Learners with Special Gifts and Talents

Carolyn GouldEEX5051

Learners with Special Gifts and Talents

Federal Definition

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.

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title IX, Sec. 9101. Definitions)

State of Florida DefinitionGifted: One who has superior intellectual development and is capable of high performance. A student is eligible for special instruction programs for the gifted if the student meets criteria under (2)(a) or (b) of this rule. a) The student demonstrates: 1. Need for a special program. 2. A majority of characteristics of gifted students according to a standard scale or checklist, and 3. superior intellectual development as measured by an intelligence quotient of two standard deviations or more above the mean on an individually administered standardized test of intelligence. b) The student is a member of an under-represented group and meets the criteria specific in an approved school district plan for increasing the participation of under-represented groups in programs for gifted students.

(Florida Administrative Code Rule 6A-6.03019)

Theories of Gifted and Talented• Gagne

- Giftedness: Innate abilities in intellectual, creative, socioaffective, sensorimotor, and “others.” - Talent: Developed skill in a single domain

• Renzulli- Schoolhouse giftedness (measured by IQ tests) - Creative product giftedness. Manifested in “certain people (not all people), at certain times (not all times), and under certain circumstances (not all circumstances).” -Three ring theory: Relationship and interaction of above average ability, creativity, and task commitment that leads to creative products. This model focuses on gifted behaviors.

• Gardner- Multiple intelligences: verbal-linguistic, mathematical-logical, musical , visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist, and existential

• Feldhusen- Talents: academic, artistic, vocational, personal and athletic

(coloradogifted.org)

Prevalence• The number of students who are identified as gifted depends

on which definition of giftedness is used to identify these students.

• If standardized intelligence test scores are used as the determining factor, then 3% to 5% of students in the population are identified for gifted education services. (Davis & Rimm, 2004)

• The percentage of students who are eligible for receiving gifted education can range from 2% to 22%, depending on the criteria for selection. (Friend, 2005a)

(Vaughn, Bos, & Schum, 2007)

Percentage of students who are gifted and talented in public elementary and

secondary schools.

State Total Male Female White Black Hispanic Asian/Pacific

Islander

Native American/AlaskaNative

USA 6.7 6.3 7.0 7.9 3.5 4.3 11.9 5.2

Florida 4.5 4.5 4.5 5.7 2.0 4.0 8.8 4.6

(Digest of Education Statistics 2004)

Florida Data Base (2008-2009)

• 131,940 students served as gifted in Florida• 5% of the school age population and 26% of the exceptional children identified group• Students of poverty are underrepresented by a

factor of 2 in the gifted programs.• African-American students are underrepresented

by almost a factor of 2.5.

(Florida State Plan Task Force Meeting, February 6, 2009Appendix B)

Excerpt: Exceptional Student MembershipOrange County, FL, School District

Fall 2008

Primary Exceptionality

WhiteNon-

Hispanic

BlackNon-

Hispanic Hispanic

Asian/ Pacific

Islander

American Indian/Alaskan Native Multiracial Female Male

TotalMembership

Gifted 5,722 675 1,309 803 35 239 4,124 4,659 8,783

65% 8% 15% 9% <1% 3% 48% 53%

All Exceptionali-

ties 13,548 7,341 8,844 1,297 95 798 11,572 20,351 31,923

42% 23% 28% 4% <1% 2% 36% 64%

(FLDOE Student Database, Survey 2 Data, October 13-17, 2008, as of November 18, 2008)

Etiology

• Genetic predisposition• Nurture: IQ can be modified by the child’s environment. School attendance, breast-feeding, and diet can affect IQ.

“Gifted abilities are also more likely to emerge when the individual’s talents coincide with what is valued by the culture.”

(Sousa, 2003)

Characteristics of Students who are Gifted

Descriptors Positive Characteristics/Behaviors Limiting Characteristics/Behaviors

Fluency: Lots of ideas Able to generate many ideas and solutions to problems.

May dominate others.May have difficulty bringing task to closure.

Flexibility: Variety of ideas Has high tolerance for ambiguity. May be impatient with details or restrictions.

Originality: Unique or original ideas Able to express ideas in unique and unusual ideas.

