childhood Education?

T
he United States is focusing on
early childhood education as What are the components that
proactive planning for a better future. States have determine quality in early childhood education? How can
changed their emphasis from educational policies that affect quality be monitored, measured, and improved? How do policy
K-12 to those that affect prekindergarten. Many have initiated makers, administrators, and communities come to understand
funding for preschool for all and universal kindergarten. The whats best for their children? Highly controversial viewpoints
White House website confirms this priority: surround these questions and the field. Katz (2008) in her
speech to educators articulated four critical questions for early
Expanding access to high-quality early childhood childhood educators:
education is among the smartest investments that we can
make. Research has shown that the early years in a childs 1. What should be learned?
lifewhen the human brain is formingrepresent a 2. When should it be learned?

DOI: 10.1177/1076217516644637. From 1University of Southern California, and 2University of Washington. Address correspondence to: Sandra Kaplan, EdD, University of Southern California,
1150 South Olive Street, Suite 2100, Los Angeles, CA 90015, USA; email: skaplan@usc.edu.
For reprints and permissions queries, please visit SAGEs Web site at http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav.
Copyright 2016 The Author(s)

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vol. 39 no. 3 GIFTED CHILD TODAY

3. How is it best learned, taking into account our answers to more recently aspects of the philosophy emerging from Reggio
the first two questions? These answers are usually Emilia, Italy. The role that pedagogy plays in identifying and
captured by the term pedagogy. developing students strengths is the perspective advocated for
4. How can we assess how well we have accomplished our early childhood gifted education.
goals? Advocating for appropriate curriculum and instruction for
advanced young learners is not the same as advocating for early
Early childhood gifted education revolves around the identification of giftedness. Rather, we advocate for teachers to
facilitation of intellectual engagement and challenge in gain the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to create dynamic
meaningful activities for young children. In this article, a learning environments that promote students dispositions to
framework is provided to design high-quality early childhood learn. There tends to be reliance on intelligence or ability
learning environments that develop talent and potential and testing to identify and label gifted children because there is an
respond to emergent abilities. They are appropriate activity- assumption that giftedness is inherent and needs to be
based environments where children are exploring the world recognized formally. In early childhood classrooms, giftedness
through play with the active presence of teachers, where there manifests itself as potential and needs to be stimulated. It is
is high teacher involvement and rich student-initiated learning more challenging for teachers to identify childrens strengths,
(Miller & Almon, 2009). To develop these contexts for talent interests, and abilities through curricular and instructional
development, teachers, administrators, and gifted program practices than to rely on a score from aptitude or intelligence
coordinators must not only change their current focus on tests. Informal and ongoing assessment that recognizes the
traditional academic skill acquisition but they must also change development of strengths and abilities is a goal of all early
their thinking and assumptions about how gifts and talents childhood educators. The focus on emphasizing student
should and could be identified and addressed in the early autonomy through experiential learning creates a difference
school years. between socializing students in school and socializing them on
The current trend of a standards-based, test-driven how to learn. It is critically important to model and support the
curriculum at the kindergarten level contradicts what early disposition of how to learn at an early age.
childhood educators know about how young children learn. Teaching children how to learn does not mean more
This framework argues against the assumption that to challenge worksheets, more didactic teaching, or acceleration of basic
young learners, they need more and/or accelerated traditional academic skills. Vygotsky would argue that childrens learning
academic work to advance their cognitive development. Miller begins with play. Through play, children go beyond their
and Almon (2009) cited international research: A cross-national proximal zone of development and push their thinking
study of more than 1500 young children in ten countries found (Nicolopoulou, Barbosa de S, Ilgaz, & Brockmeyer, 2009).
that in every country childrens language performance at age There is often confusion about the distinction between activity
seven improved when teachers let children choose their and play, so that it is perceived as meaningless rather than
activities rather than impose didactic lessons (p. 19). The same meaningful experiences for children. A misconception held by
international study found that young childrens cognitive educators is that play is not educationally productive classroom
performance at age 7 improved when children spent less time time. Transitions to more activity-based learning that follows
in whole-group activities and more time working or playing patterns described in the theories espoused by Dewey and
individually or in small groups. others, and the need to place aside traditional concepts of what
All young children need intellectually stimulating and when giftedness can and should be recognized, enable
environments that optimally blend teacher-facilitated and educators to rethink and restructure the curriculum and
child-initiated exploration. Play-based activities, project pedagogy for young children. Three critical beliefs and values
investigations, and artistic expressions facilitate explorations of shape the framework for early childhood gifted pedagogy:
the disciplines that make the context for students to think
critically, creatively, and through a variety of perspectives. Katz All children should have provisions for challenge.
advocated for in-depth learning for all children. Challenge provides recognition for teachers and students
of their strengths, needs, and their interests.
Unless children have early and frequent experience of Teachers who create contexts to recognize strengths,
what it feels like to understand something in depth, they needs, and interests respond to the variance in levels of
cannot acquire the disposition to seek in-depth readiness among learners.
knowledge and understandingto engage in life-long
learning. (Katz, 2008) Imagine entering these three early childhood classrooms
(see Figure 1). Consider which of the following depictions of
Life-long learning and success in college and beyond start in classrooms is most aligned to the current philosophical thrusts
the early years. Creating, implementing, and evaluating for students in Grades Pre-K-2 (the early years), and which of
curriculum that challenges young children are not new but are these classrooms could most answer these contemporary
based on ideas from Martinson, Piaget, Dewey, Vygotsky, and questions regarding early childhood:

