Giftedness

1
Giftedness
2
Definitions

• Gifted, creative, and talented are descriptors of
  a special group of individuals who have
  extraordinary abilities in one or more areas of
  performance.

3
Prevalence

• Currently, 3 percent to 5 percent of students in
  the school population may be identified as
  gifted.  

4
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• Currently, the term talented has been added to
  the descriptors associated with giftedness.
  Individuals who are talented have exceptional
  skills in the visual or performing arts or excel
  in other related areas.  
• It is important to note that there is no federal
  mandate in the United States requiring
  educational services for students identified as
  gifted, as is the case with other areas of
  exceptionality.

5
DEFINITIONS

• Definitions of giftedness influence the
  following  
• The number of students who are ultimately
  selected.  
• The types of instruments and selection procedures
  used.  
• The scores an individual must obtain to qualify
  for specialized instruction.  
• The types of education provided.  
• The amount of funding required to provide
  services.  
• The types of training required to teach students
  who are gifted and talented.  

6
DEFINITIONS

• The following six major components
• Individuals who are gifted should be identified
  by qualified assessment personnel through the use
  of multiple assessment measures.  
• Students who are gifted may demonstrate their
  extraordinary abilities in a variety of domains.
• Children who are gifted may be identified during
  the preschool, elementary, or secondary school
  years.  

7

• Such children exhibit high levels of task
  commitment and creativity.  
• Children who are gifted combine their high levels
  of intelligence, task commitment, and creativity
  to make lasting contributions to their fields of
  endeavor.  
• These children need special educational
  opportunities to realize their full intellectual
  and creative potentials.

8
ORIGINS OF GIFTEDNESS  

• A number of factors appear to contribute
  significantly to the emergence of the various
  forms of giftedness  
• Heredity or genetic endowment.  
• Environmental stimulation provided by parents,
  teachers, coaches, tutors, and others (e.g.,
  individuals reared in democratic family
  environments that foster risk-taking, openness,
  and spontaneity are more likely to be creative as
  youth and adults).  
• The interaction of innate abilities (heredity)
  with environmental influences and encouragement.
     

9
ASSESSMENT  

• The assessment process (screening and
  identification) uses various measures, including
  teacher nomination, intelligence and achievement
  tests, and creativity tests.  
• Teacher nominations have been integral to many
  screening approaches. Scales are able to assist
  teachers in making nominations of students who
  are gifted but may be overlooked due to
  underachievement or disruptive behavior.

10
ASSESSMENT  

• Intelligence and achievement tests are used to
  identify intellectual giftedness however, their
  use has been criticized because  
• Performance on IQ tests is a poor criterion for
  predicting future creative and productive
  achievement.  
• IQ tests are believed to be restrictive and
  inadequate in measuring the higher mental
  processes that characterize the functioning of
  individuals who are gifted, such as memory
  capacity and divergent thinking.  
• Intelligence tests are limited in their use with
  individuals who are culturally different.  
• Achievement tests are not designed to measure the
  full extent of achievement of children who are
  academically gifted.

11
INTERVENTIONS

• Early Childhood
• Activities such as feeding, bathing, and dressing
  can be used to provide varied sensory experiences
  and to convey a sense of trust.
• As children develop, experiences provided by
  parents can become more varied and suited to
  individual interests and strengths.  
• Language and cognitive development can be
  encouraged by the parents reading to the
  children and telling them stories.  

12
INTERVENTIONS

• Preschool programs.
• Various preschool programs have been developed
  for young children who are gifted. Some children
  participate in traditional preschool programs,
  and others are involved in programs designed to
  help them develop their artistic and creative
  endowments.  

13
INTERVENTIONS

• Childhood and Adolescence.
• Various service delivery systems and approaches
  are used in responding to the individual
  capacities and interests of students who are
  gifted.  

14
Service delivery systems

• Organizational structures for students who are
  gifted are similar to those found in other areas
  of special education. A continuum model has been
  developed, with services ranging from regular
  class placement to special school placement.  
• The selection of the service delivery system is a
  function of financing, human resources, and
  community values and conditions.

15
Acceleration

• Programs for students who are gifted have often
  used acceleration strategies.  
• Acceleration allows students to achieve at rates
  consonant with their capacities.  
• Acceleration options include grade skipping,
  telescoped programs, rapid progress through
  subject matter, and early entrance into college.
   

16
Enrichment

• Enrichment refers to experiences that extend or
  broaden a persons knowledge.  
• Enrichment refers to adding courses such as music
  appreciation or foreign language to a students
  curriculum.  
• Enrichment also involves experiences in which the
  student develops sophisticated thinking skills or
  has an opportunity to master advanced concepts in
  a subject area.  
• Since enrichment is the least expensive service
  option, it is sometimes used as a token response
  to parental demands for programs for gifted
  students.  

17
Other program options

• Special programs and schools
• Special programs and schools have been designed
  to advance the talents of individuals in
  nonacademic areas, such as the visual performing
  arts.  
• Career education
• Career education activities and experiences
  assist students in making educational and
  occupational decisions by providing opportunities
  to investigate and explore various fields.  
• Mentoring
• Mentor programs allow students the opportunity to
  work directly with professionals who are
  contributors in their fields.

18
Problems and challenges of giftedness

• Students who are gifted must cope with a number
  of problems  
• Students who are gifted frequently feel an
  inordinate amount of pressure to achieve high
  grades or select particular courses or
  professions because of the expectations they have
  of themselves and those that have been explicitly
  and implicitly imposed by others.  

19
Problems/challenges of giftedness

• Historically underrepresented groups
• The number of girls identified as gifted appears
  to decline with age.  
• The gender-role socialization that girls receive
  discourages competition, risk-taking, and
  independence.
• Females who are gifted experience problems
  demonstrating their abilities in careers and
  other pursuits. Problems include fear of
  appearing unfeminine when competing with males,
  competition between marital and career
  aspirations, stress induced from traditional
  cultural and societal expectations, and
  self-imposed and/or culturally imposed
  restrictions related to educational or
  occupational choices.  

20
Problems and challenges of giftedness

• Minority groups are underrepresented in programs
  for the gifted and talented
• Programs should begin early.  
• Programs should be tailored to the needs of these
  children.  
• Other key components include parental involvement
  in the educational program model, experiential
  education, activities that foster
  self-expression, plentiful use of mentors and
  role models who represent the childs ethnic
  group, and counseling.