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Home » Information & Publications » Resources » National Standards in Gifted and Talented Education » Pre-K to Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards » Standard 4: Learning Environments

Standard 4: Learning Environments

Effective educators of students with gifts and talents create safe learning environments that foster emotional well-being, positive social interaction, leadership for social change, and cultural understanding for success in a diverse society. Knowledge of the impact of giftedness and diversity on social-emotional development enables educators of students with gifts and talents to design environments that encourage independence, motivation, and self-efficacy of individuals from all backgrounds. They understand the role of language and communication in talent development and the ways in which culture affects communication and behavior. They use relevant strategies and technologies to enhance oral, written, and artistic communication of learners whose needs vary based on exceptionality, language proficiency, and cultural and linguistic differences. They recognize the value of multilingualism in today’s global community.

 

Ensuring Student Outcomes for Learning Environment with Evidence-based Practices

There are 5 Student Outcomes with accompanying Evidence-Based Practices included in the Learning Environments Standard:

Standard 4 Description: Learning environments foster personal and social responsibility, multicultural competence, and interpersonal and technical communication skills for leadership in the 21st century to ensure specific student outcomes.

Student Outcomes

Evidence-Based Practices
4.1. Personal Competence. Students with gifts and talents demonstrate growth in personal competence and dispositions for exceptional academic and creative productivity. These include self-awareness, self-advocacy, self-efficacy, confidence, motivation, resilience, independence, curiosity, and risk taking.

4.1.1. Educators maintain high expectations for all students with gifts and talents as evidenced in meaningful and challenging activities.

4.1.2. Educators provide opportunities for self-exploration, development and pursuit of interests, and development of identities supportive of achievement, e.g., through mentors and role models.

4.1.3. Educators create environments that support trust among diverse learners.

4.1.4. Educators provide feedback that focuses on effort, on evidence of potential to meet high standards, and on mistakes as learning opportunities.

4.1.5. Educators provide examples of positive coping skills and opportunities to apply them.
4.2. Social Competence. Students with gifts and talents develop social competence manifested in positive peer relationships and social interactions.

4.2.1. Educators understand the needs of students with gifts and talents for both solitude and social interaction.

4.2.2. Educators provide opportunities for interaction with intellectual and artistic/creative peers as well as with chronological-age peers.

4.2.3. Educators assess and provide instruction on social skills needed for school, community, and the world of work.
4.3. Leadership. Students with gifts and talents demonstrate personal and social responsibility and leadership skills.

4.3.1. Educators establish a safe and welcoming climate for addressing social issues and developing personal responsibility.

4.3.2. Educators provide environments for developing many forms of leadership and leadership skills.

4.3.3. Educators promote opportunities for leadership in community settings to effect positive change.

4.4. Cultural Competence. Students with gifts and talents value their own and others’ language, heritage, and circumstance. They possess skills in communicating, teaming, and collaborating with diverse individuals and across diverse groups.1 They use positive strategies to address social issues, including discrimination and stereotyping.

4.4.1. Educators model appreciation for and sensitivity to students’ diverse backgrounds and languages.

4.4.2. Educators censure discriminatory language and behavior and model appropriate strategies.

4.4.3. Educators provide structured opportunities to collaborate with diverse peers on a common goal.
4.5. Communication Competence. Students with gifts and talents develop competence in interpersonal and technical communication skills. They demonstrate advanced oral and written skills, balanced biliteracy or multiliteracy, and creative expression. They display fluency with technologies that support effective communication.

4.5.1. Educators provide opportunities for advanced development and maintenance of first and second language(s).

4.5.2. Educators provide resources to enhance oral, written, and artistic forms of communication, recognizing students’ cultural context.

4.5.3. Educators ensure access to advanced communication tools, including assistive technologies, and use of these tools for expressing higher-level thinking and creative productivity.

1 Differences among groups of people and individuals based on ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, gender, exceptionalities, language, religion, sexual orientation, and geographical area.

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