Jeff Danielian

I didn't get this book as an educator, but rather as a parent who wanted to understand teaching. I was quite keen to get my own children more inspired to be better mathematicians. I did not expect the book to have profound wakeup call to me. My spouse who is an educator was also inspired by the book and it gave her inspiration to reach out to younger minds. In summary, I must say this book is mindblowing! I was very impressed with the articles especially with regards to approach. I found that it was useful in my field of career, although i do not teach children, I do deal with children and young adults. Highly recommended.… (mehr)

Every student is different, and every student is unique. TEACHING GIFTED CHILDREN, a wonderful resource for gifted and regular education teachers alike, focuses on strategies for teaching high-ability learners in a variety of ways. Putting students first and teaching them that their voices matter is an important aspect of this book and vital in all classrooms. The book also focuses on creativity, curriculum planning, and content. Meeting students' needs both developmentally and academically is also discussed. This book would be a wonderful addition for teachers as a resource for their personal libraries.… (mehr)

This review was done as an Early Reviewer. As noted by the Editor of this resource: "This collection highlights the most highly rated articles and columns from a catalog of 500 published works."

I see, in this anthology that each of these strategies, with very few exceptions, serves as a bit of coal to fire up the colossal, perpetual "educational engine" in regard to gifted education. The strategies encompass such a broad range that they are able to address the significant variations found in the nation's schools, thereby being successful in presenting methods invaluable to a wide swarth of educators.

The ideas found in this book are designed to give the educator an opportunity to avoid falling into the familiarity and complacence of a stagnant classroom, so both educator and student will be challenged. This is skillfully achieved by including best practices and strategies, proven in the classroom, and presented in concise, easy to understand presentations by experts in gifted education.

Broken up into sections, this anthology deals with the use of Socratic seminars, and how they benefit student learning and increasing critical thinking. It then examines creativity, and the difficulties associated with incorporating creativity into the gifted classroom. Lastly, are methods for curriculum planning and teaching thinking skills through best practices, including an exceptional chapter on compacting curriculum.

On a negative note, I was exceedingly distressed by the last two chapters: "GLBTQ Curricula Benefit All Students", and "Gifted LGBTQ Social-Emotional Issues". I do not believe these have a place in any curriculum, and am especially opposed to positions that support, condone and encourage the lunacy of 'safe spaces' in institutions on any level.

With that said, this is overwhelmingly an astounding resource which will be exceptionally useful for educators of high-ability students!… (mehr)