Gifts, Talents and Education

Gifts, Talents and Education: A Living Theory Approach is apractical guide for teachers on how to help all their pupils toenhance their gifts and talents in the classroom.Examples reveal how teachers can transform the way education isunderstood in schools, by relating stories of how they learnedabout their own gifts and talents. The book explains recent keydevelopments in multimedia representations of social and emotionalaspects of learning. These permit the multi-sensory gifts andtalents of individual learners to be recognised and developedwithin a process that enhances the emotionally literate space ofenquiring classrooms.Gifts, Talents and Education assumes a capabilityapproach to human development which rests on enabling individualsto realise their gifts and talents within a co-created sense of thecommon good. The book offers values, skills and understanding asconcepts that retain a direct connection with practice. The storiesare grounded in the lives of practitioner researchers who show thelived meanings of these ideas as they are realised in practice,asking questions such as 'how do I improve what I amdoing?' and 'how do I live my values more fully inpractice?'.

About the Authors.About the Contributors.Introduction1. What's implicit in 20th century notions of giftedness?Why are these notions unfit for purpose in the 21st century?2. Beyond definitions and identification - agenerative-transformational framework for gift creation.3. Giftedness as a living concept. What is a living theoryapproach to action research, and how can it contribute togift-creation through student-led enquiry?4. Beyond identification - the teacher's role in creating gifts.Teachers and students as committed co-enquirers, researching theirown lives.5. "I consider implications for future practice:" How can Icontinue to influence my own learning, the learning of others, andthe schools and learning communities of which I am part?Appendix.References.Index.