EMSB takes pride in programming for gifted and exceptional learners
The gifted and enhanced learning team, as part of the EMSB Student Services department, implemented a varied and inspiring enrichment program in the areas of math, science, and English Language Arts during the 2022/2023 academic year. The EMSB stands alone within the Greater Montreal Area in terms of making enhanced learning opportunities available to high achieving and gifted students.
The service is headed by Dr. Camelia Birlean, who is passionate about gifted education and draws upon her own academic and personal experience in shaping a successful enhanced learning program for the youth sector at the board. With a doctorate in educational psychology, she is Consultant, Gifted and Exceptional Learners with the EMSB and a lecturer at McGill in the Faculty of Education, where her primary teaching responsibilities are within the field of special education, specifically in gifted education, and in differentiated assessment in inclusive education. She is also the parent of a highly gifted child.
Research in gifted education points to two important factors that contribute to how learners thrive: By allowing them to pursue their interests to increase motivation for learning; and by engaging them with content and learning situations that align with their learning preferences and readiness levels. The strength of a successful enrichment program, Dr. Birlean explained, includes effective mentoring and coaching – with the right amount and appropriate scaffolding. “Scaffolding is essential to equipping students with life skills, such as discipline, perseverance, resilience and curiosity, which ultimately helps them become successful lifelong, independent and passionate contributors to society,” she said. Offering challenging tasks and stimulating learning opportunities isn’t enough. It’s the working directly with the students, in small groups or individually, that brings them to the next level.
