NAGC Poster- Waldorf education’s potential for educating gifted students
Dr. Cheryl M. Ackerman, Senior Associate for Evaluation of the University of Delaware Education Research & Development Center, and Ms. Truus van der Kaiij of the Education Management Industry, presented a preliminary inquiry into the appropriateness of Waldorf Education for gifted and talented learners in a poster Waldorf education’s potential for educating gifted students at the 56th Annual Convention of National Association for Gifted Children on November 7, in St Louis, MO.
Their presentation provided an introduction to Waldorf education, a unique pedagogy that educates children’s “hearts, hands, and minds”— with the goal of developing free thinking, socially responsible, moral individuals.
Key elements of Waldorf’s educational philosophy, curriculum, and environment include integrating the arts into all subjects, an emphasis on pre-literacy that focuses on story-telling and poems in the oral tradition and delaying formal literacy instruction far longer than is typical in public education. Strong connections to the cycles of nature are also part of the curriculum and all students participate in artistic activities and learn hand-work (eg. knitting, woodworking). In Waldorf schools, students have the same teacher for core subject areas from grade 1 to grade 8.
The presenters strove to display the poster content in a manner representative of the aesthetics of Waldorf education. In doing so, it provided more than just descriptions of the Waldorf school curriculum and values, but also a sense of the environment in which Waldorf education takes place.
With these and other elements in mind, the presenters suggested conditions under which Waldorf education may or may not be appropriate for gifted students as a private education alternative.
NAGC Poster- Waldorf education’s potential for educating gifted students