Teaching The Gifted Child
Gifted Students Need Programming to Meet Their Needs
Isn't it true that gifted students will be successful without special programming and attention?
False! Gifted students often need a program to specifically meet their needs and strengths. Teachers need to ensure that students are properly supported in order to maximize their full potential!
How Can Teachers Support Gifted Children?
Some Practical Recommendations
- Differentiate by providing depth and breadth as well as curriculum compacting in order for the student to explore the material deeper than classmates. For School Boards that do not allow students to work above grade level, this approach can be useful for the student (Developing Individual Education Plans for Gifted Students, 17)
- Enrich the curriculum with more interdisciplinary courses such as Music, Languages and Art as well as instruction in leadership, organizational and interpersonal skills (18). These possibilities can provide an enriched curriculum with academic progress.
- Provide academic competition! This allows students to test their knowledge individually and in a group setting, allowing students to become competitive in an academic environment (Teachers First). Programs such as science or history fairs allow students, gifted or not, to show their classmates what they have learned and share ideas.
- Use Bloom's Taxonomy to provide appropriate questions utilizing the upper levels, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The student is given higher order questions which will stimulate their learning (Teachers First)
- Find a mentor for the student. They can work with your student in their area of interest and reach their potential (Teachers First). Avoid making the gifted student the 'teacher helper' as that is not their role.
Teaching Gifted Students