Giftedness in children often goes unnoticed. Some gifted children disguise their gifts because they just want to “fit in” with the normal population. They don’t want to stand out. As they get older, they may be interested in sports or other group activities, and they just want to be part of the “team.”
Other gifted students have issues which compound the identification of their giftedness. They may be on the spectrum, have emotional problems, or be limited physically in some way. Whatever the reasons, it’s often hard to recognize gifted children, but when it happens, educators face the challenge of how to deal with the uniqueness and special talent these children have – while trying to maintain a traditional classroom.
There are certain paths and options available that offer gifted children a greater chance to develop their talent and advance through the educational system. But gifted programs are usually very limited and presented as supplements to existing educational practices. What’s happening in Germany’s education system, though, is a different approach to working with gifted children in elementary school. Giftedness is actually being promoted, and talented children are being given courses and programs designed specifically for them, with research teams studying the results for possible universal application in other schools.
German Researchers Study Early Giftedness
Scientists at the Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology at the University of Tübingen worked with colleagues at the German Institute of International Educational Research (DIPF) to examine how giftedness can be promoted as early as elementary school.
They conducted several studies involving 2,700 students at 65 locations. The subjects involved were Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, Math, German, and Public Speaking (STEAM subjects). The researchers monitored and analyzed enrichment programs for gifted elementary school children. The researchers were interested in finding out how the courses affected children’s cognitive skills, academic achievement, epistemic curiosity, creativity, self-control and social competencies.
Results Were Positive
The results of the studies showed that students’ grades in Math and German improved after participating in an enrichment program. Also, there were special courses designed for gifted students that further improved their understanding and performance in different subjects.
The researchers recognized that several factors could have influenced the improvements. The very fact of being given special courses and attention may have given the children extra motivation. Parents who became aware of their child’s giftedness may have spent more time and money on school-related topics and educational “extras.” Teachers may have given more attention knowing the students were “smarter.” But the bottom line was an improvement.
Understanding Science
The researchers did more than study gifted children in school. They created special courses to see if the children would benefit further. One such course was called “Little Researchers — We Work Like Scientists.” It was designed to improve the children’s understanding of science as a subject. Students undertook the role of researchers and learned how scientists work, for example, studying how scientists formulate and test hypotheses or interpret and question results. The class resulted in the children having a more mature understanding of the science field.
These gifted children were also given training in scientific language and speech, a process that helped them develop an excellent ability to present scientific content.
Public Speaking Courses
Researchers created another course to help children in third and fourth grades develop good presentation skills. It was a presentations course designed to promote public speaking skills, a life-skill benefit that would help them in all phases of their educational and personal lives.
The speaking course taught them how to handle stage-fright, how to use non-verbal communication, and how to write a comprehensive, acceptable speech. The children picked topics from the field of science, and they learned to speak fluently, maintain eye-contact with their audience, keep good posture, and use gestures and facial expressions properly.
Causes for Optimism
Ulrich Trautwein is the director of the Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, and he says, “The results (of the studies) are a cause for optimism. Promoting giftedness in elementary school children can work — but we need clearly defined programs, trained course instructors, and a continuous, systematic monitoring of effects.”
More studies are needed, not only of what kind of programs can better present the material for gifted students to become more engaged and motivated but also studies that tell us how gifted students understand concepts like science and engineering or personal skills like speaking and writing.
Perhaps more introductory or “bridge” courses should be created to better prepare gifted students to align their advanced thinking with traditional subjects and help them connect the dots among these subjects. Gifted students, even at a young age, tend to combine areas of study in solving problems. Maybe, newly designed courses can help them make those connections.
Maybe before teaching gifted students core learning subjects, even in combination, we should be teaching them how to learn and how to communicate and present their ideas effectively in speech and in writing.
Causes for Concern
Promoting giftedness in schools, especially at the elementary levels, will face an uphill battle. A recent report by the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented at the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education found that school districts were quite dependent on local funding for providing gifted-education services. The report showed that almost 40 percent of districts with elementary-school gifted programs received no state funding at all. Also, the gifted and talented classroom isn’t the most prevalent educational model in the U.S. Fifty percent of those students who receive gifted education usually see it as pull-out services for just one- to four- hour periods per week.
In addition to funding limitations, teacher training is inadequate as well. The requirements for teaching gifted and talented students are determined at the state and local levels. Although there are gifted and talented students in just about every classroom, there are few school districts that require their teachers to acquire the training needed for advanced learners.
There is research that indicates teachers who have received training for gifted learners are more likely to encourage higher-level thinking and allow for greater student expression. They are also more likely to consider individual student strengths and weaknesses. And they are more apt to provide a variety of learning experiences that challenge students.
Our educational system, at both national and local levels, has to address the needs of all students. The answer is not a one-hour training session for teachers or a one-hour pull-out session for gifted students. Educators and politicians need to see that school is for everyone, gifted and non-gifted, starting in the early grades where formative habits begin.
