Matching Instruction to the Gifted Student’s

1. Matching Instruction to the Gifted Student’s Learning Style & Multiple Intelligences

2. Learning Style Inventory Please take about 5 minutes to answer the 12 question learning style inventory.

3. Learning styles vary for gifted children • Visual learners are attracted to studying paintings or posters, reading books, or watching programs such as documentaries. • Auditory learners retain information by listening. These students enjoy lectures, class discussions, and Q & A sessions. • Kinesthetic learners learn the most by working with hands-on projects in which they can learn new concepts and manipulate ideas while using their hands. (Strip, C. A. & Hirsch, G.)

4. Learning Styles • Cranton (2000) suggests that, “Learning styles are preferences for certain conditions or ways of learning. Although we can learn in ways we do not actually prefer, when given a choice, we have favorite strategies and approaches. Since we can be more flexible in our learning style, it should be considered as one of our personality characteristics rather than an intellectual component” (p.38).

5. Learning Style Inventory (LSI) Some learning style inventories include: -Kolb’s Learning Style Model (LSI) -Conner Learning Style Assessment -Student Perception Inventory (SPI) -CAPSOL Inventory - Canfield Learning Style Inventory (CLSI)

6. Multiple Intelligences To qualify as an ‘intelligence’ the particular capacity under study was considered from multiple perspectives consisting of eight specific criteria drawn from the biological sciences, logical analysis, developmental psychology, experimental psychology, and psychometrics. The criteria used to consider "candidate intelligences“ or simply put, the 8 criteria for intelligence are: 1) the potential for brain isolation by brain damage, 2) its place in evolutionary history, 3) the presence of core operations, 4) susceptibility to encoding, 5) a distinct developmental progression, 6) the existence of idiot-savants, prodigies and other exceptional people, 7) support from experimental psychology, and 8) support from psychometric findings (Gardner, 2003)

7. (VanTassel-Baska, J.L., Cross, T. L., & Olenchak, F. R., pg. 82)

8. Implications of Higher Intelligence “It is clear that, in general, gifted students- especially those who are challenged and who have developed healthy habits of self-appraisal and application- tend to excel over other students in their views of their academic ability…” (pg. 67). (Niehart, M, Reis, S. M., & Moon, S. M.)

9. Mississippi Department of Education • Regulations for the Gifted Education Programs in Mississippi 2006 • INSTRUCTIONAL MANAGEMENT PLAN (IMP) • Each local school district shall have a written IMP for the intellectually gifted program and for all other gifted programs (academically gifted, artistically gifted, and/or creatively gifted) that the district offers. The IMP shall include, at a minimum, the following components: • District mission/philosophy statement, including goals and objectives, • The components of the Mississippi Gifted Education Program Standards, • a. Differentiated activities, • b. Scope and sequence of program process skills (outcomes), • c. Career exploration and life skills, • d. Exposure to and appreciation for the visual and performing arts, • e. In-class counseling for gifted students, • f. Address the socio-emotional needs of gifted students, • g. Address the affective needs of gifted students, and • h. Address the needs of gifted at-risk students. • Program outcomes for the specific gifted program(s) offered. • (pages 27-28)

10. Activities in the Spanish Classroom

11. References • Cranton, P. (2000) Planning Instructionfor Learners: Second Edition. Canada: Wall & Emerson. • Gardner, H. (2003). Multiple Intelligences After Twenty Years. American Educational Research Association, 1-15. • Mississippi Department of Education. (2006). Regulations for the Gifted Education Programs in Mississippi, 1-39. • Niehart, M, Reis, S. M., & Moon, S. M. (2002). The social and emotional development of gifted children: What do we know? Washington, D.C.: Prufrock Press. • VanTassel-Baska, J.L., Cross, T. L., & Olenchak, F. R. (2009). Social-emotional curriculum with gifted and talented students. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press. • Strip, C. A. & Hirsch, G. (2000). Helping gifted children soar: A practical guide for parents and teachers. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press.

12. Final Thoughts As educators, we must go beyond the more traditional methods of instruction and counseling in order to facilitate meaningful learning and engage students in either a regular or gifted environment. Identifying various methods of learning will help us with that challenge.