Twice Exceptional Students

It is important to foster a learning environment in which students feel safe, relaxed, secure, confident and valued (Gravells A 2012 pg25) especially for learners who may have had negative experiences in traditional classroom environments. Students often describe supportive learning environments as expanding their sense of family and enhancing their self-esteem, which, when combined with increased literacy skills, help students take more chances in pursuing their goals.

Reading this book greatly affected the way I will interact with children with disabilities and their families. My current field placement is teaching art at a Middle School. Each class consists of students from 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, as well as students with special needs including giftedness. My cooperating teacher has taught me a great deal about differentiating lessons. Torey Hayden has showed me that it is not enough to differentiate lessons or plan adaptations for our students with exceptionalities. We truly have to look at them as a complete human being, and acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of every student in our classroom. Because of this book, I have not been afraid to speak with Mark* who has downs syndrome, or Alicia who has a cognitive impairment and hearing problems. I have tried to get to know my students with exceptionalities as well as all of my students as individuals, and understand their backgrounds. In the future I will continue to treat each student as a unique person and get to know them and their families before passing judgment.

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.

Teaching students with exceptional abilities requires funding, training and planning. Being in a regular classroom with children from various cultures, ethnic backgrounds and intellectual ability help students learn how to work together toward a common goal: reduce discrimination and stereotyping people with physical and mental limitations. Instructional strategies that break the work down so everyone learns better can improve education as well as reduce cost. This is achieved by including special education students in environments that will allow them to develop normal social interactions as well as receive specific attention to their learning needs. ("What is Special Education”)

Motivating gifted students can present a challenge for any teacher. Many children are coming to school with very little enthusiasm to learn, especially the gifted child. Although

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.

Gifted students should be provided advanced opportunities to be challenged, to experience both success and growth, to develop higher level study, creativity, and productivity. To develop their interests and talents their individual characteristics, needs, learning rates, motivations for learning, cognitive abilities, and interests must be taken into account. Differentiation can be included in the curriculum by incorporating acceleration, complexity, depth, challenge, and creativity. Students can also be given fewer tasks to master a standard, use multiple resources and higher-level skills, conduct research, develop products, make cross-disciplinary

By allowing high ability students to learn together, “achievement, interest, and motivation are increased through the combination of intellectual challenge, advanced subject matter, and the use of high-level thinking skills” (Gentry & Fugate, 2013, 214). Gentry & Own (1999) concluded that teachers, who were trained in the instructional strategies usually found in gifted classrooms, were more confident in implementing these strategies to all students. Gentry (1999) found that over time, “fewer students are identified as low achievers and more students are identified as high-achievers” and that “achievement increased among all students in the cluster-grouped school” (Gentry & Fugate, 2013, pp. 215,

Twice-exceptional kids, mentally skilled youngsters with special needs, experience issues in our training framework - on the grounds that their talent can cover their extraordinary needs and their exceptional needs conceal their talent, they are regularly named unmotivated, or not attempting to succeed. The challenges for twice-exceptional kids is that they learn an additionally harming lesson, on the off chance that they can't do an task immediately, they won't have the capacity to do it by any means. The work in school is either excessively troublesome or too simple. This is exacerbated by the regularly happening issue of under-recognizable proof; in light of the fact that exceptionally skilled kids are so great at making up for their unique needs, their issues frequently go undetected. At this point, a lot of mental and scholastic harm may have occurred. Many individuals don't understand that a youngster can be both skilled and have learning

As a future special education teacher, I believe every child deserves to receive the best education possible, regardless of disabilities or special needs. While the needs of each student may vary, each child deserves a valuable and well-delivered education that concentrates on both their immediate and future needs. It is crucial to be cognizant of students’ academic abilities and/or disabilities and to strive to supply the tools and services they need as individuals to thrive academically as well as in society. I believe it is my duty to help each child discover their unique gifts and talents and reach their full potential.

Students who are gifted and/or talented may often be unidentified; students with learning disabilities may also go unidentified (Al-Hroub, 2013). The characteristics for both of these populations of students are taught in some general education courses that teacher candidates, also known as pre-service teachers, choose to study. Even with training, teachers may have difficulty identifying either students with disabilities or who are gifted/talented (g/t) as well as referring them for the appropriate special programs (Bailey & Rose, 2011). It is easy to understand the possible frustration for both students and teachers when a student has a disability and is g/t, in other words the student is twice-exceptional. Twice-exceptionality has only been

In South Carolina, as with most states, educational funding has decreased. Yet, between 2002 and 2004 there continued to be an upsurge of students who had been labeled as gifted (Fall Learning. 2005). Efforts continue in South Carolina and elsewhere to improve upon the training of educators who work with gifted students. School districts have instituted professional development training programs and the state of South Carolina has mandated that additional endorsements must be earned by educators who wish to continue working with the gifted student(s).

Providing a safe and secure environment enables students to explore and participate in learning. Students will volunteer answers and ask questions when they feel safe. When students feel safe they are more willing to talk about themselves to others and the teacher. Establish relationships with your students and build a sense of community within your classroom. Students need to get to know each other as well as experience the “human” side of their teacher. This will allow for a safe and trusting classroom environment.

The use of technology in educating children with special needs has widely grown in the past few decades. Individuals with special needs are unique and all have different areas in which they need assistance. Due to the advancements in assistive technology, computer programs, software, and other technology tools, it has become much easier for people to find useful and easier ways to become educated. Because of this, “technology has changed the way people with disabilities live, work, and learn.” (Winzer,98)

Many educators have become well-versed in modifying the regular classroom curriculum to meet the needs of students with disabilities. Educators are not as experienced, however, in meeting the instructional needs of high-ability students. In a growing number of states, revisions in regulations pertaining to gifted and talented students are requiring that high-ability students, previously served in part-time pull-out programs, must also receive appropriate instruction within the context of their regular classrooms. For example, in Kentucky, high-ability students can no longer be viewed as sufficiently served by a once-monthly or once-weekly program. These students