Gifted Kids Need Support, Too!
How Teachers Can Help Gifted Students
Fact
What Can Teachers Do?
Intellectual Ability – Challenge
Gifted students have an advanced degree of intellectual ability and they are able to learn new things very quickly. Teachers can stimulate or challenge these students by allowing them to co-author a learning agreement with their teachers where they can work on any topic they find interesting. This assignment can also modified in such a way to make learning expectations more complex. By using Bloom's Taxonomy, the verbs in the assignment can be adjusted so their level of higher level thinking is appropriately challenged.
Organizational/Time Management Skills
Some gifted students can be quite disorganized (Sandhu, 2016). This is because their thinking is quick; they can overlook or pay less attention to things like organization and time management. Some strategies to help with this is for teachers and parents to help organize folders, desks, and lockers, and to help in prioritizing assignments according to due dates (Silbert, 2009).
Social Skills / Anxiety
It is a misconception to believe that gifted children are socially odd or different. In fact, gifted children are often difficult to identify because they seem normal.
Like any other child, gifted students can have anxiety and so an Accommodations page may be needed for these students so they can be given more time to write a test or complete assignments.
Also, it is a myth that all students are successful in school. Some do poorly on purpose so they can fit in with their social group. It is important for all students to achieve their highest potential.
References
Sandhu, I. (2106). Gifted and Disorganized. Retrieved from http://www.brainy-child.com/experts/gifted-and-disorganized.shtml
Silbert, L. (2009). How to Help Your Disorganized Child. Seven Tips for Better Organization. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Help-Your-Disorganized-Child---Seven-Tips-For-Better-Organization&id=2175149