Group 6

• Gifted


  The state of possessing a great amount of natural ability, talent, or intelligence, which usually becomes evident at a very young age
• Giftedness in intelligence


  Often categorized as an IQ of two standard deviations above the mean or higher (130 for most IQ tests), obtained on an individually administered IQ test
• Attributes used to assess giftedness


  • High intellectual capacity
  • Academic achievement
  • Demonstrable real-world achievement
  • Creativity
  • Task commitment
  • Proven talent
  • Leadership skills
  • Physical or athletic prowess
• Analytic intelligence


  Exhibited by people who perform well on aptitude and intelligence tests
• Synthetic giftedness


  Unconventional thinkers who are creative, intuitive, and insightful
• Practical intelligence


  Extraordinarily adept in dealing with problems of everyday life and those that arise in their work environments
• WICS


  Wisdom, intelligence, creativity, synthesized - a form of giftedness
• Multiple intelligences


  Intelligence or giftedness is an ability or set of abilities that permit an individual to solve problems or fashion products that are of consequence in a particular cultural setting
• Definitions of giftedness are diverse and reveal challenges in defining the nature of giftedness

  
• Definitions of giftedness are often a function of educational, societal, and political priorities at a particular time and place

  
• Academically talented


  Introduced to describe the top 15 to 20 percent of the general school population
• Positive and negative characteristics of gifted students


  • Advanced language and thought development
  • Early language acquisition
  • Intense curiosity
  • Emotional excitability
• Gifted students are generally well-adjusted and socially adept, although exceptions exist

  
• Gifted students may exhibit emotional excitability and high sensitivity, experiencing intense emotions compared to their peers
• Nature versus nurture


  Controversy concerning how much of a person's ability is related to sociocultural influences (nurture) and how much is due to genetic factors (nature)
• Elements of the "Star Model" for explaining giftedness

  • Superior general intellect
  • Distinctive special aptitudes
  • Nonintellective factors
  • Environmental supports
  • Chance

  
• Static factors remain relatively constant, such as race and economic status, while dynamic factors are fluid and responsive to environmental changes
• Commonly used tools for identifying the gifted


  • Teacher Nomination
  • Parent Nomination
  • Standardized Tests
  • Performance-Based Assessments
  • Portfolios
  • Interviews
• Superior intelligence


  • Typically assessed through intelligence tests, including verbal, spatial, and memory capacities
• Special abilities


  • Extraordinary talents demonstrated by child prodigies, such as in music or mathematics
• Nonintellective factors


  • Psychopathology
  • Perfectionism
  • Motivation
  • Self-concept
  • Resilience
• Environmental support


  Plays a crucial role in nurturing giftedness, and providing opportunities for growth and development
• Element of chance

  Plays a role in giftedness, with external factors coinciding with preparation and talent development to contribute to eventual success or greatness
• Factors influencing path to eminence or greatness


  • Timing
  • Opportunities
  • Serendipitous events
• Commonly used tools for identifying the gifted


  • Teacher Nomination
  • Intelligence and Achievement Tests
  • Creativity Tests

  
• Teacher Nomination


  An integral part of many screening approaches, as teachers have many opportunities to observe their pupils in and out of the classroom which provides useful information concerning the pupils' capabilities and potential
• Intelligence and Achievement Tests


  • Advantage: Often identifies underachievers

  Disadvantage: Not generally designed to measure the true achievement of academically gifted children, due to ceiling effects

  
• Off-level achievement testing


  Assessments or materials designed for higher-grade students, used to more accurately gauge the potential of notably advanced students
• Creativity Tests


  Serve several purposes, but are often called into question
• Identification and selection of gifted students


  1. Screening steps

  2. Careful evaluation using more individualized procedures and assessment tools

  
• Early Childhood Education


  Many young children with high cognitive ability can be identified in the middle of the second year of life, and parents can contribute to this through early, concentrated, language-centered involvement
• Many gifted children learn to read before they enter kindergarten or first grade
• Traditional programs for gifted children


  Focus on activities and curricula devoted primarily to the development of academic skills, and emphasize affective and social development
• Entry criteria for traditional programs


  Child's IQ and social maturity
• Differentiated Education


  An education uniquely and predominantly suited to the natural abilities and interests of individuals who are gifted, involving engaging instructional strategies, examining content in greater depth, pursuing highly specialized content, and/or dealing with more complex and higher levels of subject matter
• Instructional Approaches for Gifted Education


  Determine what types of giftedness the school system is capable of serving and supporting

  Establish identification criteria and related measures

  Determine organizational structures for providing differentiated education

  Select appropriate instructional approaches

  Establish continuous evaluation procedures and techniques to assess program effectiveness

  
• Acceleration


  Enables gifted students to progress more rapidly and learn at a rate commensurate with their abilities, by matching the level, complexity, and pace of the curriculum to the readiness and motivation of the student
• Students who experience acceleration are more likely to pursue advanced degrees than those who do not
• Enrichment


  Educational experiences for gifted students that enhance their thinking skills and extend their knowledge in various areas, such as music appreciation, foreign languages, and mythology
• Enrichment is the most common administrative approach to serving gifted students, but is often applied in name only and in a sporadic fashion, without well-delineated objectives or rationale