Reconceptualizing Professional Learning Within the Gifted Field: Exploring the Instruct to Innovate Model

Abstract

Effective gifted education should incorporate opportunities for gifted students to develop creative and critical thinking along with academic and affective skills. Professional learning (PL) supporting these outcomes is not consistently successful. Therefore, this study pilots a new PL model called Instruct to Innovate (I2I) to support teachers’ efforts in facilitating gifted students’ development. This model integrates the Design Thinking Model and adult learning theories. Teachers participated in a multiphase intervention, including a 2-week PL summer camp with subsequent bimonthly meetings throughout the school year. Teachers’ reflections, captured in focus groups, along with secondary sources of corroborating data were collected. Through qualitative analyses, teachers recognized key design principles (i.e., human-centeredness, bias towards action, collaborative nature, and mindfulness of the process) within the PL model, their practice, and their students. These findings provide initial evidence that this approach may support educators’ efforts as they provide powerful learning experiences for gifted students.