GIFTED STUDENTS

Gifted Students

Gifted Students

Introduction

Education for gifted children has received less attention than many other areas of special education. In 1972, the Marland Report issued by the U.S. Office of Education brought national attention to this subject. It stated that the U.S. needed to put more effort into developing the gifted youth, and it defined giftedness and its major types. Although this report along with other important events in history brought attention to the lack of resources allocated to educating the gifted, teachers still are not as well trained, as they need to be in this area. In order to be an effective teacher for children that are gifted, sometimes teachers need to be resourceful and educate themselves on the topic. In order to be an effective teacher for the gifted children, a teacher should have: the ability to identify the gifted; the knowledge of theories in gifted education; the knowledge to apply popular techniques used to teach the gifted.

Gifted Students Learning

 There are many characteristics gifted children display that differentiate them from other students. They learn material in less time, and remember what was taught without needing a review. They think more on a complex and abstract level than their classmates do. They can keep an eye on classroom activities without paying direct attention because of their ability to concentrate on different things at once. Gifted students become caught up in one topic, and want to learn as much as they can about it before moving on to another subject. They are often perfectionists and idealistic. Their chronological age, intellectual development, social, and physical levels might not develop at the same time. A seven-year-old boy may be able to read at a fifth grade level, but may lack the normal social skills of his classmates. Gifted children are problem solvers who enjoy working on open-ended problems. They may have difficulty with selecting one multiple-choice answer because they see how all of the answers could be right (Berger, 2000). They may have different affective characteristics than other classmates. A great concern for justice and fairness, and a high level of intensity are a few of the most common. Occasionally some of the characteristics listed are seen in other children, but gifted children demonstrate more than a couple of these most of the time (Nevitt, 24). Gifted children score 130 or higher on IQ tests, although many excel highly in a specific area rather than in domains being measured. It is important for teachers to be able to recognize the characteristics of gifted children in order to plan challenging instruction for them. Forcing bright children to repeat skills over and over bores them and is not fair. Every student is entitled to an education that is appropriate for his or her ability.

Theories for Gifted Children Learning

There are many theories that have been proposed to define what giftedness is, but Gardner's and Renzulli's beliefs are two of the most popular. Gardner defines intelligence as “an ability or set of abilities that ...