Introduction

Gifted students require programming that is tailored to their unique needs and as such require an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

Tailoring the IEP to the student portrait

The Student Portrait Map template promotes a more holistic view of the student. It assists teachers to focus and to program for the studen’s strengths, consider ways of motivating the student and supporting their learning by drawing on strengths that the student has demonstrated in other subjects. It is also essential to acknowledge all other needs, identifications, or diagnoses (e.g., social-emotional, ELL, etc.), highlight prior knowledge in various subjects, learning style or preference, and interests outside school. ( Learning for All, p. 44)

A detailed Student Portrait includes current levels of achievement and progress in developing learning skills and work habits (from the most recent provincial report card and EQAO data), including:

1. readiness to learn, particularly in relation to specific subject areas and/or curriculum expectations (e.g., from classroom observations, surveys, pretests);
2. learning strengths, styles, and preferences;
3. motivational needs and interests (from interest inventories, questionnaires, classroom discussions);
4. learning needs, and any additional support, accommodations, and/or types of challenges that motivate and enable the student to learn and to demonstrate learning;
5. social and emotional strengths and needs (e.g., self-management, getting along with others, social responsibility), including the capacity to adjust to transitions;
6. available resources and supports that help meet the student’s needs;
7. other relevant information, such as the kind of activities the student pursues outside the school.;

For more information on developing a comprehensive student portrait:

Components of the IEP standards and effective practices | Part E: The Individual Education Plan (IEP) | ontario.ca

‘The Process of Developing an Individual Student Profile,’ Learning For All, p. 50,

Summary and Highlights

The learning process for students engaged in ISELP requires planning supports that will motivate and engage in order to further enhance the learning experience. As such, programming for these learners is instrumental to developing their fullest potential and to support growth. Developing the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is the first step for schools to identify the learner’s needs and to maximize the learner’s abilities.

Researchers have identified that Gifted students require a faster pace, work that is appropriately challenging, and the opportunity to engage in tasks that do not have a straightforward solution (Gomez-Arizaga et al, 2020). Students engaged in ISELP will not simply gain benefit from exploring a curriculum that is new to them. The greater cognitive skills demonstrated by these students will create ongoing demands on the need to provide programming suitable to their needs as a learner.

Areas of an IEP that are applicable to learners engaged in ISELP

1. Transition Goals and Actions (individualized to the student and their short, medium, and long-term goals)
2. Accommodations (specific to the needs of the student and purposefully structured to provide supports as they are needed)
3. Alternative programming - Page 4 (focused on skill-development in areas that match the student’s goals and areas for further development)

Accommodations as part of an ISELP IEP

Students may not demonstrate the same degree of advancement in all subject areas and their abilities may develop asynchronously. This also means that these students may be able to understand complex ideas they are not developmentally or emotionally ready for which can be a cause of anxiety.

It is reasonable to assume that some students may require accommodations, built into their IEP, as a means of providing an additional level of support and ISELP programming.

Students who are engaged in ISELP may also present with other identified (and sometimes not identified) exceptionalities. When developing an IEP for these students, the needs of all of these areas must be taken into account.

The Gifted Plan/Enhanced Learning Plan

Annual Goals within the Gifted or Enhanced Learning Plan should be broad to allow students to focus on a skill they can develop throughout the curriculum in all subject areas.

The student’s work toward the goals outlined in the Gifted/Enhanced Learning Plan should be primarily completed as part of their work in the classroom. Opportunities for withdrawal can also be included as part of the student’s ISELP work to complement the programming in the Gifted/Enhanced Learning Plan; however, the majority of the work toward ISELP goals should be part of the teaching and learning process in the student’s main classroom. To put it simply, students who require ISELP support need it on an ongoing basis, not for discrete blocks of time throughout the week.

Students engaged in ISELP are most successful when they view their goals as meaningful, valuable, and relevant. It is important that the goals are individualized to the student, and created collaboratively with the student, the family/caregiver(s), and the teaching staff that work with the student.

In-Depth

Further Reading and Resources