GIFTED AND TALENTED TEACHER GUIDEBOOK, Assignments of Communication

Download GIFTED AND TALENTED TEACHER GUIDEBOOK and more Assignments Communication in PDF only on Docsity!

GIFTED AND

TALENTED TEACHER

GUIDEBOOK

La Porte Independent School District

Revised September 2016

Introduction and Acknowledgements

The purpose of the Gifted and Talented Program Guidebook is to assist all teachers responsible

for providing appropriate services for gifted and talented students. It was developed by our GT

Enrichment Specialists to answer questions which the staff may have regarding the philosophy

and goals, program design, program responsibilities and the curriculum model used to provide

services for gifted learners in our district.

This guidebook does not tell teachers what to teach to gifted students. Rather, it provides a

tool for adapting the regular curriculum so that the learning experience in the classroom

matches the traits and needs of the gifted learner. It is hoped that teachers will use this

guidebook to continue to provide quality services for our GT students.

This handbook was developed by Enrichment Specialists in June of 2011:

Linda Hyde Heritage Elementary

Suzanne Jones District Elementary

Jill Miller Lomax Elementary

Janice Richburg Heritage Elementary

Sandra Warren La Porte High School

C haracteristics

And N eeds of the Gifted

Learner

Twelve Traits of Giftedness: A Non-Biased Profile

(Adapted from material from the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented and Mary Ruth Coleman, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, by the Colorado Department of Education)

Trait, Aptitude or Behavior General Description How It May Look

Motivation

Evidence of desire to learn.

Internal drive or encouragement that initiates, directs, or sustains individual or group behavior in order to satisfy a need or attain a goal.

Demonstrates persistence in pursuing or completing self- selected tasks (may be culturally influenced); evident in school or non-school activities. Enthusiastic learner; has aspirations to be somebody, to do something.

Interests

Intense, sometimes unusual, interests.

Activities, avocations, objects, etc. that have special worth or significance and are given special attention.

Unusual or advanced interests, topic, or activity; self-starter; pursues an activity unceasingly beyond the group.

Communication Skills

Highly expressive with words, numbers, or symbols.

Transmission and reception of signals or meanings through a system of symbols (codes, gestures, language, and numbers).

Unusual ability to communicate (verbally, nonverbally, physically, artistically, symbolically); uses particularly apt examples, illustrations, or elaborations.

Problem-Solving Ability

Effective, often inventive, strategies for recognizing and solving problems.

Process of determining a correct sequence of alternatives leading to a desired goal or to successful completion of a performance task.

Unusual ability to devise or adopt a systematic strategy to solve problems and to change the strategy if it is not working; creates new designs; inventor.

Memory

Large storehouse of information on school or non-school topics.

Exceptional ability to retain and retrieve information.

Already knows; needs only 1- repetitions for mastery; has a wealth of information about school and non-school topics; pays attention to details; manipulates information.

Inquiry/Curiosity

Questions, experiments, explores.

Method or process of seeking knowledge, understanding or information.

Asks unusual questions for age; extensive exploratory behaviors directed toward eliciting information about materials, devices, or situations.

Asynchrony in Gifted Students

Social, physical, emotional, and cognitive developmental rates for gifted children do not

correspond to each other and – except for physical development – do not necessarily

correspond to age peer norms.

Giftedness itself causes asynchrony: That is, it causes children to be out of sync with other

components.

Gifted children by definition have a mental age that does not correspond to their physical age,

and their emotional maturity may not correspond to either of them.

There is also a close, intertwined relationship between emotion and cognition, which

sometimes leads to perfectionism and procrastination in gifted children.

Elementary classroom teachers see this in children who become frustrated and angry when

they do not easily master a difficult skill.

Children may be well beyond grade level in one area while at grade level in other areas.

Or, there may be foundational holes in their learning, or some children’s learning my not have

been sequential. For example, a teacher may find a student who can do algebra but not have

mastered multiplication facts.

In the classroom, cognitive asynchrony occurs both between different content areas and within

a single area, especially when the content area is in the student’s area of giftedness.

Asynchrony in a child’s area of giftedness is less common but very difficult to diagnose and treat

in the classroom.

It is most important that teachers recognize cognitive, academic, and emotional asynchrony

and to understand that children can be highly gifted but thinking, achieving, and feeling or

interacting well below their mental age expectancy in specific areas or conditions.

