Q: What is being done for gifted and talented students?
A: Iowa has long been considered a leader in education. This tradition of excellence is due in large part to the quality of the teachers within our schools. We must invest in our children’s future by preserving this quality and making sure our teachers have all the tools necessary to prepare students for life in the competitive global economy. The Senate recently moved in the right direction by unanimously passing the Higher Education Authorization Bill. I pushed for provisions in this bill that would require teacher preparation programs receiving grants to improve the knowledge of new teachers about the needs of gifted and talented students. Gifted and talented children have different approaches to learning and have a different way of looking at the world. These students have unique learning needs, and these unique needs require unique teaching methods. The goal of my legislation is to provide teachers with adequate training in gifted and talented programming so they are prepared to enter classrooms with these able students. In the past, I have worked to create awareness about the needs of gifted students and worked to expand their available benefits through the No Child Left Behind Act. Improving gifted programming will help make sure our educational system engages students of all different learning levels.
Q: How exactly does this legislation work?
A: A recent survey of third and fourth grade teachers by the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talent found that 61 percent had no training whatsoever in teaching highly able students. This lack of training is compounded by the fact that gifted students spend 80 percent of their time in regular classrooms and the vast majority of teacher preparation programs do not require prospective regular classroom teachers to have coursework in gifted education. Current law provides funds to partnerships among teacher preparation institutions, schools of arts and sciences and high-need school districts to strengthen new teacher education and allows these partnerships to use funds for preparing teachers to work with diverse populations. My provisions included in the higher education authorization bill require that any teacher preparation institution receiving a grant reform its curriculum to ensure that prospective teachers develop the skills to identify and meet the specific learning needs of gifted and talented students, as well as other special populations of students. Teachers who enter these training programs will be able to identify gifted students who would otherwise go unchallenged in regular classrooms. The programs will also arm teachers with the tools necessary to make sure these highly able learners reach their full potential. I will continue to support gifted and talented initiatives to make sure these students have every opportunity to excel.