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Figure 1. Three ways of learning.

What are the essential tenets of an early childhood controversies about both the age and instrument suggestions for
curriculum and pedagogy that promote uncovering identification. While many educators profess that the issues of
potential, talent, and/or emerging aptitude? early identification rely on factors extraneous to the process of
How can curriculum and pedagogy be used as a catalyst schooling, there are many educators who profess that the
to uncover and challenge potential, talent, and emergent identification of young children is dependent on schooling:
abilities? curriculum, instruction, environment, and the attitude of
How can teachers and parents of young students be educators about children and learning in the early years. There
helped to comprehend changes in the early childhood are many alternatives advocated to identify early childhood
curriculum and pedagogy without affecting their concern students, and these need consideration.
for the teaching and learning of the perceived basics? One suggestion is related to the concept of a Continuum of
How can educators be assisted to realize that college Identification stipulating a range of possible indicators to
readiness begins in the early years? recognize potential, talent, and emergent aptitude. The process
How can educators and parents be helped to understand of identification associated with a continuum perspective allows
and appreciate that activity-based learning or play is an educators to recognize students within a range of possibilities
appropriate learning strategy and the fundamental of the rather than relying on an absolute set of characteristics or single
curriculum and pedagogy for students in the early years? index. Implementing the Continuum of Identification places
greater responsibility on educators to accept a more extensive
and inclusive process to recognize and respond to potential,
MindShiftTransitions in Thinking About talent, and emerging aptitude.
Early Childhood Gifted Education
There are many transitions that are expected if the early Transition 2
childhood curriculum is going to be appropriate for all learners Transitions from educators waiting for potential to be
within this age group, and for the specific need to recognize and displayed to setting the conditions and situations that serve as
respond to potential, talent, and emerging aptitude or abilities of a catalyst and potentially require, and possibly demand, the
these students. The balance between traditional and transitional expressions of a young childs potential, talent, and/or emerging
curriculum and pedagogy will be a worthy yet testing experience aptitude. This transition transfers the responsibility for the
for educators. Following are five transitions that require display of potential to teachers who plan and construct an
intellectual dialogue and action among educators (see Table 1). environment inclusive of learning experiences that promote and
encourage the opportunities to display students abilities.
Transition 1
Transition from standardized to non-traditional methods to Transition 3
discern the potential, talent, and/or emergent aptitude of young Transition to placing greater emphasis on inquiry-based
students in the early years. The literature is replete with curriculum and instruction necessitates the presentation of

