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S5.8.2 Acceleration: An Effective Option for the Development of Talents
In spite of extensive research supporting the implementation of acceleration (Hattie, 2015) schools do not use it routinely; many educators approach the concept of acceleration with grave concerns. The uncertainty often revolves around potentially deleterious social-emotional impacts of acceleration on students and possible gaps in foundational knowledge of content areas. Professionals hesitate to use options for this educational adaptation due to a lack of familiarity with the research, assuming that doing nothing is better than taking a “risk” to accelerate a student and expressing concerns about pushing children. Presenters share current acceleration research and resources.
Author(s):
Susan Assouline
susan-assouline@uiowa.edu
Belin-Blank Center
United States
Susan G. Assouline, the Myron and Jacqueline N. Blank Endowed Chair in Gifted Education, is director of the Belin-Blank Center and professor of school psychology. She has been especially interested in identification of academic talent in elementary students, academic acceleration as an intervention for advanced students, and twice-exceptionality. She is a co-developer of the Iowa Acceleration Scale, a tool to facilitate decisions about grade-skipping students. In 2015, she co-edited with Nicholas Colangelo, Joyce Van Tassel-Baska, and Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik, A Nation Empowered: Evidence Trumps the Excuses Holding Back America’s Brightest Students. She received the NAGC 2016 Distinguished Scholar Award.
Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik
ann-shoplik@uiowa.edu
Belin-Blank Center
United States
Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik, Ph.D. is Administrator, Acceleration Institute and Research at the University of Iowa Belin-Blank Center. She founded and directed the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Talented Elementary Students (C-MITES) at Carnegie Mellon University for 22 years. She co-authored Developing Math Talent: A Comprehensive Guide to Math Education for Gifted Students in Elementary and Middle School (2nd ed.), Developing Academic Acceleration Policies: Whole Grade, Early Entrance, and Single Subject, and the Iowa Acceleration Scale, and co-edited the publication on academic acceleration, A Nation Empowered: Evidence Trumps the Excuses Holding Back America’s Brightest Students.
Lianne Hoogeveen
l.hoogeveen@ru.nl
Radboud University
Netherlands
Dr. Lianne Hoogeveen is program director of the ECHA training for Specialist in Gifted Education in Nijmegen, the International RITHA (ECHA) training and coordinator s of the master specialization ‘Gifted Education’ at Radboud University. As a mental health psychologist, she examines and counsels at CBO Talent Development in Nijmegen. She is president of the qualification committee of the European Talent Centers and vice-president of the Education Board of the European Council for High Ability (ECHA). Lianne Hoogeveen is involved in research on giftedness and education and guest teacher in several European and non-European universities.
Laurie Croft
laurie-croft@uiowa.edu
Belin-Blank Center
United States
Laurie Croft, Clinical Professor of Gifted Education, is Associate Director for Professional Development at the Belin-Blank Center, University of Iowa. She facilitates professional learning in gifted education for educators in Iowa, resulting in their endorsement in the field; she works with educators in other states and nations, as well. Her professional interests focus on effective ways to engage educators in better understanding and working with high-ability learners. She has been a U.S. delegate to the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children and has been elected to the Board of Directors for the National Association for Gifted Children.