The Secondary Gifted Program

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The Secondary Gifted Program

• Considerations for an effective program
• Betsy Hermann
• Nanda Mitra Itle

2
Essential Questions

• What are the outcome of gifted children?
• What are current district practices?
• What are their needs?
• What program obstacles are there?
• What instructional strategies are most effective?
• What about acceleration?
• Future directions?

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Outcome

• What happens to them after they grow up?

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So Where are they now?

• Based on Kauffman, F (1981) study of Presidential
  Scholars
• 97 received college degrees
• 23 doctorate degrees, 21 masters degrees.
• Degrees most frequently reported were in
  biological sciences, humanities and political
  science.
• Majority of subjects chosen profession that
  reflected a high level of education and
  intellectual ability.

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Problems surface

• Socially isolated
• Feelings of failure
• High levels of anxiety, stress or depression
• More likely to self medicate
• High levels of suicide
• Dissatisfaction with self
• Trend of schools now toward achievement numbers
  and increased devaluation of individual.
• Lack of skills (i.e. study, social etc).

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Problems cont.

• Become frustrated adults
• Find their drive/creativity thwarted by people
  who regard them as silly or threatening.
• Lack basic knowledge about their own nature
• Balancing gender stereotypes and being gifted

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Current Practice

• What districts are doing now?

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Current District Practices

• Just starting, no program now
• Enrichment Seminar
• Advanced seminar
• SEE programs at IU
• Compacting/Acceleration per student
• Course for credit
• Individualized GIEPs
• Independent Study
• Gifted teachers/facilitators have other
  responsibilities

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Needs/Problems

• How does this affection education?

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Roots of Problems

• External product is soul indicator in society of
  successful achievement.
• Difficulty with transition expectations from
  children (learning ability) to adulthood
  (product)
• Lack of copying strategies to deal with changing
  expectations as they grow
• Lack of understanding their own giftedness.
• High level of emotional intensity
• High level of moral sensitivity
• Social frustration

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Issues start in childhood

• Poor social skills
• Perfectionism
• Advanced moral reasoning
• Emotional Intensity
• Added pressures to succeed
• Increased Excitability
• Individual Gifted Identity.
• Divergent thinkers

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Poor Social Skills

• Feelings of loneliness, left-out, being different
• Lowered level of empathy
• Inaccurate perception of their communication with
  others.
• Less developed emotional intelligences.

• Difficulty coping with conflicting messages to
  conform and be who you are.
• Poor ability to read nonverbal social cues
• Hiding talents to fit in with peers
• Nonconformity and resistance to authority
• Social isolation

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Perfectionism

• Pessimistic beliefs, feelings and actions
• Depression, distress over goals and achievement,
  suicide
• Difficulty accepting criticism
• Low frustration tolerance
• Decreased performance
• Feelings of inferiority
• Critical self evaluation

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Advanced Moral Reasoning

• Judgmental of others
• Intense criticism of others
• Feelings of frustration, depression, anxiety
  about world issues
• Feeling of helplessness

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Emotional Intensity

• Take on too much personal responsibility
• Avoid people or situations-social isolation
• Overreaction to feedback
• Overwhelmed by experiencing emotional states of
  others

• Depression, concerns with death
• Feelings of inadequacy
• Loneliness
• Timidity/shyness
• Strong attachment to others
• Anxiety, stress, guilt, fears etc
• Intolerant of the needs when see as superficial.

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Added Pressures to Succeed

• Failure
• Withdrawal
• Depression, anxiety suicide
• Withdrawal
• Aggressiveness

• Increased rebelliousness or conformity
• Low self concept
• Avoidance of new ventures
• Stress
• Misunderstanding on what being gifted means

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Excitability

• Finding satisfaction with creative endeavors and
  intellectual pursuits
• Self regulation and control
• Hyperactive
• Easily bored
• Difficulty completing projects

• Anxiety/phobias
• Anger, resentment, stress
• Competitive
• Workaholics
• Sensory excess (over eating, buying sprees etc)
• Withdraw
• Maintaining comfortable levels of arousal.

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Individual Gifted Identity

• Peer identity confusion
• Thinking giftedness depends on achievement
• Repressed in non accepting environment
• Social Isolation
• Confusion over identity in adulthood
• Frustration, lack of fulfillment, etc

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Divergent Thinkers

• Curious questions
• Digressions
• Dislike of group work
• Rebellious
• Non conformist

• Difficulty supporting some ideas
• Disorganized and absentminded
• Social rules ignored

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Program Obstacles

• What barriers do districts need to overcome

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Common Barriers

• Breaking the myths surrounding gifted students
• Recognizing gifted as a type of disability
• Recognizing that gifted students need help too.
• Individualizing the gifted program for the
  students

• Lack of funds
• Lack of information
• Lack Focus on gifted issues in education
• Achieving gifted students emotional needs ignored
• Gifted/LD dynamic
• Balancing needs with realities
• Individualized GIEPs

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Case Examples

• Video Clips

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Middle School Students Speak out about what
stresses them out

• Friends who are not gifted dont get me.
• I am bored in school
• People make me feel guilty about being gifted
• I may be gifted but I m still not good enough
• People have lots of stereotypic thoughts about
  us
• Self pressure
• What my future is as a gifted student
• Gifted means more responsibility and thats bad

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Middle School Students Speak out about what
stresses me out cont

• Extra work
• Non gifted peers expect you to know everything
• Over thinking stuff
• I have all these emotions and need to express
  them.
• Teachers think that you will always understand
  even if you dont.
• More homework than than non-gifted peers

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Instructional Strategies

• What works?

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Acceleration

• Considerations?

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Future Direction

• So now where do we go?

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Future Directions

• Helping students to recognize that giftedness
  exists through ones life
• Help students understand what being gifted really
  means.

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References

• Ackerman, C .M. (1998). Intensity in gifted
  students. SAGE.
• Freedman, J. Jensen, A. (1999) Joy and loss
  The emotional lives of gifted children. KidSource
• Kaplan, L. S. (1990). Helping gifted students
  with stress management. ERIC Digest
• Kauffman, F. (1981). The 1964-1968 Presidential
  Scholars A follow up study. Exceptional
  children, Counsil for Exceptional children. 48(2)
  164-169.
• Lovecky, D.V. (1986). Exploring social and
  emotional aspects of giftedness in children. SENG
• Mendaglio, S. (1998). Understanding gifted
  children intense emotionality sensitivity. SAGE.
• Olenchak, F. R. (1994). Talent development
  accommodating the social and emotional needs of
  secondary gifted/learning disabled students

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References cont.

• Pruett, G.P. (2004). Intellectually gifted
  students perceptions of personal goals and work
  habits. Gifted Child Today 24(4). 54-57.
• Schuler, P.A. Gifted kids at risk whos
  listening. SENG
• Silverman, L.K. Promoting positive social
  development. SENG
• Streznewski M. K. (2000). Unrecognized
  giftedness The frustrating case of the gifted
  adult. Gifted Education Press Quartery. 14(1).
  2-6.
• Sword, L.K. Emotional intensity in gifted
  children. SENG
• Van tassel-Baska, J. (1992). Developing learner
  outcomes for gifted students. ERIC Digest.
• Tillier, W. Justice, A. (1998). A brief
  overview of dabrowskis theory of positive
  disintegration and its relevance for a gifted
  population. SAGE
• Tolan, S. Supporting emotional needs of the
  gifted. SENG.
• Whitesell, K. Counseling the gifted. Power point.

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Questions?

• Thanks and Goodbye