Presenter:

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Who Is a Gifted Student?
Presenter Susan Savolainen Gifted and Talented
Coordinator Eau Claire Area School District New
Richmond Public Schools January 22, 2007
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Group activity directions
Share descriptions of your gifted person with
your group. Draw a group conclusion about gifted
from the descriptions. Try to guess who you have.
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• Mozart
• Madeliene LEngle
• Woodrow Wilson
• Pearl Buck
• Abraham Lincoln
• George Washington
• Goethe
• John Stuart Mill
• Martin Luther
• Haydn
• Washington Irving

• 12. Charles Manson
• Amelia Earhart
• Eleanor Roosevelt
• Jane Austin
• Hitler
• Julia Child
• Lee Iacocca
• Sandra Day OConnor
• Helen Keller

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Bright versus Gifted
Why do teachers often confuse the two?
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State Standard (t)

• Each school board shall provide access to an
  appropriate program for pupils identified as
  gifted and talented in each of the following
  categories
• Intellectual Ability
• Specific Academic Ability
• Creative Ability
• Artistic Ability
• Leadership Ability

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Visual/Performing
Arts
Outstanding in sense of spatial relationships
Unusual ability for expressing
self feelings, moods, etc. through art, dance
drama, music Good motor coordination Exhibit
s creative expression Desire for producing
own product (not content with mere
copying) Observant
General Intellectual Ability Formulates
abstractions Processes information in complex
ways Observant Excited about new ideas Enjoys
hypothesizing Learns rapidly Uses a large
vocabulary Inquisitive Self-starter
Leadership Assumes responsibility High
expectation for self and others Fluent, concise
self-expression Foresees consequences and
implications of decisions Good judgement in
decision making Likes structure Well liked by
peers Self-confident Organized
Creative Thinking
Independent thinker Exhibits original
thinking in oral and written expression Comes up
with several solutions to a given problem
Possesses a sense o humor
Creates and invents
Challenged by creative tasks
Improvises often Does not mind
being different form the crowd
Specific Academic Ability
Good memorization ability
Advanced comprehension
Acquires basic-skills knowledge quickly
Widely read in special-interest area
High academic success in special-interest area
Pursues special interests with enthusiasm
and vigor
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Best Practices in Gifted EducationNational
Association for Gifted Children

• Needs of Gifted Learners
• 1. Deep Understanding of Content
• 2. Relevancy
• 3. Pace of Teaching an Idea
• 4. Adaptation in Curriculum
• 5. Acceleration

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What Educators Can Do From Jan Bob
Davidson Genius Denied

• Learn about curriculum compacting
• Design lesson plans using themes
• Offer more projects than worksheets
• Offer books with challenging vocabularies and
  themes
• Allow GT students to have long term projects
• Encourage GT students to enter competitions
• Advocate for GT students to be grouped with
  intellectual peers

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What Educators Can Do From Jan Bob
Davidson Genius Denied

• Allow independent work when mastery is achieved
  early in unit
• Learn to recognize underachievement
• Give specific feedback on student work ( Super
  isnt enough)
• Welcome accelerated students into your room
• Work collaboratively with parents
• Volunteer to coach academic teams
• Continue to learn about educational needs of GT
  students

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What Works for Gifted Kids? Research
by Karen Rogers University of St. Thomas
What conclusions can you draw from the research
of Karen Rogers? What questions do you have?
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12 Reasons Why Acceleration Isnt Accepted in
America From A Nation Deceived The Templeton
National Report on Acceleration

• Teachers lack familiarity with acceleration
• Confidence about acceleration is lacking
• Acceleration runs counter to personal beliefs
• Age trumps everything else
• Safe is better than sorry
• Acceleration is not taught in Colleges of Ed.

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12 Reasons Why Acceleration Isnt Accepted in
America From A Nation Deceived The Templeton
National Report on Acceleration

• Its bad to push kids.
• New friends are hard to make.
• Social adjustment in a school setting is a
  complicated issue.
• It will upset other kids.
• There will be gaps in a childs knowledge.
• Disasters are memorable.

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What is the best type of gifted program?The best
program is one which meets the needs of the
individual student. Since talents and abilities
differ.programs must be flexible enough to offer
services and opportunities to meet the needs of
diverse individuals. Penny
Britton Kolloff National Association for Gifted
Children