Giftedness & EISD GT ID Process

Definitions of Giftedness

From Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged

Dictionary of the English Language (1989)

gifted- (gif'tid) adj. 1. having great special talents or ability: the debut of a gifted artist. 2. having exceptionally high intelligence: gifted children.

Gifted and talented children are those identified by professionally qualified persons who by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of high performance. These are children who require differentiated educational programs and/or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to realize their contribution to self and society.

Children capable of high performance include those with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in any of the following areas, singly or in combination:

1. General intellectual ability2. Specific academic aptitude3. Creative or productive thinking4. Leadership ability5. Visual and performing arts

U.S. Office of Education Definition (Marland Report, 1972) (This is used by many states and school districts)

Three Ring Definition of Giftedness: Joseph Renzulli

(1985 in The Schoolwide Enrichment Model) Gifted behavior consists of behaviors that reflect an interaction among three basic clusters of human traits: these clusters being above average general and/or specific abilities, high levels of task commitment, and high levels of creativity. Individuals capable of developing gifted behavior are those possessing or capable of developing this composite set of traits and applying them to any potentially valuable area of human performance. Persons who manifest or are capable of developing an interaction among the three clusters require a wide variety of educational opportunities and services that are not ordinarily provided through regular instructional programs.

Above Average Ability

Task Commitment

Creativity

Area for most gifted behaviors

Federal Definition of Children With Outstanding Talent

Children and youth with outstanding talent perform or show the potential for performance at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience, or environment.

These children and youth exhibit high performance capability in intellectual, creative, and/or artistic areas, possess an unusual leadership capacity, or excel in specific academic fields. They require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the schools.

Outstanding talents are present in children and youth from all cultural groups, across all economic strata, and in all areas of human endeavor.

(From: Programs for Improvement of Practice. (1993). National Excellence: A Case for Developing American''s Talent. (p. 26). Washington DC: US Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Available online: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/DevTalent/index.html)

TEXAS State Definition of Gifted

Chapter 29. Educational ProgramsSubchapter D. Educational Programs for Gifted and Talented Students

¤29.121. Definition In this subchapter, "gifted and talented students" means a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who:

(1) exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area;

(2) possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or

(3) excels in a specific academic field.

Fifteen Student Characteristics of Potential Giftedness

• Student’s use of language. • Quality of student’s questions. • Quality of examples, illustrations, or elaborations that a student uses in explaining

some thing or in describing events or in telling stories. • Student’s use of quantitative expressions and quantitative reasoning. • Student’s ability to devise or adopt a systematic strategy for solving problems and to

change the strategy if it is not working. • Special skills students exhibit that are unusual for their age or grade. • Student’s innovative use of common materials in the classroom or outside of it. • Student’s breadth of information. • Student’s depth of information in a particular area. • Student ’s collections of materials or hobbies. • Student’s persistence on uncompleted tasks. • Student’s absorption in intellectual tasks. • Extensiveness of student’s exploratory behavior. • Student’s criticalness of his or her own performance. • Student’s preferences for complexity, difficulty, and novelty in tasks.

Adapted from Elizabeth Hagen, Identification of the Gifted: pgs. 23-26

Characteristics of the GT Student • Learns more rapidly • Stronger need to know (curious) • Superior communication skills • Longer attention span • Perceives more unusual relationships • Sees/creates patterns • More intense interests • More intellectually playful • Better at sensing discrepancies • Better retention of information • More imaginative

Characteristics of the GT mathematics student:

1. Solves problems, yet sometimes not able to explain procedures. 2. Performs computations easily and accurately, but resists extensive calculating 3. Hypothesizes frequently, seems to make leaps in mathematical reasoning. 4. Works a long time on challenging problems although there may be no solution

(e.g., trisecting an angle) 5. Works easily with technology (e.g., calculators, computers) and/or other measuring

device. 6. Is preoccupied with scales, statistics, records (e.g., the first, highest, the most in

athletics, music trivia) almanacs, globes, maps. 7. Devises own languages, codes, and number systems. 8. Is sensitive to patterns in shapes, intervals of music and numerals; patterns in

nature. 9. Has the ability to translate the unfamiliar abstraction into a familiar form (e.g.,

converting an algebraic idea into his/her own formula or a feeling into a simile or a metaphor).

10. Can translate the familiar into an abstraction. 11. Intuitively solves seemingly difficult problems (such as in mathematics) mentally. 12. Computes answers in a non-traditional manner. 13. Uses unusual techniques in problem solving.

Characteristics of the GT Language Arts Students  1. Possesses an extensive vocabulary 2. Has a keen power of observation 3. Has a good memory 4. Perceives abstract ideas rapidly 5. Has an ability to portray to others feelings, actions, personalities,

and situations 6. Possesses creativity and inventiveness 7. Has varied interests 8. Has a sense of humor; demonstrates an intellectual playfulness

with words 9. Writes fluently with insight and strong personal voice 10. Sees relationships among apparently unrelated ideas 11. Reads avidly ( may have been an early reader)

BRIGHT CHILD or THE GIFTED LEARNERKnows the answers.                                 Asks the questions. Is interested.                                                Is highly curious.

Is attentive.                                                  Is mentally and physically involved.

Has good ideas.                                          Has wild, silly ideas.

Works hard.                                                Plays around, yet tests well.Answers the questions.                             Discusses in detail, elaborates.

Top group.                                                   Beyond the group.Listens with interest.                                   Shows strong feelings and

opinions.

Learns with ease.                                         Already knows.

6-8 repetitions for mastery.                        1-2 repetitions for mastery.

Understands ideas.                                     Constructs abstractions.

Enjoys peers.                                               Prefers adults.

Grasps the meaning.                                   Draws inferences.

Completes assignments.                            Initiates projects.

Is receptive.                                                Is intense.                              

Copies accurately.                                     Creates a new design.

Enjoys school.                                            Enjoys learning.                                Absorbs information.                                Manipulates

information.                       

Technician.                                                  Inventor.

Good memorizer.                                         Good guesser.

Enjoys simple, sequential lesson.            Thrives on complexity.Is alert.                                                         Is keenly observant.

Is pleased with own learning.                  Is highly self-critical. 

November 1-20, 2009

Maria

Jose

Maria

Angelia

Jose

Susie

Angelia

Science-Elementary Example

Or Biology-2nd Period-Secondary ExampleYour Name

Jose Mike

Angelia

GT Nominations