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Table 1. MindshiftingFive Transitions in Thinking

Transition 1 Transition from standardized to non-traditional methods to discern the potential, talent, and/or emergent
aptitude of young students in the early years.
Transition 2 Transitions from educators waiting for potential to be displayed to setting the conditions and situations
that require and possibly demand the expression of a young childs potential, talent, and/or emerging
aptitude.
Transition 3 Transition to place greater emphasis on inquiry-based curriculum and instruction necessitates the
presentation of open-ended situations or contexts that are germane to activate and acknowledge prior
knowledge, create an interest in the acquisition of new knowledge and understanding of an identity-
oriented self-directed style and appreciation for learning and personal success.
Transition 4 Transitions to define multiple means, and both fixed and individualized ends to lessons and units of
study are necessary.
Transition 5 Transition by teachers to assess the differences between what they believe young students are able to
learn versus considering what these children are actually capable of learning.

Continuum of identification.

open-ended situations or contexts that are germane to activate outcome, it limits opportunities that stimulate curiosity and
and acknowledge prior knowledge, create an interest in the creative thinking.
acquisition of new knowledge, and understand and enact an
identity-oriented self-directed style and appreciation for learning Transition 4
and personal success. Inquiry-based strategies strengthen
Transition to define multiple means, and both fixed and
intellectual dispositions, as defined by Da Ros-Voseles and
individualized ends to lessons and units of study is necessary.
Fowler-Haughey (2007).
The concept of providing a single pathway to teach and learn a
defined and absolute end to assess the learning for all students
These dispositions include making and checking
inhibits rather than encourages the individualization necessary
predictions, solving problems, surmising about cause-and-
to recognize and respond to emergent potential, talent, or
effect relationships, to name a few. In a science center in
aptitudes. The concept of transitioning to both fixed and
a kindergarten classroom, a poster features a portrait of
individualized ends for assessment provides an age/grade norm
Albert Einstein. Being a Scientist is its bold heading,
reference, a relative peer-related norm reference, and a
followed by a list of ideal dispositions for science: being
personally defined growth reference. In this way, the young
curious, investigating, collecting and recording precise
student is assessed with respect to a variety of indicators that
data, cooperation, communication, seeking answers,
encourage educators, parents, and students to gain a complete
asking new questions, and persistence (p. 2).
understanding of their numerous interests and capabilities.
Children in early childhood not only need to gain
knowledge and skills, but most importantly, they also need to Transition 5
develop the dispositions to be curious, creative, persistent, and Transition by teachers to assess the differences between
motivated. If basic skill acquisition is the primary curriculum what they believe young students are able to learn versus

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Contexts for eliciting creativity and critical thinking.

Example:

Unit Objective:
Students will be able to define and solve an open-ended problem (i.e. zookeeper responsible to house and tend to
more animals than the number of cages currently available) requires the application of skills such as categorizing,
describing, and justifying that relate to the process of problem-solving, prior knowledge, personal interest, and ones
potential (talent or aptitude). Students will demonstrate the resolution of the problem in a model created from blocks
or junk and will be able to defend their solution to the problem using the language of the discipline (zoology, zoo life,
animals, etc.) and figurative language patterns.

Sample learning inquiry-focused objective.

Example:

MULTIPLE MEANS FIXED ENDS MULTIPLE ENDS


(Fixed and Individualized)

Students will learn to categorize objects, All students will be able to apply the skill Students will have an opportunity to
words, and/or numbers dependent on of categorizing when presented with a exercise the skill of categorizing relative
their identified and expressed needs, defined set of items. to a personally defined interest in an
interests, and abilities to solve the area of study.
problem.

