Transcript Learners with special gifts/talents

Learners with special
gifts/talents
Presented by:
Kimberly Glasgow-Charles
05/2013
Objectives
By the end of this presentation students should be
able to:
• Define the term giftedness
• Identify the three main types of giftedness
• Discuss the origin and prevalence of giftedness
• Describe methods used to identify special
gifts/talents
• Identify characteristics of gifted/talented learners
• Explore curriculum adaptations that are made for
gifted/talented learners
Definition
• The term gifted has NO clear cut definition.
• Any definition of giftedness is shaped to a
large extent by what the surrounding culture
believes is most useful or necessary for its
survival (Hallahan, Kauffman & Pullen, 2012).
Definition
• Disagreements about definition
 In what ways do students with a special
gift/talent excel?
 How giftedness is measured?
 To what degree must a student excel to be
considered gifted/talented?
 Who should comprise the comparison
group?
 Why should students with special gifts be
identified?
Terminology of Giftedness
• Precocity– remarkable early development. (Child
prodigies)
• Insight– the ability to separate and/or combine various
pieces of information in new, creative, and useful ways.
• Genius– rare intellectual powers.
• Creativity– the ability to express novel and useful ideas, to
sense and elucidate new and important relationships, and
to ask previously unthought-of , but crucial, questions.
Terminology of Giftedness cont’d
• Talent– a special ability, aptitude, or
accomplishment.
• Giftedness– refers to cognitive superiority,
creativity, and motivation of sufficient
magnitude to set the child apart from the vast
majority of age peers and make it possible for
the child to contribute something of particular
value to society.
Types of giftedness
• Analytic giftedness– involves being able to take a problem
apart. They understand how the parts of a problem and
how they are all interrelated. This is often a skill used to
measure intelligence in conventional IQ tests.
• Synthetic giftedness— involves insight, intuition, creativity,
or adeptness at coping with novel situations. These people
are usually highly skilled and successful in the arts and the
sciences.
• Practical giftedness– involves applying analytic and
synthetic abilities to the solution of everyday problems, the
kinds of skills that are characterized with successful careers.
Prevalence of giftedness
• Approximately 3.5% of U.S. school population
is gifted/talent.
• Function of their definition
Origins of Giftedness
• Genetic and other biological factors
• Neurological functioning
• Nutrition
• Social factors
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Family
School
Peer group
Community
Origins of Giftedness (cont’d)
• Families of highly successful people
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Personal interest in child’s talent
Parents were role models
Specific parental encouragement and reward
Expected behaviors and values related to the
talent present in home
Origins of Giftedness (cont’d)
• Families of highly successful people
(cont’d)
• Teaching was informal in many settings
• Family interacted with tutor/mentor
• Parents observed practice, instructed,
rewarded
• Parents sought special instruction
• Encouraged participation in events
Identification of Giftedness
• Commonly used methods
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IQ tests
Standardized achievement test scores
Teacher or parent nominations
Peer or self nominations
Evaluation of work or performances
Psychological & Behavioural
Characteristics
• Far ahead of age group in specific areas of
performance
• Learn to read easily or before starting school
• Can be advanced in one area but not in
another
• Can become bored if not challenged
Neglected Groups with Special Gifts and
Talents
• Underachievers
• Students low in socioeconomic status and in
remote areas
• Students from cultural- or ethnic-minority
groups
• Students with disabilities
• Females
Stereotypes
• Physically weak, socially inept, narrow in
interest, prone to emotional instability
• Superior intelligence, physique, social
attractiveness, achievement, emotional
stability, and moral character
• Misconception that genius predisposes people
to mental illness
Educational Considerations
• Education should have three characteristics:
• Curriculum designed to accommodate advanced skills
• Instructional strategies consistent with learning style
• Arrangements facilitating appropriate grouping
• Acceleration
• Enrichment
Enrichment vs. Acceleration
• Enrichment- Additional learning experiences
provided for a student while remaining in the
grade level appropriate to age
• Acceleration- Placing students with talents ahead
of their age-appropriate grade level
• Students at all ages and grade levels are entitled
to challenging and appropriate instruction if they
are to develop their talents fully
Teaching Gifted Learners
Teaching strategies
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Create independent project activities
Create academic competitions at school
Plan “enrichment” activities
Do not be an “expert” be a “facilitator”
Create learning centers in the classroom so
students can work at their own pace
• Incorporate multiple intelligences (linguistic,
visual, bodily, musical, etc.)
Educational Considerations (cont’d)
• Early intervention
• Problems with definition, identification, programming,
evaluation
• Negative attitudes inhibiting early intervention
• Superior intellectual and/or adaptive behavior, but
emotional development similar to peers
• Lack of parental advocacy
• Lack of teacher training
• Financial constraints
• Laws preventing early admission to school
• Policies against advancing students to higher grade levels
Educational Considerations (cont’d)
• Transition to adulthood
• Possible need for personal or career counseling
• Acceleration programs versus enrichment
The ‘difficulty’ of being gifted
• Pressure from parents and friends
• Mean labels and being “different”
• Hard to become well-rounded
• Internal struggles of own desires and
expectations for oneself
References
• Hallahan, D. P. & Kauffman, J. M., & Pullen, P.
C. (2012). Exceptional Learners: An
Introduction to Special Education. Boston:
Pearson.
Activity
• Give two (2) reasons why it is important to
identify student with special/gifts or talents in
the classroom.
• Suggest (1) reason why you may not want to
identify a student as gifted/talented.