https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986217705712 Gifted Child Quarterly 2017, Vol. 61(3) 219–228 © 2017 National Association for Gifted Children Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0016986217705712 journals.sagepub.com/home/gcq Designing the Learning Context for Talent Development in School Introduction In the state of Washington, school districts are mandated to identify students for gifted education (highly capable pro- grams) as young as kindergarten, and the definition of a gifted student is the following, “Highly capable students are students who perform or show potential [italics added] for performing at significantly advanced academic levels when compared with others of their age, experiences, or environ- ments,” Washington Administrative Code. Yet the demo- graphics of children enrolled in gifted programs were 59% White, 22% Asian, 7% Latino, and 4% Black, compared with the demographics of the total K-12 population: 57% White, 7% Asian, 22% Latino, and 5% Black (State of Washington, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2016). Clearly, White and Asian children were disproportionately identified for gifted education, indicating inequities in whose talents are developed and served in gifted programs. In her book titled The Pedagogy of Confidence, Jackson (2011) cited a fundamental question from Asa Hilliard, “With all good intentions and stipulations, why is there still not a systematic practice or pedagogy aimed at developing high intellectual performance in all students instead of instilling marginalizing practices for students of color, especially those in urban areas?” (p. 30). She articulated what she described in classrooms that she toured in urban settings as pedagogy reflective of Friere’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed: • Controlled instructional guidelines causing a down- ward shift to extended literacy blocks, where teaching is restricted to basal series; • Controlled pacing guides with alignment neither to the students’ strengths or interests, nor to the actual assess- ments that were supposed to determine their needs; • Eradication of exposure to the arts or to information outside basal readers or outdated texts that could expand students’ frame of reference, thus curtailing their ability to infer meaning bout topics that remain foreign to them; and • Exclusion of enrichment options or credentialing courses that could increase opportunities for students. The additional heinous reality is that lessons taught that reflect the instructional guidelines or pacing guides rarely focus on the cognitive skills required by the standards (evaluation, analysis, problem solving), thus inhibiting students from meeting these standards and decreasing their rate of learning (Jackson, 2011, p. 33). Jackson’s (2011) “The Pedagogy of Confidence” is influ- enced by Renzulli’s model of talent development. She said, What I discovered was that at the very same time that policies mandating a focus on weaknesses were proliferating for students labeled as “disadvantaged,” other policies were being enacted for students who were labeled “gifted” that entitled them to a pedagogy that would identify and nurture their strengths. (p. 23) She took these four pillars of gifted education and incorpo- rated them into her model: 705712GCQ XX X 10.1177/0016986217705712Gifted Child QuarterlyHertzog research-article 2017 1 University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA Corresponding Author: Nancy B. Hertzog, Educational Psychology, Robinson Center for Young Scholars, University of Washington, Guthrie Annex 2, Box 351630, Seattle, WA 98195-9475, USA. Email: nhertzog@uw.edu Designing the Learning Context in School for Talent Development Nancy B. Hertzog 1 Abstract This article explores the learning context for talent development in public schools. Total aspects of the environment from physical space, affective elements, and pedagogical approaches affect learning. How teachers believe and perceive their roles as teachers influence instructional design and decision making. In this article, the optimal environment for developing students’ strengths and talents will be discussed and practical suggestions for “Extreme Classroom Makeovers” will be offered. Keywords philosophical/theoretical, definition and/or conception of giftedness/talent, learning environments, talent development, creativity, curriculum