Students With Special Gifts and Talents
Students with Special Gifts and Talents
- This may be the most underserved population in exceptionality - "Children and youth with outstanding talent who perform or show potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with other their age, experience or environment"- us department of education
Gifted Vs. Talented
...
gifted
= potential, but might not have evidence yet
talented
= there is evidence of the high performance capability
What will you see:
Above average general abilities High level of task commitment Creativity Creativity is probably the main characteristic of this population
Gifted students
Are highly original. Independent, curious, motivated and attracted to complexity Promoting creativity and critical thinking skills are crucial!!
Characteristics
Do not wear thick glasses, and a pocket protector Look like anyone else Most students who are gifted exhibit positive social and emotional adjustment prevalence - between 3% and 5% of the school age population
Helping identify special gifts and talents
Does the child: Ask a lot of questions? Show a lot of interest in progress? Have in-depth information on many things? Often want to know why, why not, or how something is so? Become impatient if work is not perfect? Seem to understand really easily? Like solving riddles or puzzles? Daydream? Love metaphors and abstract ideas? Love debating issues? Criticize others for dumb ideas? ETC...
Best practice
Early identification and nurturance of gifts and talents acceleration - moving through the curriculum at a faster pace Curriculum compacting- compressing the regular curriculum so students curriculum so students have more times for extracurricular pursuits Enrichment- beyond the regular curriculum- pull-outs, etc.. internships /mentoring/special classes
Prevalence
Females slightly outnumber males in gifted education Difficult due to varying definitions National center for educational statistics (2013) reported 3.2 million students pre-k to grade 12 who are gifted
Promoting creativity
Fostering creative attitudes Improving student understanding of creativity Practicing and exercising creativity Teaching critical and creative thinking skills Engaging students in creative activities
Marilyn Lois Pollack
Has one of the highest IQ's ever measures 200+
The evolving definitions
IDEA definition= students who are identified as possessing demonstrated or potential high performance capabilities in... Intellectual, creative, specific, academic, or leadership ability Or in the performing and visual arts And who require services or activities not normally provided by the school
Assessment
IQ should be part of the battery of assessments discover= performance based assessment tool Torrance tests of creative thinking
High IQ
Most states (34 out of 47 reporting) include intellectual giftedness in their definition
Other definitions
Most states (41) have state-adopted definitions of giftedness, but not all states require local school districts to follow that definition Some states require programs for G&T while others do not...
Other possible Characteristics
Perfectionism, competitiveness, unrealistic appraisals of their gifts Rejection from peers Confusion due to mixed messages about their talents, and parental and social pressures to achieve Problems with unchallenging school programs or increased expectations Some encounter difficulties in finding and choosing friends, a course of study, and, eventually, a career
Giftedness by IQ score
Range from 125-200 125-130 baseline for giftedness 130-144- moderately gifted 145-159- highly gifted Over 160- exceptionally gifted Score of 180-200 are estimated by other methods as most IQ tests do not go above 160
Other characteristics
Student can create many ideas per unit of time Student uses unique and low probability words and responses Students uses a variety of ideas, unique ideas and alternate solutions to problems
More on students who are gifted/talents
There is no current agreement on the best placements and services for this population Include in regular education with enhancements or special placements?
The previous definition
This definition of giftedness is the broadest and most comprehensive and is used by many school districts. It speaks of talent, which includes all areas of a child's life: academic, artistic, athletic, and social Most schools limit their definition and their programs to academics, but it is important to focus on performance and accomplishment
More information on special gifts and talents
causes= nature versus nurture? There is some evidence of neurobiological differences (via neuro-imaging) in brains of highly/exceptionally gifted students such as: Dominance of right hemisphere activity, highly efficient and flexible neural functioning And greater connectivity among brain regions