Gifted individuals are well outside the norm in many ways.

They are best served by educators and parents who have a clear understanding of the impact of

their possible asynchrony.

The Visual Learner

Description: Visual learners remember what was read or seen; don’t retain what they hear for very

long; have vivid imaginations, use color; may think in pictures or may think in words; may be avid

readers; facial expressions show their emotions; information may not exist for them if it is not seen or

written down; remembers faces, but not names; likes written reports better than verbal ones; are

sensitive to the ways things look or appear.

Hints for Visual Learners:

• Take notes
• Make and use flashcards for studying
• Create graphs and diagrams that demonstrate key points
• Actively review any photographs or diagrams in your textbook
• Use visual metaphors and/or analogies to associate information
• Write explanations down
• Use color coded highlighting
• Use illustrations to remember content
• Organize your material
• Use the computer to organize material and to create graphs, tables and charts
• Review videos specific to the content you are studying

Adjustments – what can be done to help the visual learner?

• Take out visual distraction – place him/her in as uncluttered an area as possible
• Leave a frame of blank wall around visual displays
• On a worksheet, put a heavy line around items to help pupil attend to one item at a time
• Give him /her a big marker
• Allow him to point if necessary – let him/her to touch the first letter of each word
• Let him/her get one worksheet at a time, rather than handing him/her several papers at once. This also gives the child a purpose for moving about as he/she turns in his/her completed work and gets his/her next assignment.
• Try not to stand in front of a cluttered background when instructing
• Give him/her one step of an assignment at a time

Teaching Methods – how to plan to help the visual learner

• Give lots of visual directions
• Give demonstrations
• Use matching games, charts and graphs
• Use maps and teach the use of a legend
• Use color coded systems
• Use number lines and rulers to develop math concepts

Products for Visual Learners

• Brochures
• Charts
• Posters
  • Technology Projects
  • Graphs
  • Information Tables
    • Timelines
    • Graph Organizers
    • Venn Diagrams

The Kinesthetic Learner

Description: Kinesthetic learners remember what was done, not what was seen or talked about; may

have had or are having difficulty learning to read; touch and movement are very important; are not avid

readers; attack things physically; learn by imitation and practice; touch things to get a sense of them;

like to talk about feelings; may be athletic, like swimming, cooking, running, eating, sailing, dancing,

working out, massages; may appear slow if information is not presented in his style; are poor spellers;

love games; are impulsive; don’t hear things well; like to dress comfortably; may unconsciously touch

people a lot.

Hints for Kinesthetic Learners:

• Hold book in your hand while reading (instead of laying it on a table)
• Write while you are talking or reading
• Use a computer to reinforce learning by using the sense of touch
• Record class lectures, listen to them while walking or exercising
• Use hands-on experiences when possible
• Use gestures when giving explanations
• Make models that demonstrate the main concept
• Stand up when giving explanations
• Write with your fingers in sand, salt, etc.
• Write lists repeatedly
• Use rhythm (beats) to memorize or explain information
• Use role playing with a study partner
• Associate feelings with information
• Make flashcards for each step in a procedure, put the cards in order until the sequence is automatic

Adjustments – what can be done to help the kinesthetic learner?

• Provide a quiet period after physical activities
• Alternate quiet periods and rest periods
• Avoid putting him/her too close to other children
• Provide cues for end of study time – timer or clock
• Encourage visits for drinks/bathroom before class
• Make it harder to move than to sit still – e.g. desk against the wall
• Use pictures to help establish associations – words, meanings, numbers
• Attach verbal labels
• Use visual, auditory and kinesthetic methods for teaching writing
• Allow for planned times for movement, such as monitor jobs Teaching Methods – how to plan to help the kinesthetic learner
• Use movement exploration
• Have children clap or tap out numbers, syllables, walk patterns of words
• Use sandpaper letters/felt letters, write in sand/clay, use 3-D materials
• Child may need to talk to self for motor feedback
• Use all manipulatives possible Products for Visual Learners
• Charades
• Demonstrations
• Dioramas
• Displays
• Dramatizations
• Experiments
• Games
• Learning centers
• Mobiles
• Models
• Relief maps

Characteristics of the Gifted that Tend to Screen

Them Out of the Program

Bored with routine tasks, refuses to do rote homework

Difficult to get him to move to another topic

Is self-critical, impatient with failures

Is critical about others and teachers

Often disagrees vocally with others and the teacher

Makes jokes or puns at inappropriate times

Emotionally sensitive, may overact, get angry easily or is ready to cry if things go wrong

Not interested in details, often hands in messy work

Refuses to accept authority; nonconforming and stubborn

Tends to dominate others

Bright Child or Gifted Learner

There are many definitions for giftedness; however they all have one element in common. A

gifted person is “someone who shows, or has the potential for showing, an exceptional level of

performance in one or more areas of expression.” In general, five percent of the student

population is considered gifted.

