Gifted and Talented
By: Nicholas Aaron
What is Gifted and Talented?
Children can demonstrate achievement in these areas:
- General Intellectual ability
- Specific Academic Aptitude
- Creative or Productive Thinking
- Leadership Ability
- Visual or Performing Arts
- Psychomotor Ability
These children can be identified at an early age, and usually express uniqueness almost from birth. These children are usually between 3 and 5 percent of the school population according to the Department of Education. However the average is around to 6.7% of the population. Some states have deferring definitions of what it means to be Gifted and Talented , thus states like Maryland have high prevalence of 16.1% compared to states like Massachusetts which has as .7%.
They are be identified through some common characteristics such as:
- Reasoning abstractly
- Has wide interests
- Remembers great amounts of material
- Critical of self
- Exhibits individualism
- Uses different modes of expression
Are there learning obstacles to being G&T?
To learn more about what it is like to be gifted and talented, check out the following video:
Instructional Practices
Interference with Learning
Strategies for the Classroom
Differentiated Curriculum is when students receive enhanced learning experiences that are above and beyond those provided to typical learners through the general education curriculum. (TEXT BOOK REFERENCES INCOMPLETE) This is very important for students to gain the knowledge the class is learning and stoke the intellectual fires by going more in depth to keep the student engaged.
Enrichment is a type of differentiated education that add topics, broadens the content, and provides more depth. These programs allow for students to gain more knowledge while being more engaged. Some examples are
-Independent study projects
-Summer programs
-Internships
-After school groups
The most popular program is the SEM or Schoolwide Enrichment Model. This breaks students into levels which challenges 3 types of skill categories.
-Exploratory Activities
-Group Training Activities
-Individual and Small Group Investigations
These provide extra work for students to explore what really interests them.
Links to Data-based Practices
Home Strategies
The most important thing a parent can do is to be supportive and encourage their kids to do the best they can. Setting expectations to high can be damaging if they cannot continue to achieve. Parents can do take these home strategies into practice by researching what they find best for their child. Being social and not isolating the child with the TV will help determine if they are talented at a young age. Encourage the creativity and finding their passions is just as important.
Website Resources
This site allows parents to learn about more enrichment opportunities with tips, toys, games, and other resources to help creative children.
Summer Camps for Gifted Children
This is a site that allows parents to search for summer camps for their children to have a learning summer with top-notch programs.
This blog allows for parents to communicate with other parents and share ideas, tips, and stories about dealing with Gifted and Talented students.
This is an app that allows the wikipedia encyclopedia to be a companion to text. It allows students to browse and gather in-depth information while reading.
Resources used in Brochure
U.S. Department of Education (The Maryland Definition) Maryland (pp. 10-11); Washington, DC, U.S. Government Printing Office 1972., and Elementary & Secondary Education Title IX - General Provisions, SEC. 9101. Defintions., U.S. Department of Education
Giftedness Defined. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.nsgt.org/giftedness-defined/