Gifts and Talents

            Have you ever wondered about young children with special gifts or talents? Have you ever pondered ways to encourage their natural gifts individually as well as academically? Have you ever had an interesting conversation with a gifted and talented child or had opportunities to observe them? If you answered yes to any of the previous questions then our interest in gifted and talented children are similar. My topic of research involves gifted and talented children.  As I reflected on this general topic it was difficult for me to narrow down my focus into subtopics for gifted and talented children as I’m eager just to find out everything there is for these children. I believe their skills are important and should be nurtured. I want to research more about the assessment tools used to discover gifted and talented children and their process.  I noticed several factors like reading at a higher level or completing a complex mathematical equation in less than a minute may not always determine a child’s gifts or talents. I also want to find out about available educational opportunities or supportive programs for them and their families. I chose this topic because not only am I fascinated by young children and their creativity as they play and develop but I see gifted and talented children in a fascinating way also. I often wondered if their creativity developed because of early nurturing before birth for example playing classical music while the child still develops in the womb, playing simple games as an infant or introducing literature to a toddler.  

            I’m asking all of my colleagues to please contact me with any information, advice, or any experiences you would like to share with me that can be helpful as I begin my research journey throughout this course. Your opinions, comments, insights, experiences are greatly appreciated.