May be considered unusual or “silly” by peersMay refuse to accept authority and be non-conforming

Elaboration: incorporates descriptive details

Able to add details beyond expectations

May use descriptive details in excess

Curiosity: perceptive, intuitive, asks many questions

Intensely interested in a wide variety of thingsAsks many questions

May interrupt or ignore classroom activities to pursue individual interests

Imagination: uses imagination for pleasure and problem solving

Uses fun and fantasy to enhance learning and exploration

May be considered unproductive

(OCPS Gifted Program Handbook)

Characteristics of Students who are GiftedDescriptors Positive Characteristics/Behaviors Limiting Characteristics/Behaviors

Knowledge: wide range of information, high level of conceptualization

Has knowledge which is unusually advanced for age

May be intolerant of othersMay become inhibited in sharing information

Skills: above-average mastery of skills, processes information quickly and easily

Above averageAble to progress at a more rapid rate

May dominate others because of abilitiesMay be bored with routine and repetitive tasks

Social Relationships: responds and relates to others

Relates positively to peers and adultsHigh self-esteem

May have difficulty relating to peers and adultsFeelings of isolation

Task commitment: demonstrates a commitment to a task or goal

Persistent, self-motivated and able to stay on taskAutonomous learners

May have difficulty bringing task to closurePerfectionist behaviors

(OCPS Gifted Program Handbook)

Assessment and Diagnosis • Referral: demonstrate high achievement or exhibit high ability• Screening: group IQ test• Evaluation: Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale IV with score of 132

or Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children III with score of 130; consideration of characteristics

• Plan B matrix-underrepresented population IQ of 115 or above, portfolio scored with Gifted Assessment Matrix

• Staffing: further evaluation of information to determine eligibility for gifted program

• Development of an Educational Plan (EP)

(OCPS Gifted Program Handbook)

Educational Considerations

Learning Environment

(Diagram: How the Gifted Brain Learns, Sousa, 2003)

Curriculum(What Content is

Taught)

Product(What Learning

Occurred)

Curriculum(How Content is

Taught)

Educational ConsiderationsDifferentiated Curriculum and Learning

• Differentiating the curriculum: Moving ahead of grade level standards or linking instruction to student’s interests

• Differentiating the processes: Using learning strategies that offer complexity

• Differentiating the learning environment: independent work, collaborative learning, mentoring and internships

• Differentiated projects: Demonstration of advanced level learning

(How the Gifted Brain Learns, Sousa, 2003)

Initiatives for Learners who are Gifted• ACCELERATION: Early entrance and exit; Content-based

acceleration; Telescoping; Grade-level advancement; Advanced study programs; Dual enrollment; Technological acceleration with distance learning

• CURRICULUM COMPACTING• GROUPING: Ability grouping within class; Pull-out grouping;

Tracking; cluster grouping; independent work grouping• INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES: Higher level thinking-

divergent/creative process; complexity versus difficulty; problem-based learning; independent study; tiered assignments

• PRODUCTS: creative, authentic, original

(How the Gifted Brain Learns, Sousa, 2003)

Transition into Adulthood

“Mind makes us human; mind makes us individuals. From childhood through adulthood, to be themselves, to value and honor themselves and lead fulfilled lives, gifted adults must understand and come to terms with their own — unusual — minds.”

(Tolan, 1994)

Transition to Adulthood

“Gifted children and adolescents need to look beyond their academic capacities and cultivate their curiosity, persistence, flexibility, optimism, and ability to take risks—skills that are as important to develop as domain-specific knowledge if they are to be happy, healthy, and productive adults.”—Meredith J. Greene, PhD

Transition to Adulthood• “Existential Dread”

-Nurture social, emotional and philosophical development (Ellsworth, 1998) - Risk of higher alcohol use and increased rates of depression (Sharp, ) and , possibly, suicide. Data is incomplete to note if gifted students are more at risk for suicide (Cross, 2002)

• Begin with career planning in adolescence-Emphasis on fulfillment, purpose, and meaningful contributions to society-Career search that can meet needs for flexibility, intellectual creativity, and independence (Black, 2000)

• Achieving creative eminence: characteristically motivated, preferring solitude, considered “workaholic”, unconventional, thriving on tension, satisfying emotional needs through fulfilling talent (Olszewski-Kubilius)

Table 1Characteristic statements made by gifted employees and people in their working environment concerning adaptation problems

What the working environment notices What the employee states

1 Many conflicts with management and authorities I have a great sense of justice

2 Cannot listen to what others say My ideas are not understood, but I’m usually right

3 Difficult to place motives. What’s behind it all? Apparently I’m a threat to my colleagues

4 Bad timekeeping, for example in meetings I’m being held back all the time, it all goes so slowly

5 Strongly fluctuating performance, without any clear cause I have no idea what I want, I find almost everything interesting

