ABSTRACT

Arts educators, including teachers of the visual and performing arts, face unique challenges in pursuing professional learning opportunities. This chapter discusses various types of gifted learners in detail, as well as the types of arts educators that benefit from professional learning. Arts educators of gifted learners may fall into three groups that serve different types of learners in different contexts. These three types of arts educators are: educators who integrate the arts, general arts educators, and specialized arts educators. These educators also serve various types of gifted and talented learners: intellectually/academically talented learners, artistically talented learners, those who are both intellectually and artistically gifted, and those who may have academic challenges but have artistic talents. The professional learning opportunities should be built upon the principles of active, individualized, collaborative, and reflective practices. Given the unique needs of arts educators, professional learning opportunities must be individualized. This will allow educators to have relevant experiences to their contexts.