Cultivating a Learning Environment to Support Diverse Gifted Students

Abstract

Educators have the responsibility to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of every child in their care, including students who are gifted or high-achieving from diverse backgrounds. For gifted students to thrive in the differentiated classroom, teachers can consider the ways in which they establish and promote positive affective, physical, and digital learning environments. This article introduces the Reciprocal Learning Environments Model in which we describe four teacher actions based on research and recommended best practices from the field of gifted education to cultivate a more positive classroom culture conducive to differentiation.