6 Not clear where the employee’s optimal work position is; concerns him/herself with all kinds of things

I get too little appreciation, people don’t see what I’m

capable of

7 Lack of perseverance and discipline I’m easily distracted

8 Is difficult to approach, not social I dislike social talk

9 Makes all kinds of demands concerning work environment factors I can’t understand how other people can work in that noise

Working Environment

(Nauta and Corten, 2002)

Table 2Strategies of the gifted with respect to life and careerStrategy Place of giftedness in life and career

Inconspicuous

Keeps a low profile, which results in personal development being restricted. Often not aware of high intelligence: considers him/herself rather stupid. Functions in simple jobs. Upon becoming aware of their giftedness, can develop to one of the other types.

Accepted

Has established a connection with other people at his/her own level at an early stage, which acts as a stimulus. Has not had any major adaptation problems and has gone through a normal personal development. Works, for example, in a gifted environment (Whiz kids? Specialized researcher?), as advisor with a unique task within a unique company, or starts up a business.

Social

Has discovered through experience that you can’t achieve anything with intelligence alone. Has actively raised his/her social skills to a high level. Is therefore able to solve many adaptation problems. Often functions well in jobs that are intrinsically multidisciplinary in character.

Confrontational

Has a checkered career history. From conflict to conflict and occasionally even from dismissal to dismissal. Tries to survive by placing the emphasis on the quality of the work. Can progress to ‘Social’ or may find him/herself in ‘Isolation’.

Isolation Operates almost exclusively in a state of isolation. Runs the risk of losing contact with society.

(Nauta and Corten, 2002)

Life and Career

Push me! See how far I go!Work me ‘til I drop. Then pick me up.Open a door, and then make me run to it before it closes.Teach me so that I might learn,Then let me enter the tunnel of experience alone.And when, near the end,I turn to see you beginning another’s journey,I shall smile.

~Kathleen, 14 years old

(Tomlinson, 2001)

Websites• www.nagc.org National Association for Gifted Children• www.gifted.uconn.edu/NRCGT.html National Research Center on the

Gifted and Talented• www.sengifted.org Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted• www.ed.gov/programs/javits/index.html Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Education Program; serving students

traditionally underrepresented in gifted programs• http://www.cectag.org The Association for the Gifted• http://www.fldoe.org/ese Florida Dept. of Education, Exceptional

Education and Student Services• www.floridagiftednet.org Florida Gifted Network• www.hoagiesgifted.org Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page

Works CitedBlack, M. “Clues to Success.” Gifted Child Today. 23.2 (2000): 16. EBSCOhost. 30 May 2009.

<http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/>Cox, Jennifer. “Amadeus to Young Einstein: Modern Cinema and its Portrayal of Gifted Learners”.

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Olszewski-Kubilius, Paula. “Psychological Factors in the Development of Adulthood Giftedness fromChildhood Talent.” Center for Talent Development. 2008. Northwestern University. 28 May 2009.< http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/resources/topics/displayArticle/?id=125>

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Sousa, David. How the Gifted Brain Learns. California: Corwin Press, 2003.“Termination: Javits Gifted and Talented Education Program”. Terminations, Reductions, and Savings. 2009

Department of Education. 25 May 2009. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2010/assets/trs.pdf>

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Tolan, Stephanie. “Discovering the Gifted Ex-Child.” Roeper Review 17.2 (1994): 134-138 Supporting theEmotional Needs of the Gifted. 27 May 2009 <http//www.sengifted.org/articles_adults/Tolan

Tomlinson, Carol Ann. How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. Virginia: Association forSupervision and Curriculum Development, 2001.

VanTassel-Baska, Joyce. Florida State Plan for Gifted Education: Draft. n.p.: n.p. 2009. Vaughn, Sharon, Candace S. Bos, and Jeanne Shay Shum. Teaching Students Who Are Exceptional, Diverse, and

At Risk in the General Education Classroom. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2007.Zecker, Steven. “Underachievement and Learning Disabilities in Children Who Are Gifted.” Center for Talent Development. 2008.

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29 May 2008. Young man with crutches. The Cerebral Palsy Site. 29 May 2009. <http://thecpsite.com/cerebral-palsy-

picture> Cheerleader. 29 May 2009 <http://www.sebsblog.com/2009/03/the-old-europe-home-schooling-us-talk-

radio.htmlAsian girl. 29 May 2009 <http://www.8asians.com/2009/01/01/asian-americans-kids-moving-back-and-forth-

between-asia/ >