Multiple learning pathways.

considering what these children are actually capable of learning. on todays young learners. In addition, the young students
This transition necessitates redefining expectations for early age opportunities within their own culture and peers of diverse
children limited to theoretical ideas that are incongruent to the cultures have shaped their awareness of the world. It is critical
background and experiences of todays young students. that teachers plan and implement curriculum aligned to the
Teachers need to consider the affects of media and technology sophistication young children express in their play, discussions,

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vol. 39 no. 3 GIFTED CHILD TODAY

and interests, and release some of their reliance on now, more states are requiring early identification. The state of
developmental scales that are not always up to date with the Washington, for example, has a mandate to identify and serve
contemporary abilities of early learners and their potential, children in gifted programs K-12. This puts pressure on teachers
talent, or emerging aptitude. Importantly, teachers need to to identify and serve their young students within
recognize their academic prejudicial attitudes about what may developmentally appropriate play-based environments.
be too difficult for these learners rather than adjusting their Many teachers have been socialized to believe by institutions
pedagogy to facilitate the students readiness to learn. and peers that a good teacher is one who has total academic
control rather than being empowered to negotiate learning
Curriculum Development Considerations experiences with the learner. The transitions discussed in this
Although there are many models to develop early childhood article suggest that teachers have a repertoire of possibilities to
curriculum, educators are encouraged to be adaptive and eclectic engage students, and have the ability to spontaneously question
to new sources of curriculum development to be responsive to and provoke childrens thinking. Teachers need to be
the children in their classrooms. This concept infers that the mindshifters to follow the transitions necessary to design
following ideas and beliefs need to be reexamined: environments that truly engage and challenge all children, even
the most precocious young ones.
A scope and sequence, the traditionally planned
curriculum, is the most effective way for students to reach Conflict of Interest
academic achievement. The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
There is a single curriculum or singular pedagogical respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
approach that can provide for the variance of needs of article.
young children.
Students from economic, linguistic, and cultural diversity
are more in need of traditional curriculum and rote and Funding
drill instructional activities. The author(s) received no financial support for the research,
Identification is a consequence of the instruments used authorship, and/or publication of this article.
rather than the curriculum provided.
References
Da Ros-Voseles, D., & Fowler-Haughey, S. (2007, September). Why
Taking Action: Responsive Teaching and childrens dispositions should matter to all teachers. Beyond the
Emergent Curriculum Journal: Young Children on the Web. Retrieved from https://www
.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200709/DaRos-Voseles.pdf
Teachers who facilitate the exploration of students ideas and
Katz, L. G. (2008, February). Current perspectives on the early childhood
interests encourage children to extend their thinking. They have curriculum. OPEN Eye Conference, London, England.
developed the pedagogy of listening and observing (Reggio Miller, E., & Almon, J. (2009). Crisis in the kindergarten: Why children need
Emilia) as a means to discover and document the needs, to play in school. College Park, MD: Alliance for Childhood.
interests, and strengths of students. They design learning Nicolopoulou, A., Barbosa de S, A., Ilgaz, H., & Brockmeyer, C. (2010).
environments that provide a catalyst to nurture and identify Using the transformative power of play to educate hearts and minds:
potential, talent, and emergent abilities in young children. These From Vygotsky to Vivian Paley and beyond. Mind, Culture, and
learning environments have the following: Activity, 17, 42-58.
The White House. (2013). Education and knowledge for the jobs of the
1. A variety of resources such as raw materials, prompts for future: Early learning. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/
play, books, and photographs to stimulate independent issues/education/early-childhood
inquiry. The White House. (2014, December). FACT SHEET: Invest in US: The White
House summit on early childhood education. Retrieved from https://
2. Opportunities for children to solve problems within,
www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/10/fact-sheet-invest-us-
between, and across disciplines alone, in small groups, or white-house-summit-early-childhood-education
with the entire class.
3. Opportunities for students to utilize their current
understandings to hypothesize about topics and to Bios
engage in role-playing their relationship to the topic. Sandra Kaplan, EdD, is a clinical professor at the University of
4. A curriculum that allows for differentiated challenges to Southern California and past president of the National
be conducted independently (independent study). Association for Gifted Children.

Summary Nancy B. Hertzog, PhD, is a professor of educational psychology


Gifted education has generally started after second grade at the University of Washington. She is the director of the
once students have taken standardized achievement testsand Robinson Center for Young Scholars.

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