VR4Gifted

The main objectives of the VR4Gifted project are to develop a new reference curriculum based upon experiential learning theory and VR resources to be used in teacher training with a focus on the inclusive education of gifted and talented children. The VR4GIFTED project has two intellectual outputs; (1) the Teacher Training Curriculum for Gifted and Talented Children in Inclusive Classrooms and (2) VR Resources which include scenarios related to possible situations which prospective teachers can face when having gifted children in their classrooms. As the first intellectual output of the project, an elective course curriculum was developed to foster the efficacy of teacher candidates to practice inclusive gifted education in regular classrooms. The curriculum is based on Kolb’s experiential learning cycle. The modular approach was adopted during the curriculum development process. Since the lengths of academic years differed between the partner universities, the modules were not organised according to weeks, but rather in total, a 28- hour programme was developed. The lecturers at the partner universities decided that they would be able to allocate 28-hours of training into weekly schedules. The second project output is the VR Resources, which are being developed and integrated into the experiential learning cycle. It has been suggested that through the experiential learning cycle, VR resources should be used, in particular, as the first concrete experience and the last phase (active experimentation). Using VR resources in teacher training is innovative and provides important advantages. Above all, VR xcvxcv PROJECTS PP | VRinSight Green Paper resources, which use three-dimensional visual objects, will make training more interesting and increases motivation. Within this context, VR technology will also affect the imagination and creativity of the learners in a positive way. Through this project, Kolb’s experiential learning theory has been integrated with VR technology for the first time. It is believed that this international project handling gifted education (that has been emphasised more and more in recent years) and techno-pedagogic education together will act as a pioneer in relation to virtual reality practices in the field of teacher education.