GIFTED

1. GIFTED Debra Farnham, Special Education Consultant TDSB NW1

2. TRUE OR FALSE • Gifted children will make it on their own. • Gifted children can be handled adequately in a regular classroom. • If gifted children are grouped together or given special programs they will become an elite group. • Programs for gifted children are good for all children. • Gifted children must learn to get along with their peers.

3. GIFTED CHILDREN WILL MAKE IT ON THEIR OWN TRUTH: Everyone needs help, encouragement and appropriate learning experiences in order to make the most of themselves.

4. GIFTED CHILDREN CAN BE HANDLED ADEQUATELY IN A REGULAR CLASSROOM TRUTH: How? Without help? Is adequate acceptable? Giving busy work? Allowing them to help others?

5. IF GROUPED TOGETHER THEY WILL BECOME AN ELITE GROUP. TRUTH: Like the jazz band? Like the basketball team?

6. WHAT IS GOOD FOR ONE IS GOOD FOR ALL TRUTH: Possibly true if only content is considered. Must consider pace and depth.

7. GIFTED CHILDREN MUST GET ALONG WITH THEIR PEERS TRUTH: Which Peers? • Social • Chronological • Economic • Intellectual

8. DEFINING GIFTEDNESS ACTIVITY Elbow Partners: Brainstorm a list of positive and negative characteristics/abilities a student who is gifted would possess.

9. GIFTED

11. DEFINING THE GIFTED Renzulli (1977) • Above average abilities • Creativity • Task commitment Fluid, overlapping constellations. A result of a number of characteristics interacting to achieve a purpose

12. MINISTRY OF ONTARIO “An unusually advanced degree of general intellectual ability that requires differentiatedlearning experiences of a depth and breadth beyond those normally provided in the regular school program to satisfy the level of education potential indicated”.

13. STEPS TO IDENTIFICATION • Parent/teacher meeting • Classroom screening and intervention • Teacher/Parent/Peer/Self nomination • Referral to school support team and follow-up meetings • Psychological testing – IQ Test/Test of creativity and achievement • IPRC process to be FORMALLY IDENTIFIED

14. Normal Distribution Curve for I.Q.

15. PROGRAMMING FOR GIFTED CURRICULUM MUST BE DIFFERENTIATED BY: • Kind • Pace • Depth • Breadth

16. BY KIND • Provide more freedom of choice • Allow time to explore options before expecting a final selection of topic or book • Include a “Your Own Idea” choice • Find materials that reflect higher ability level yet are still age-appropriate in content • Provide open-ended activities

17. BY PACE • Pre-test for knowledge and comprehension in skills related units • Compact programs and unit • Speed up the introduction of new material and avoid repetition • Assign only enough questions of a particular kind to ensure that the skill has been mastered • Provide multi-level assignments with variable entry and exit points to accommodate prior knowledge

18. BY BREADTH • Organize content around broad-based themes, issues or problems • Present comprehensive, related and mutually reinforcing experiences within an area of study • Look for unusual connections and linkages between subjects, themes and issues • Push every student to find ways to improve and elaborate on what they have done • Provide a wide range of content and teaching styles

19. BY DEPTH • Explore topics more fully • Enhance learning with excursions, tours, speakers, cultural events, career exploration • Encourage students explore topics on the internet, film library, letters or calls to experts in the field • Make the content more abstract and the ideas more complex • Use of mentors, tutors and resource personnel

20. FURTHER DIFFERENTIATE … • Using interests, talents, abilities • Community service & social skills training • Self-awareness & responsibility development • Developing independent research skills • Developing creative thinking skills • Developing critical thinking sills

21. MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES & BLOOM’S TAXONOMY OF THINKING ACTIVITY: Within groups, discuss how delivering curriculum through the use of M.I. and Bloom’s Taxonomy helps to engage gifted students.

22. TYPES OF GIFTED

23. TYPES OF GIFTED • The Successful • The Divergently Gifted • The Underground • The Dropouts • The Double-Labeled

24. THE SUCCESSFUL • As many as 90% • Eager for approval • Learn well and score high on tests • Often bored • Dependent • Fail to learn needed skills & attitudes of autonomy • Lose both creativity and autonomy

25. THE DIVERGENTLY GIFTED • Many schools fail to identify • High degree of creativity • May appear to be obstinate, tactless • Question authority • Do not conform to system • Frustrated and struggle with self-esteem • At risk for eventual dropouts, drug addiction, delinquent behaviour

26. THE UNDERGROUND • Generally middle school females who hide • Deny their talent to feel included • Lose interest in previous passions • Feel insecure and anxious

27. THE DROPOUTS • Angry with themselves and adults • Feel rejected • May have depression or act out defensively • Interests that lie outside of school • High school students (or upper elementary) • Low self-esteem

28. THE DOUBLE-LABELED • Have physical/emotional handicaps or learning disabilities • Vast majority of gifted programs do not identify these students • Do not exhibit behaviours that schools look for in gifted • Stressed/discouraged/frustrated/rejected/helpless /isolated • Often claim school activities are boring or stupid • May use humour to demean others • Urgently avoids failures

29. TO BE GIFTED / LEARNING DISABLED Discrepancies appear between expected and actual performance. • Have well-above-average ability in specific areas, show a creative approach in specific situations and are committed to some interest or real world problem • In addition, are not performing in certain academic areas due to identified deficits in learning processes

30. SAMPLE INDICATORS OF GIFTED/LD

31. CHALLENGES FOR L.D. STUDENTS

32. CASE STUDY - Debby Group Work • Read the case of Debby. • Brainstorm ideas how you would further differentiate her program, with her individual characteristics in mind.

33. PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS • Build on student’s strengths and remediate weaknesses • Build self-esteem through celebration of strengths • Individualize the program • Use as peer or cross-age tutours • Coordinate or provide counseling • Use computers!!! • Use tape recorders • Use audio/visual • Use legitimate praise and positive comments frequently • Work in cooperative learning groups • Be flexible & understanding

34. CONCLUSION • Every gifted student is an individual, with their own strengths and needs • Successful programming requires differentiating, flexibility and creativity • Gifted students know the questions. Bright students know the answers.

35. Q & A