Gifted and talented students

A. Definition of Gifted and Talented students-

There is no universal definition. Some professionals will define gifted by an intelligence test (WISC) score above 130 or 140, or two or more standard deviations above the norm, or the top 2.5% of the population. Some will define "giftedness" based on scholastic achievement: a gifted child works 2 or more grade levels above his or her age or gifted children have advanced scores on a particular academic test. Typically, students who are identified as gifted learners have the potential to achieve beyond what is expected of their same-age peers and I emphasize the word 'potential'. Key to the characteristics of giftedness is potential which often not synomynous with achievement. Higher achievement may or may not occur and is often dependent on other influences such as the student's relationship with his/her teacher, the degree of interest, emotional well being, health etc. Gifted children can also have learning disabilities. It is not unusual to be gifted in one area (logic, math etc.) and learning disabled in another (language, processing etc.). Gifted definitions tend to vary from one location to the next. Here are some examples of definitions of giftedness: The Federal Definition of Gifted and Talented in NCLB (US) The term “gifted and talented”, when used with respect to students, children, or youth, means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.(Title IX, Part A, Section 9101(22), p. 544)

B. Educational Implications:

One way teachers can extend or enrich the content they present is by asking open-ended questions. Such questions stimulate higher order thinking skills and give students opportunities to consider and express personal opinions. Open-ended questions require thinking skills such as comparison, synthesis, insight, judgment, hypothesis, conjecture, and assimilation. Such questions can also increase student awareness of current events. Open-ended questions should be included in both class discussions and assignments. They can also be used as stimulation for the opening or conclusion of a lesson. Another strategy for lesson modification developed by Susan Winebrenner (1992) is to use Bloom’s taxonomy of six levels of thinking to develop lesson content. Bloom’s model implies that the “lower” levels (knowledge, comprehension, and application) require more literal and less complex thinking than the “higher” levels (analysis, evaluation, and synthesis). Teachers are encouraged to develop thematic units with activities for students at all ability levels. This strategy involves four steps. Teachers first choose a theme that can incorporate learning objectives from several different subject areas. Secondly, teachers identify 6 to 10 key concepts or instructional objectives. Third, they determine which learner outcomes or grade-level competencies will be targeted for the unit. Finally, they design instructional activities to cover each of the six levels of thinking. Cooperative learning through traditional heterogeneous groups is often counterproductive for high-ability students. When the learning task involves a great deal of drill and practice, these students often end up doing more teaching than learning. When placed in homogeneous cooperative learning groups, however, gifted students can derive significant learning benefits. This does not mean that high-ability students should never participate in heterogeneous cooperative learning groups. Rather, groupings should be chosen based on the task that is being assigned. When the task includes drill and practice, such as math computation or answering comprehension questions about a novel, gifted students should be grouped together and given a more complex task. When the task includes critical thinking, gifted students should be part of heterogeneous groups to stimulate discussions. Open-ended activities are excellent choices for heterogeneous groupings.
Cluster grouping of high-ability students in the same classroom is another option for meeting the needs of gifted students in the regular classroom. The traditional method of assigning students to classes has often been to divide the high-ability students equally among the available classes so each teacher would have his or her “fair share.” Under this system, however, each teacher must develop strategies for modifying the curriculum to meet the needs of the advanced students. With cluster grouping, four to six high-ability students are placed in the same classroom. This system allows the students to learn with and from each other and reduces the need for multiple teachers to develop appropriate instructional modifications.

C. Technology:

First, many gifted and talented students enjoy learning through exploration and experimentation. Technology enables them to hypothesize and inductively pursue solutions to problems they are investigating. Technology allows the freedom to investigate various paths to multiple solutions. Technology transforms students from receptacles of knowledge to active producers who direct their own learning.

Second, technology increases the sophistication of products that gifted and talented students can create by allowing them to function in roles similar to practicing professionals. Technology allows students to produce products in a real-world fashion. For example, students can write, edit, and produce books or publications—with a desktop publishing program—that rival in appearance those produced by publishing houses. Today, students can access software that enables them to compose music, design buildings, and collect data with laboratory probes in ways similar to practicing professionals in each of these fields. Thus technology permits students to develop their talents at a higher level of professional sophistication at an ¬earlier age.
Technology can be used to accelerate or enrich student learning. Ten years ago, online classes did not exist. A myriad of classes are now available that enable parents and educators to accelerate their student’s learning. Online courses may be necessary when classes that students wish to complete conflict with their school schedule, when more advanced classes are needed to meet students’ instructional levels, and when the pace of traditional classes is too slow for students. While the online option is not suitable for all students, gifted and talented students who are self-motivated, comfortable using technology, and possess excellent reading and writing skills are excellent candidates.

Another use of technology is specialized software. The price of these programs has dropped dramatically over the last few years. As mentioned earlier, these products allow gifted and talented students to function as practicing professionals. This not only accelerates the development of students’ talents, it also enriches their learning experiences. For example, students can now edit and create professional looking movies. Ten years ago the cost of software and equipment to produce a film was prohibitive. Today, the software is packed free on many computers, and digital video cameras are commonplace.

D. References

Exceptional Children-by William L. Heward

Handheld Technology in the Classroom: Respecting and Meeting the Needs of All Writers by Cathy Risberg

Including All Students by Ben Clay

Technology for the Gifted and Talented. 1985 Digest.( www.eric.ed.gov)

"For gifted children, there will be information available on almost any interest they have -- anything from sites such as NASA for those interested in Astronomy to sites on literature, geology, history, and Star Trek. Also many of these sites offer more than one-way information. Most WWW authors cheerfully respond to email queries from their pages and will provide specific information requested. Next time you or your child has one of those questions which you can't find an answer, someone on the Internet probably can and will if you ask them." The Internet and Gifted and Talented Children by Gayle Dallaston