Gifted Students Arent all children gifted The first

Gifted Students

Aren’t all children gifted? • The first step is to desensitise the issue. • Labelling a child as gifted does not instil them with more worth than another child. • Identifying a child as gifted is identifying a need that must be addressed. • Gifted students learn differently to to their peers and will suffer if these needs are not met. Oakland, T 2005, ‘Assessment of Gifted Students for Identification Purposes: New Techniques for a New Millennium’, Learning and individual differences, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 327 -36

What is giftedness? • Gagné cautions that it is important to differentiate between giftedness and talent. • Gifts are the “natural abilities” that can only become talents provided the right intrapersonal characteristics, environmental influences and luck! Gross M, et al. 2004, Gifted and Talented Education: Professional development package for teachers, Department of Education, Science and Training, Sydney, NSW

The Gagné Model of Giftedness and Talent

Characteristics of gifted students Cognitive Social / Emotional

Cognitive characteristics of gifted students • • • Fast pace of learning (dislike slow) Extremely well developed memory Preference for independent work Require deeper exploration of topic Ask reflective, probing questions Reason at a level beyond their years Gross M, Sleap B & Pretorius M, 1999, ‘Characteristics of gifted students’ in Gifted Students in Secondary Schools, GERRIC, Sydney, NSW

Characteristics of gifted students Cognitive Social / Emotional

Affective characteristics of gifted students • • • Experience intense emotions Exhibit perfectionist tendencies Highly developed sense of justice Empathy – unusually high or absent Very mature sense of humour Prefer company of older students Gross M, Sleap B & Pretorius M, 1999, ‘Characteristics of gifted students’ in Gifted Students in Secondary Schools, GERRIC, Sydney, NSW

Not all gifted students are the same Type I – The Successful Type IV – The Dropouts Type II – The Divergently Gifted Type V – The Double-labelled Type III – The Underground Type VI – The Autonomous Learner Betts GT & Neihart M 1988, ‘Profiles of the Gifted and Talented’, The Gifted Child Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 248 -253

Type I – The Successful • Account for approx. 90% of gifted students in school programs • Learned to work within the system • Behavioural problems rare as eager for approval • Become competent but uncreative adults that rarely achieve their full potential Betts GT & Neihart M 1988, ‘Profiles of the Gifted and Talented’, The Gifted Child Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 248 -253

Type II – The Divergently Gifted • Rarely identified and placed in program • Very creative but obstinate / tactless / sarcastic • Question authority, challenge teachers • Social problems – potential dropouts Betts GT & Neihart M 1988, ‘Profiles of the Gifted and Talented’, The Gifted Child Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 248 -253

Type III – The Underground • Mostly girls craving social inclusion • Will attempt to hide their gifts • More resistant the more they are pushed Betts GT & Neihart M 1988, ‘Profiles of the Gifted and Talented’, The Gifted Child Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 248 -253

Type IV – The Dropouts • Angry with parents and teachers for being failed by the system • Angry with themselves for being unable to work within the system • Rejected / depressed / withdrawn / aggressive Betts GT & Neihart M 1988, ‘Profiles of the Gifted and Talented’, The Gifted Child Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 248 -253

Type V – The Doublelabelled • Academic gifts coupled with physical or social/emotional disability • Most common counterpart is Asperger’s syndrome • Talents often masked – sometimes to the extent that they end up in remedial programs Betts GT & Neihart M 1988, ‘Profiles of the Gifted and Talented’, The Gifted Child Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 248 -253

Type VI – The Autonomous Learner • Independent and self-directed • They don’t work for the system but make it work for them • Create their own opportunities • Positive and successful • Often in leadership roles Betts GT & Neihart M 1988, ‘Profiles of the Gifted and Talented’, The Gifted Child Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 248 -253

The Identification Process Standardised achievement tests • Parent nomination • Teacher nomination • Student work Standardised test of giftedness Dynamic testing teachercreated assessments Program Placement Adjustment of curriculum Continual monitoring Above-/Off-level testing Oakland, T 2005, ‘A 21 st-Century model for identifying for gifted and talented programs in light of conditions: an emphasis on race and ethnicity’, Gifted Child Today, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 56 -58

Issues • Identification is often very difficult in disadvantaged or culturally diverse populations • Failure to identify can result in anger, frustration, alienation, etc • Badly managed programs can also serve to alienate gifted students Hansen, JB & Johnston Toso, S 2007, ‘Gifted Dropouts: personality, family, social and school factors’, Gifted Child Today, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 30 -41

Implications for learning • There are 3 main ways in which the curriculum should be differentiated • 1 – Process modifications • 2 – Product modifications • 3 – Learning environment Vaille, W & Geake, J 2003, ‘Pedagogy and Curriculum’ in W Vaille & J Geake (eds), The Gifted Enigma; a collection of articles, Hawker Brownlow Education, Cheltenham, VIC

Process Modifications • Learning tasks should be abstract, complex, varied • Learning tasks should involve issues of organisation, study of people, methods of inquiry. Vaille, W & Geake, J 2003, ‘Pedagogy and Curriculum’ in W Vaille & J Geake (eds), The Gifted Enigma; a collection of articles, Hawker Brownlow Education, Cheltenham, VIC

Product Modifications • • Involve higher order thinking processes Promote creative and critical thinking Require problem solving Involve group interaction Variable levels of pacing Allow for debriefing of the process Involve open-endedness Allow for freedom of choice. Vaille, W & Geake, J 2003, ‘Pedagogy and Curriculum’ in W Vaille & J Geake (eds), The Gifted Enigma; a collection of articles, Hawker Brownlow Education, Cheltenham, VIC

Learning Environment • • Flexible and open Encourage independent learning Accepting and non judgemental Encourage complex and abstract thought. Vaille, W & Geake, J 2003, ‘Pedagogy and Curriculum’ in W Vaille & J Geake (eds), The Gifted Enigma; a collection of articles, Hawker Brownlow Education, Cheltenham, VIC