How do gifted students learn differently from other children? There have been many theories put forth over the years as educators and researchers learned more about what it means to be gifted. And the debate continues today.
Early in this century, giftedness was determined by testing a student’s IQ. Overall intelligence was the measure until more advanced testing became available. The more testing that was done, the more was learned about gifted students and their disabilities.
A difference was also made between giftedness, which was seen as an aptitude for learning and talent, which was seen as superior mastery in a given field or particular skill.
Another difference noted was between students who showed a high level of academic ability and those who showed a high degree of motivation and creativity.
The federal government defined gifted and talented students as those who performed at a high level in areas like mathematics, writing, leadership, or other creative areas.
When special education programs were created for gifted students, they had to demonstrate their need and motivation to take advantage of these opportunities. Students were selected for these programs through testing and teacher recommendations.
The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) has recognized that gifted children may be gifted in more than one area. They view gifted students as those who show or have the potential to show exceptional performance in one or more areas.
How gifted students learn
Researchers and educators now say that gifted students do learn differently from their non-gifted peers in at least 11 ways.
- Gifted students learn new material much faster than their peers.They process information similar to the way adults do it by capitalizing on patterns of information.
- Gifted children learn earlier than their peers.Research work with children above 180 IQ showed that these children developed much earlier than other children in talking, reading, and imagination.
- They have better memories and remember more of what they learn. This means they need little time to review if any.
- They have an ability to think abstractly and to grasp concepts much better than their peers. They have exceptional problem-finding abilities and can conceive higher-order relations.
- They can focus intensely on subjects and become highly motivated to learn more about them while excluding other subjects completely.
- They are very aware of their surroundings and can absorb many stimuli while focusing on a given task.
- Gifted children have more intellectual curiosity and fascination with ideas and words.
- They have a need for precision and have the ability to perceive many sides of a question using metaphorical thinking andthe visualization of models and systems. They have logical imperatives related to their complex thought patterns that make them expect the world to make sense. This leads them to argue extensively, correct errors, and strive for precision of thought in every endeavor.
- They have an early moral concern for others and for society.
- Gifted children have a high level of metacognitive knowledge and awareness. They think about their own ways of knowing, remembering, and understanding. They have insights that non-gifted children do not have. Superior metacognitive ability is considered an essential component of giftedness.
- They have a greater capacity for empathy with another. This usually means that one projects oneself into another’s persona and determines what the other person is feeling. But it also means the ability to project oneself into something. Visual artists project themselves onto the canvas when they paint and musicians project themselves into their music.
How they are being taught
Teachers are responsible for the education of both gifted and non-gifted students but the challenges of time and training make it difficult to accommodate all students. Teachers will offer whatever enrichment programs they can, which include independent projects during or after class, special learning centers within the classroom, and small-group discussions.
There have been special education programs for several years where students with learning disabilities were pulled out of their regular classrooms to be taught at their own level of learning. The same technique is being offered to gifted students.
Gifted secondary school students are being offered acceleration opportunities to take more advanced courses or to skip a grade or two, or even take college courses.
More private schools are being created with staff and resources to specialize in the education of gifted and talented students.
Classroom strategies include using higher-level questions to draw out concepts and challenge thinking. Tiered assignments allow more in-depth study. Student contracts and independent assignments allow more extensive research and exploration. Mentoring and apprenticeships enable the students to work with a resource teacher, a media specialist, a parent volunteer, or a community member to work on projects.
Developmental issues
Although gifted students can process information like adults, they have other issues that interfere with the effectiveness of that processing that adults don’t have to worry about. Their cognitive development proceeds faster than their chronological, social, moral and emotional development.
All these developmental traits happen asynchronously at different intervals for different students. Gifted students may be able to think abstractly and form hypotheses but at the same time have problems in organizing material or presenting an argument. This presents unique challenges for teachers, parents, and school counselors.
Gifted students have trouble with material that non-gifted students find easy. They see so many possible answers to questions that they don’t know how to respond. If asked “What does a doctor do?” they can think of so many kinds of doctors that they can’t pick one. They have a higher level of analysis and integration than is required.
With a growing body of research and increasing awareness of how gifted students learn, there are more resources, strategies, and support becoming available. Teachers are being trained in how to address the unique needs of the gifted and talented. Legislatures and school systems are starting to recognize that funding is required to recognize the needs of gifted students the same way as those with disabilities. And sometimes a student has both gifts and disabilities. The best way to treat these students are still a work in progress.