Although no two gifted children are exactly alike, there are some characteristics which gifted

children share (and they are not always the characteristics we wish for in students).

Bright Child vs. Gifted Learners

Knows the answers

Is receptive to new ideas

Is interested in learning

Copies accurately

Is attentive in class

Enjoys school

Loves the teacher

Absorbs information

Has good ideas

Is a technician of ideas

Answers the questions

Loves to memorize

Completes assignments

Enjoys a straightforward, sequential presentation

Works hard

Is alert

A top group student

Is pleased with his/her own learning

Listens with interest

Likes an authority to be in charge

Loves rules

Learns with ease

Six to eight repetitions for mastery

Wants the “rules” of the assignment spelled out

Asks, “What do I do to get an A?”

Understands ideas

Enjoys peers

Grasps the meaning

Is focused on the end product

Asks the questions

Is intense about ideas

Is highly curious

Creates a new design or way of doing it

Is mentally and physically involved

Enjoys learning

Loves ideas

Manipulates information

Has wild, silly ideas

Is an inventor of ideas

Discusses in detail, elaborates

Loves to think and ponder

Initiates projects

Thrives on complexity and loves ambiguity

Plays around, yet tests well

Is keenly observant

Is beyond the group

Is highly self-critical

Shows strong feelings and opinions

Has own idea for how it should be done

Wants only basic guidelines

Already knows

One to two repetitions for mastery

Has a better way to do it

Asks, “What is the purpose of this assignment?”

Constructs abstractions

Prefers older students or adults

Draws inferences

Is focused on the “journey”

The Needs of Gifted/Talented Students

1. The gifted/talented have the same basic needs as other students: love, understanding,

encouragement to grow, companionship, guidance, respect, support, acceptance, securing...

However, they also have special needs which correspond to their special natures.

A. A flexible program which involves the higher cognitive concepts and processes as

defined by Bloom and Guilford

B. Freedom from the restrictions of structured requirements and limited time frames

C. Time and freedom to experiment, explore subjects of interest

D. Open access to needed learning resources whatever and wherever they may be (Grade level is

irrelevant for the gifted and talented who can cope with materials from two to four or more

levels higher than grade placement.)

E. Confrontation with problems and issues of society for which there is no single predetermined

solution

F. Opportunity to brainstorm, thus producing creative ideas

G. Encouragement to ask questions, make discoveries, pursue own interest in depth

H. Opportunities to work with other gifted/talented students at least part of the time

I. Wide variety of in-depth cultural experiences beyond the usual field trips to zoos, museums,

industries

J. Opportunities to help others (e.g. as volunteer readers to the blind, volunteer tutors to

students in lower grades)

K. Friendly recognition and acceptance of their giftedness

L. Introduction to their own abilities (Many gifted/talented people never knew that they were

unusual in any way until someone helped them to discover their abilities.)

M. Active concern for the gifted/talented among administrators, counselors, teachers

2. Gifted/Talented students have a need for their varying learning styles to be addressed

A. Rapid response and functioning

B. Deliberate and contemplative response

C. Logical and direct thinking

D. Exploratory and circuitous thinking

E. Intuitive understanding

3. There are consequences of the failure to meet the needs of gifted/talented students

A. Poor study habits

B. Behavior problems

C. Apathy and withdrawal

D. Emotional/psychological problems caused by neglect or ridicule of abilities

E. Underachievement

F. Nervous breakdowns/suicide

G. Increased dropout rate

H. Involvement with drugs, alcohol, and promiscuous sex

I. Involvement in criminal activities (often behind the scenes as the “mastermind”)

J. Dependence on welfare in retaliation against a society that does not seems to value high

potential and/or creativity

Understanding the Needs of Advanced Learners

for Differentiation of Their Education

• Advanced learners can become mentally lazy, even though they do well in school. We have

evidence (Clark 1992, Ornstein and Thompson 1984, Whitrock 1977) that a brain loses capacity

and “tone: without vigorous use, in much the same way that a little used muscle does.” If a

student produces “success” without effort, potential brainpower can be lost. In many cases,

advanced learners make good grades without learning to work hard. Then when hard work is

required, they become frightened, resentful, or frustrated.

