Gifted Students Speak Out: Using Student Experiences from the COVID-19 Pandemic to Improve Online Learning

Balanced research and practice

Background: School closures and online instruction were implemented in the spring of 2020 as preventative measures to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in countries across the world. In the United States and abroad, educators faced the unprecedented challenge of supporting the learning needs of students through remote learning with very little preparation time, if any. Students with gifts and talents who received routine specialized education services in their schools prior to the pandemic may have experienced a reduction or elimination of these services with school closures. This study aimed to explore how the needs of gifted learners were met during the first year of the pandemic.