To be gifted or to get a gift? The "Coherent Model of Giftedness"
Paper

Presenter(s): Elisabeth Engberding
Author(s): Elisabeth Engberding

This presentation is a response to the discussion about a paradigm shift in the education of giftedness and the pedagogic advancement of talent as opposed to an earlier static understanding of giftedness. It aims to connect an already established systemic approach in talent education with aspects of constructivist pedagogy.
For this purpose some selected elements of already well established models of giftedness are combined in the “Coherent Model of Giftedness“. The model includes a micro-, meso and macrolevels. They describe the development of a talent and it is described from the perspective of the learner and its social system. The term „coherent“ is used to describe the interactions between the learner and his or her social systems.
The practical benefits of this model for educators are that the "Coherent Model of Giftedness" shows the construction and evaluation of giftedness through the learner and his or her social environments. Thus it can be applied in various pedagogical contexts like in an inclusive setting (from preeschool to adult talent education) and in different cultural settings.
Because it is a new approach further research and testing in practice are necessary. In the presentation the concept of a follow-up research projekt for teacher training courses will be discussed.