Talent Development and Twice Exceptional Learners: The Monarch School

Abstract

This project was undertaken in order to demonstrate how talent can be developed in twice exceptional learners, individuals who dually possess high abilities and learning difficulties. As a result of interviewing academics, learners, twice exceptional learners themselves, their parents, and individuals working in various art-related institutions, it was decided to concentrate on The Monarch School, a school dedicated to students with neurological differences. The Monarch School's population employs a systematic approach to teaching individuals to develop strategies to understand their ownership of self-regulation, relationship development, executive functioning, and academic competence, thus setting the stage for "liberating" the potential talent of individuals. Working with the staff and students, the researcher filmed a wide variety of activities and classes in the school, reviewed the footage obtained, edited the material, and scripted a voice-over in order to create a documentary that demonstrated this systematic approach to talent development.