Setting the scene



'The Characteristic most readily identifiable in gifted children, varying in both kind and degree, is sensitivity. Whether the sensitivity is to one or more particular areas of learning, sensitivity to discovering or solving problems, or sensitivity to the feelings of one's fellow man, it is so much a characteristic of giftedness that it can almost be said that the two terms are synonymous.'


Walter Barber (date unknown)

Joyce VanTassel-Baska (2008) points to a number of affective characteristics that may be present in the developing gifted child. 
The purpose of these professional development sessions is to provide an introduction to socio-affective needs of gifted students. For the purposes of this series of sessions the work of Kazimierz Dabrowski (1902-1980) will be used to provide a framework for the identification of these needs.  We will also investigate what these characteristics might look like in our classrooms - using as examples characters from popular culture -  and develop strategies to assist us in catering for for these students' academic and emotional needs.