• Advanced learners may become hooked on the trappings of success. They may think grades

are more important than ideas, being praised is more important than taking intellectual risks,

and being right is more valuable than making new discoveries. Unfortunately, many advanced

learners quickly learn to do what is “safe” or what “pays” rather than what could result in

greater long-term learning.

• Advanced learners may become perfectionist s. We praise them for being the best readers,

assign them to help others who can’t get the math, and compliment them when they score

highest on tests. When people get excited about their performance, these students often

assume it’s possible to keep being the best. Because they attach their self-worth so much to

the rewards of schooling and because those rewards are accessible for years at a time,

advanced learners often don’t learn to struggle or fail. Failure then becomes something to be

avoided at all costs. Some advanced learners develop compulsive behaviors, from excessive

worry to procrastination to eating disorders, and occasionally even suicide. Many advanced

learners imply become less productive and less satisfied. Creative production typically has high

failure to success ration. Students who have the capacity to be producers of new knowledge,

but who are afraid of failure are unlikely to see their productive capacity realized.

• Advanced learners may fail to develop a sense of self efficacy. Self-esteem is fostered by

being told you are important, valued, or successful. Self-efficacy, by contrast comes from

stretching yourself to achieve a goal that you first believed was beyond your reach. Although

many advanced learners easily achieve a sort of how low self-esteem, they never develop a

sense of self-efficacy. These students often go through life feeling like imposters, fearfully

awaiting the inevitable day the world will discover they aren’t so capable after all.

• Advanced learners, like all learners, need learning experiences designed to fit them. When

teachers are not sensitive to that needs, they may set learning goals for advanced students that

are too low or that develop new skills too infrequently. Then, if students are successful

anyhow, they often fail to develop the desirable balance between running into walls and

scaling. Advanced learners share other learners’ needs for teachers who can help them set

high, devise plans for reaching those goals, tolerate frustrations and share joys along the way,

and sight new horizons after each accomplishments.

The Eight Great Gripes of

Gifted Children

1. No one explains what being gifted is all about – it’s

kept a big secret.

2. School is too easy, too boring.
3. Parents, teachers, and friends expect us to be

perfect all the time.

4. Friends who really understand us are few and far

between.

5. Kids often tease us about being smart.
6. We feel overwhelmed by the number of things we

can do in life.

7. We feel different, alienated.
8. We worry about world problems and feel helpless.

D ifferentiating curriculum for

the gifted learner

Philosophy of Differentiation

“Differentiation” is one name for the process of modifying learning experiences so that they

“match” the needs and nature of the learners. As applied to the education of gifted students,

differentiation is a method for realigning curricula in order to assist the gifted learners to

convert their potential into performance.

There are several dimensions of curriculum that can be modified. These include (1) the

content, or subject matter; (2) the processes, or thinking skills; (3) the products or outcomes of

learning; and (4) the independent study skills. Within this guide, strategies will be presented

for changing each of these dimensions of curriculum.

The recommendations within this guidebook are based on the following assumptions regarding

the education of gifted and talented students:

• The education of gifted students is part of each school’s commitment to provide quality services to all students.
• Gifted students need to (a) master required content, (b) learn basic skills, (c) present ideas through innovative product forms, and (d) understand how to access and organize information. However, mastery of the required curriculum is not sufficient for the development of gifts and talents.
• Gifted students may be gifted in one content area and not gifted in other areas.
• Gifted students can be gifted and be culturally diverse, have a handicapping condition, be economically deprived, and/or have a behavior problem. These conditions should be not be viewed as deficits but rather as indicators of individual differences within the population of gifted students.
• Planned learning experiences for gifted students should be developed based on a clear understanding of the characteristics that distinguish gifted students from their age peers (for whom the regular curriculum is planned).
• Student learning should be expressed by developing quality, innovative and advanced products which are shared with an audience.