MYTHS AND

TRUTHS OF
GIFTED
EDUCATION
 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR
GIFTED CHILDREN (NAGC)

• INSTRUCTOR’S GOAL:
“In short, it’s up to gifted education advocates to continue our efforts
to rebut myths, dispel doubts, and showcase successful models and
practices in order to retain and expand programs and services for our
gifted and talented youth.”
 BORN
GIFTED
• Yes, gifted children are likely
born with an advanced ability to
learn and apply their learning. 3
• BUT giftedness is not static.
• Giftedness requires
development and nurturing to
reach its potential. Hard work
and occasional failure are
necessary.
 PARENT
IDENTIFIERS
• “Parents are excellent identifiers of
giftedness in their children…”1
• Parents viewed the Characteristics of
Giftedness Scale.
• 84% of kids judged by parents to
embody ¾ of characteristics scored in
the superior range when tested
• 95% of kids judged by parents to
embody ¾ of characteristics
demonstrate giftedness in at least one
area
 TODDLER
IDENTIFICATION
• Parents and pediatricians can
identify gifted toddlers by
observing rapid progression
through developmental
milestones from birth to 3
years old. 1
• As with any deviation from the
norm, early intervention is
essential to help the child to
achieve his/her maximum
functioning. Development is
key.
 BEHAVIOR
MASKS
• “Rita Dickinson (1970) found that half
of the children she tested with IQs of
132 or above were referred for
behavior problems…” 1
• Unruly behaviors can cause
parents to miss the giftedness of
their children.
• The same behaviors often lead
teachers to overlook these
children, too.
 IDEAL AGE FOR
IDENTIFICATION

• “…the ideal age for testing is between 5 and 8 years.” 1

• Highly gifted kids often encounter the ceiling effect by age 9.
• Social pressures may camouflage the abilities of gifted girls. “Unless
they are certain they are right, gifted girls are often unwilling to guess,
which lowers their IQ scores.”
 GENETICS
• IQ scores are often similar between
relatives. 1
• Siblings’ abilities typically score
within 5 -10 points of one another.
• Children’s IQ scores are normally
within 10 points of their parents
and even grandparents.
• 148 sets of siblings
• 1/3 within 5 points
• 3/5 within 10 points
• ¾ within 13 points
 BIRTH
ORDER
• Second children are less
likely to referred for
gifted education than first
born children. 1
• EVEN IDENTICAL
TWINS!
 GENDER
BIAS
• Early childhood IQ tests illustrate
that males and females are
equally intelligent. 1
• Prior to IQ tests, society
viewed males as intellectually
superior.
• Actually, 4 of 5 highest
recorded IQ scores at the
Silverman Center belong to
females.
 GROWING
BIAS
• Despite the evidence to
the contrary, parents refer
sons to be tested for
giftedness more often than
their daughters. 1
• 1979-1989: 57% referred
were male
• In 2008: 68% referred
were male
 GIFTED GIRLS

• Gifted girls learn coping mechanisms that can hide their

giftedness. 1
• Elementary school – avoid standing out by developing social
connections
• Middle school – avoid standing out by valuing physical appearance
and social relationships
 GIFTED BOYS

• Gifted boys are less concerned with blending into the crowd. 1
• Elementary: demonstrate immature behaviors
• Middle School: encounter difficulty connecting with age-group peers
who have differing interests
 ASYNCHRONOUS
DEVELOPMENT
• Gifted kids rapidly develop
intellectually, but they often
demonstrate immature social skills. 1
• Cognitively aware of injustice and
pains of the world
• Emotionally too immature to cope
with this awareness
• Intellectually too advanced to develop
friendships with age-group peers
 VISUAL-SPATIAL
LEARNERS
• Schools tend to use auditory-sequential
delivery methods, but many gifted
learners thrive in visual-spatial
environments. 1
• The following kids are often visual-
spatial:
• Creative children
• Culturally diverse children
• Mathematical children
• Kids with ADD
• Highly gifted learners
• Underachievers
 HOMOGENEOUS GROUPS

• Group environments require the use of social skills. Gifted kids

learn best in classes with other children like themselves. 1
• “The brighter the child, the lower his or her self-concept is likely to be
in the regular classroom.”
• Self-esteem improves in specialized gifted classrooms.
 PERSONALIT
Y TRAITS
• Gifted children often demonstrate
perfectionism, sensitivity, and
intensity. 1
• Dabrowski’s theory of
overexcitabilities suggests that
these characteristics may lead to
high moral values as adults.
• The brighter the child, the sooner
he or she may develop a concern
for moral issues.
 PERSONALITY TRAIT -
INTROVERSION
• Introversion correlates to:
• In the general • Introspection
population, 30% of • Reflection
people are introverted. • Ability to inhibit aggression
In the gifted • Deep sensitivity
population, 60% are • Moral development
• High academic achievement
introverts. Nearly ¾ of • Scholarly contributions
highly gifted children • Leadership in academic and
are introverted. 1 aesthetic fields in adult life
• Smoother passage through mid-
life
 DIVERSE
GIFTEDNESS
• All gifted people are not equal in IQ or
intellectual ability. 1
• “Mildly, moderately, highly,
exceptionally, and profoundly advanced
children are as different from each other
as mildly, moderately, severely, and
profoundly delayed children are from
each other, but the differences among
levels of giftedness are rarely
recognized.”
• Mildly = 115-129, Moderately (130-
144), Highly (145-159), Exceptionally
(160-179), Profoundly (180)
 MORE COMMON

