The Importance Of Gifted Students Demonstrate Characteristics And Behaviors That Differs From Their Peers

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.

After my observation I came to the conclusion that the subject meets the milestones and stages for the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development. Judging from the drawing that the girl made we can assume that the girl is gifted. According to my naturalistic observation there is nothing unusual in the development of the girl. According to her age she is absolutely adequate.

As a Learning Assistant, working in Year 3, I worked closely with a seven year old girl who, for the purpose of this case study, I will call Jane. Jane was a confident and happy girl who, despite not being particularly academically gifted, always participated with class discussions and activities enthusiastically.

It has been seen that gifted children have different coping mechanisms, as they are likely to face different problems than their peers. This usually means them being overlooked by staff as they are not seen to need the same assistance as other students. It is often found that gifted girls may learn to hide their abilities in order to blend in with other children whereas gifted boys are usually considered immature and are unable to socialise with children their own age. These children usually have different learning methods therefore teaching staff may find it hard to work with their needs. This may lead the child to feel bored in class when the work is not differentiated to their

programs, the gifted child learns how to overcome adversity, a life-skill that benefits the gifted

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.

Born in the early 1920’s, Mary Meeker’s father saw great potential in his creative little girl. He vowed to make sure she got to college, something which he had been unable to do. He fancied himself a business man, so the family moved from place to place as he looked for the elusive perfect opportunity. Every new school brought another Intelligence Test and eventually Mary skipped a grade. Mary’s sister who was learning disabled was often mistreated by the Nuns at one of the schools, causing Mary to turn away from her religion. Her mother did not see her talent or creativity and was often mean and abusive toward her children. As a result of these events, and recognizing that she and her sister were at different ends of a spectrum, Mary vowed to advocate for the development of diverse intellectual abilities. Educationally, Mary more than fulfilled her father’s hopes as she gained a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Science, a Doctorate in Educational Psychology and continued with post graduate studies.

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.

I observed Julie Tolbert’s gifted third, fourth, and fifth grade classes. The kids in each class were mainly girls but only by a few numbers. Each child had a different learning style, and while they are all in a gifted class some were slower than others with each subject. A child that did really well in the science part of the day might struggle more in the social studies part of the day. Julie would accommodate each learning style to the best of her ability seeing as her ratio was normally

Adolescents face many developmental tasks: physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally. For example, puberty happens, intellectual interests expand, moral thinking happens, sense of identity is initiated, independence is worked towards, there is conflict with adults, and peer influence becomes an issue—to say the least. This particular read focuses on twelve west coast inner city students and the developmental and environmental tasks that impact their education. Professionals often use the word resilience, or suggest that students become resilient, without putting much thought into the difficulties that students must recover from.

On February 15, 2003 a young girl was born. Little did her parents know this little girl they named Samantha Anne Gordon was going to inspire a lot of people one day and be a great role model. Samantha was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. She grew up with a mom, dad, and two brothers. Her brothers’ names are Max and Ben. Max is the oldest, Samantha is the middle child, and Ben is the youngest child. When Samantha was in elementary school, she got called a tomboy a lot. When the girls were often inside for recess, she would always be playing sports with the boys. She loved to play soccer, football, and basketball. Now she knew that if she was going to be athletic, she had to have good grades. So Samantha took school very seriously. Her favorite subject was reading. Samantha took first place in the third grade science fair and spelling bee. She later was offered to be in the

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.

An affinity to learn and challenge herself is part of her nature. When in preschool, her teacher remarked that Gabbie sure shows an affinity and desire for knowledge. Hesitant to send her to Kindergarten after only one year, the teacher’s comment was poignant and comforting. She struggled in Kindergarten, and testing discovered two underlying issues; a hearing loss requiring corrective surgery, and a lack

“Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” When Reynie Muldoon first read these words off of the back of a newspaper in his orphanage, he was filled with excitement. He found himself to perfectly fit the description. The book, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, is about the adventures of four children by the names of Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance. All of the kids have very unique intellectual capabilities. After being grouped together by their super-genious mentor, Mr. Benedict, they fight off the evil of forced standardization and obedience. Some of the best things about this book include the camaraderie and adventure that follows the kids, and the interactiveness

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