Diversity Of Gifted Students

In 2015, I wrote about my personal philosophy of the gifted learner. I stated in my paper that, “Giftedness is not a one, set definition. The definition of gifted must encompass intellect, ability, creative talent as well as emotional awareness. It cannot be micro-managed and be a “one size fits all” definition” (Dauber, 2015). People, who are gifted, need differentiation and opportunity to express, demonstrate and show their giftedness. Educators must be able to provide opportunities for the gifted learner to express his/her abilities and/or talents. Gifted students learn differently and require special educational experiences in order to grow academically and achieve their highest potential. Therefore, the education field must be able to understand not only the cognitive side of a gifted learner but the affective or social/emotional aspects too.

One of the difficulties in identifying the needs of low-income students is the profound cultural barriers which exist that prevent their strengths and deficits from being identified. Children from low-income homes frequently have poorer vocabularies and a weaker basis of the type of knowledge that is frequently considered 'intelligence' on most forms of assessment. A low-income child's IQ may be high, even though he lacks a framework of accepted middle-class knowledge. "In January 2003, the National Academy of Sciences released a report on the seeming overrepresentation of minorities in special education and underrepresentation of those students in gifted education. The NRC reported that, nationwide, 7.47 percent of all white students and 9.9 percent of Asian students are placed in gifted programs. Meanwhile, 3.04 percent of African-American students, 3.57 percent of Hispanic students, and 4.86 percent of American Indian students are classified as gifted" (GT-minority identification, 2003, ERIC Clearinghouse). The discrepancy, the NAS believed, could not be solely explained by talent alone but was at least partially rooted in the methods of identifying students labeled as gifted. Biases in standardized and other tests identifying student strengths, combined with prejudices, however unintentional, amongst educators and administrators lead to under-identification of the gifted

Middle school is a period of transition for adolescents. Students are no longer the children were once were in elementary school; they are beginning to mature into the adults they will need to become. Gifted learners at the middle-school level face the same developmental and tasks tasks and challenges that their peers do. Yet, gifted learners also possess traits that are different from their peers, which often make them misunderstood or ignored. The need for teachers to identify these students and differentiate instruction in a way that addresses the needs of the gifted students in the classroom is becoming more crucial than ever.

gifted students within those states, and are not consistent across the United States. “Seven states

A Gifted and talented (G/T) student” is “one who . . . exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area, possesses an unusual capacity for leadership, or excels in a specific academic field” (Aldine ISD Board Policy Manual, 2014). The Texas Education Agency (TEA) provides a state plan, which outlines the standards for Texas schools to be in compliance. It also offers the educational opportunities these students should receive. In fact, there are performance measures for five aspects of G/T programs including student assessment, service design, curriculum and instruction, professional development, and family and community involvement. The plan assists districts in delivering these comprehensive services to

Mala Morrow is a gifted student. She was identified as being gifted after she scored in the 98 percentile on the Test of Cognitive Skills (TCS). She maintained an A average while she was enrolled in elementary school, now as a middle schooler she has a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.9. Mala’s ethnicity is Indian. She is actively learning, English, German, and she is fluent in two different Arabic dialects. These attributes clearly define that Mala is properly labeled as a gifted and talented student.

I evaluated the information in the document above based upon Moon’s (2013) nine measures to consider in comprehensive gifted education program. I think that FCCPS does a considerably good job addressing these nine guidelines. However, I believe they should consider more non-standardized materials and data while considering students for identification.

Growing up in the New York Public Schools system, I realized many similarities and differneces today. In 1993 all 50 states had formulated policies (legislation, regulations, rules, or guidelines) in support of gifted education. The study portrayed state policy as uneven and called for a re-examination of present policies in light of research, experience, and developments in education, psychology, organization, and related fields. Further support for this reexamination included the climate of school reform and restructuring, the changing environment of society and schooling, and the diverse ways that local districts interpret and implement state rules. These findings still resonate today. I graduated high school in 1994 and the gifted and

Adams County public school system’s current program doesn’t seem to recognize any minority or poor students who could be considered gifted. Educators in this district and committee members seem to lack any motivation to include diverse learners in their program. The fact that Adams County only recognized three out of four hundred thirty-eight over a five-year span is appalling. I feel Adams County need some major changes to extend their idea of giftedness. It needs to start with intensive and in-depth teacher training along with community outreach and awareness programs to help educate parents about giftedness. For instance, parent could learn ways to better support their children and help identify their child’s areas of giftedness.

This concept will only lead to social problems among the children and social inequality. I would also get rid of the term “gifted” students. All students have the ability to achieve the same academic satisfaction, no one should have the label as being “gifted.” This label would also lead to disparities, social problems, and bullying amongst students. I also do not like the idea of the I.Q. testing, so if I was a school administrator I would not make this a mandatory test for all second graders, I would stick to standardized tests. I feel that if all students are learning the same material, at the same pace, there will be less racial/ethnic inequality amongst students. If I were a school administrator, I would consider all students as being “gifted” because they all have that ability. Just because someone is a different race than Asian or white doesn’t mean that they aren’t equality as “gifted” as they are. Also, just because someone has a higher I.Q. than someone else doesn’t mean that the so-called, black child with the lower I.Q. can’t score higher than the Asian with the higher I.Q. on a science test. Everyone has their own strengths in certain subjects. I do not believe that I.Q. testing is an accurate way to go about classification on who is “gifted” and who

The article that I read was titled: Assessment Practices and the Underrepresentation of Minority Students in Gifted and Talented Education. This article explained the possible reason for the reoccurring issue of the underrepresentation of minority students in the gifted programs. To explain this reoccurring issue, the article examined the different assessment tools such as rating scales, achievement and mental ability tests. In addition, a study was conducted to evaluate this issue. The article then shares the findings that underrepresentation is not an issue with assessments, but comes from the enduring achievement gap in education. Because of the study, the article shares a variety of ways that educators can use to assist in the identification

Kennedy, D. M. (2002). Glimpses of a highly gifted child in a heterogeneous classroom. Roeper Review, 24(3), 120-124. This article reports on a case study done by the researcher, and it focuses on the interactions and activities of a highly gifted student, called Joshua, in a heterogeneous classroom.

I after reading this chapter I can now fully understand why teachers don’t like having gifted students in the classroom. Considering all the extra things they need to provide and do just for a couple or maybe

The topic of gifted and talented education is one that has always sparked debates among parents and teachers, and recent movements towards totally integrating classrooms have added to this debate. For many years now, "average" children, gifted and

Those that support ability grouping in schools argue that it is not just gifted and talented students that benefit from this practice. Although students benefit slightly from ability grouping even when course content is not altered, they could gain much more when the curriculum is adjusted to suit their academic needs, according to Mary Ann Swiatek (1997). Swiatek argues, students with mathematical talented are ready to learn statistics/probability, geometry, and pre-algebra long before those topics are introduced in school. If the advanced material is presented, gifted students will learn it, thereby boosting their academic achievement. (Swiatek, 1997)