• Exceptionally gifted children are more common than most

people expect. 1
• Of the 5,600 kids assessed over 30 years by Silverman:
• 988 kids have IQs over 160
• 281with IQs over 180 Reggie Jackson
• 87 with IQs over 200
 EARLY EAR
INFECTIONS
• Nine or more ear infections during the
1st three years of life is linked to gifted
underachievement. 1
• Common effects:
• Auditory sequential
processing deficits
• Attentional problems
• Difficulty with spelling,
arithmetic, handwriting, rote
memorization, and
motivation to do written
work
 DUAL
EXCEPTIONALITI
ES
• Nearly 1 in 6 gifted children has a learning
disability. The disabilities are often
undetected prior to assessment. 1
• Excellent abstract reasoning abilities
help gifted students to compensate for
weaknesses.
• “Giftedness masks disabilities and
disabilities depress IQ scores.”
• Motivation is often lowered as coping
requires tremendous energy.
 NOT ELITIST
• Every culture, socio-economic, ethnic,
national and social group contains
developmentally advanced children. 1
• Upper class and wealthy children
are more commonly identified.
• When poor children are
overlooked in identification, they
suffer the most. Rich kids have
other options.
 NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT

• Some say, “Gifted students don’t need help; they’ll do fine on

their own.”2
• Gifted students need teachers who will challenge them.
• 1991 study reported that between 18 and 25% of gifted students drop
out of school.
 TRAINING
TEACHERS
• The National Research Center on
Gifted and Talented found that
61% of classroom teachers had no
training in teaching highly able
students. 2
• A more recent national study by the
Fordham Institute found that 58%
of teachers have received no
professional development focused
on teaching academically advanced
students in the past few years.
 CLASSROOM ROLE
MODELS

• Gifted students are not classroom role models or teacher’s

assistants. 2
• Average and struggling students do not see gifted students as role
models. Relying on someone who is expected to succeed does not
motivate.
• Gifted children thrive in homogeneous learning environments as
discussed earlier in Silverman’s research.
NOT EVERYONE
IS GIFTED
• Every human has an individual set
of strengths, but the label “gifted”
in a school setting has a specific
meaning. Not everyone is gifted. 2
• Gifted means that the child has
an advanced capacity to learn
and apply the learning in
academic or artistic areas.
• The advanced capacity requires
modifications to typical learning
and application environments to
ensure that child meets his or her
full potential.
 ACCELERATIO
N
• Many believe that accelerating
gifted students through content and
placing them with older children is
socially harmful to gifted students. 2
• A study by Colangelo (2004)
reports that gifted kids are often
much happier in a learning
environment with older kids
who share interests and abilities
than with children their own age.
[A Nation Deceived]
• Acceleration = early entrance to
kindergarten or grade skipping
UNDERACHIEVEMEN
T

• When a gifted child performs below his/her ability

level, the term “underachievement” is used. 2
• Underachievement can be rooted in many
causes, but adult intervention is usually needed
to break the cycle.
• Common causes of underachievement:
• Boredom with unchallenging
curriculum
• Frustration with monotonous tasks
• Poor study habits
• Distrust of schools
• Masking intelligence to fit in
 SOCIAL &
EMOTIONAL
• While many gifted students excel, some
suffer social and emotional difficulties as
a result of their sensitivities, moral
intensity, perfectionism, or asynchrony
with age-group peers. 2
• In a 1996 study, Winner reports that
20 to 25% of gifted students have
social and emotional troubles. This
is nearly twice as many as in the
general population.
 AP ≠ GIFTED
PROGRAM
• Many teachers and parents believe that AP
courses in schools provide gifted programs
and service for gifted students. This is false.
2

• AP courses are limited in subject

offerings. The topics are increasing
however.
• AP courses often require a “one-size-
fits-all” approach of reading lists and
preparations for a standardized test.
• Unless the teacher is trained to meet the
needs of gifted students, the curriculum
itself is limited in its gifted service.
 RESOURCES

Silverman, Linda “What We Have Learned About Gifted

Children 30th Anniversary” (2009)

http://www.nagc.org/myths.aspx

Cross, Tracy “Competing with myths about the social and

emotional development of gifted students” (2002)