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3.4.3 Scaffolding the Social Emotional Learning of Intellectually Gifted Children: The CASEL approach

While gifted students may not have more social-emotional difficulties than their typical same-age peers, all students have social and emotional needs to varying degrees in varying contexts that may influence their academic and social-emotional development (Eddles-Hirsch et al., 2010; Fraser-Seeto et al., 2015; Peterson, 2009). However, gifted students may have additional academic and social-emotional needs due to their myriad interrelated characteristics, interpersonal or intrapersonal catalysts, educational provisions, or complex behavioural responses associated with these characteristics and contexts (Blaas, 2014; Shechtman & Silektor, 2012; Wiley & Hébert, 2011). While social and emotional development, difficulties, needs, and potential of gifted students is widely researched and published, there is less on specific Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) processes of gifted students with scaffolding rare for gifted students in school settings (Author).

This presentation will focus on scaffolding social-emotional growth, that is SEL processes, underpinned by the CASEL framework (CASEL, 2013, 2015). Much as Gagné’s (2010) DMGT catalysts can inhibit or promote talent development, SEL in the home, schools, or community programs can prevent many negative influences of affective concerns or enrich their social development or scaffold their academic learning needs (Author) For example, SEL processes can inhibit inappropriate behaviours by helping students to build coping skills (Wolf & Chessor, 2011) and can enhance academic learning outcomes when students develop resiliency within social-emotional learning processes (Eddles-Hirsch et al., 2010; Martin 2012).

Neuroscientifically, the links between the emotional components of the brain and neocortical components that support cognition show that links between emotions and learning are strong (Geake, 2009). Hence, if emotionally detached or socially isolated, then the student’s learning may be impaired and result in underachievement, low self-esteem, depression, or perfectionism (Bond, 2013; Gross, 2010; Mueller, 2009). This is particularly relevant for intellectually gifted students who respond more deeply, abstractly, widely, complexly, or intensely to varying stimuli, that reinforces the close relationships between teaching, learning, emotions, and social interactions (Gross, 2010). Thus, using a variety of strategies to scaffold SEL can assist gifted students to cope with varying distressors (Luthar, 2006), manage their behaviours (Capern & Hammond, 2014), engage their learning (Blaas, 2014; Landis & Reschly, 2013), and inhibit underachievement to achieve higher potential (VanTassel-Baska & Stambaugh, 2006; Vialle & Rogers, 2012).

This presentation will provide an overview of the CASEL competencies and the associated teaching strategies needed to support gifted students' social-emotional learning (SEL).

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