Learners with Special

Gifts and Talents

Dr. George Giuliani
Hofstra University
 Definition
 Giftedness: Refers to children and youth
with outstanding talent who perform or
show the potential for performing at
remarkably high levels of accomplishment
when compared with others their age,
experience or environment.
 Definition
 School systems have widely differing practices regarding the
education of students with special gifts and talents because the
term “gifted” has no clear cut definition.
 Definitions of giftedness are shaped to a large extent by
cultural influences
 Typical points of disagreement regarding the definition of
giftedness include:
 the domains in which gifted children excel.
 how giftedness is measured.
 the degree to which a child excels that is necessary to be
considered gifted.
 Overview
 Gifted students exhibit high performance
capability in intellectual, creative, musical
and/or artistic areas, possess an unusual
leadership capacity or excel in specific
academic fields.
 They require services not ordinarily
provided by schools
 Overview
 A common misconception about giftedness
is that individuals who are gifted
intellectually tend to be socially inept.
That’s not necessarily true at all
 Today, in schools, there is an emphasis on
developing talents of all students, with less
attention to those who might be gifted.
 Overview
 Insight: an exceptional ability to separate
relevant from irrelevant information and to
relate new and old information in a novel
and productive way.
 Genius: Having a spectacular aptitude or
capacity in any area or extremely rare
intellectual powers
 Talent: Special ability, aptitude, or
accomplishment
 Overview
 Creativity: The ability to express novel and
useful ideas, to sense and elucidate
relationships, and ask previously
unthought-of but important questions
 Prevalence
 It has been assumed that
approximately 3-5% of the school
population can be considered
gifted or talented.
 Prevalence
 Since each state and/or country establishes
its own definition of giftedness, percentages
of children identified as gifted and talented
vary.
 In general, children are not identified and
placed into gifted programs until at least
the 3rd grade
Overview: Bright Versus Gifted
Students
 If you ask the teacher who the gifted kids are, they
are likely to point out the ones that are bright.
 Bright kids are a normally a joy to teach. In
general, they listen well, rarely question the
teacher, work hard, and answer questions.
 They don't challenge the teacher's competence or
stray off the curriculum.
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
 The gifted student on the other hand may be
spending almost all of the school day thinking or
doing something other than what the teacher
wants.
 Gifted students find the constant repetition so
boring that they often don't shine in the
classroom.
 You might find the gifted student day dreaming,
looking out of the window, reading a book instead
of listening.
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
A Bright student.... A Gifted student....
 Asks the questions -
sometimes deep
Knows the
probing questions
answer of an abstract
nature.
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
A Bright student.... A Gifted student....
 Has a preference
Enjoys for individualized
work
group
projects
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
A Bright student.... A Gifted student....

Is interested Is very
curious
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
 A Bright student....  A Gifted student....
Is very creative-Likes
to play her own way
 Carries out school
assignments and  Creativeness and
follows procedures inventiveness-“highest
very well form of giftedness”
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
A Bright student.... A Gifted student....

Answers the Discusses in

questions detail,
elaborates
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
 A Bright A Gifted student....
student.... Is beyond
the group
 Is in the Top
academic Group(s)
in school
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
 A Bright A Gifted student....
student...
 Listens with Shows strong
interest feelings and
opinions
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
 A Bright A Gifted student....
student...
Already
Learns
with ease knows
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
A Bright student... A Gifted student....

 6-8 repetitions  1-2 repetitions

for mastery for mastery
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
A Bright A Gifted student....
student...
Prefers adults, older
children or seeks
Enjoys peers out other very
bright or gifted
peers.
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
 A Bright A Gifted student....
student... Initiates
 Completes
assignments
projects
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
 A Bright A Gifted student....
student... Creates a
Copies
new design
accurately
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
 A Bright A Gifted student....
student... Enjoys
Enjoys school learning - but
may hate
school.
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
 A Bright student... A Gifted student....

Outstanding
 Good Memorizer Memorizer,
often doing so
without even
trying
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
 A Bright A Gifted student....
student... Is keenly
Is alert observant -
seems to
remember fine
details.
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
 A Bright A Gifted student....
student...  Is highly self-
critical - can be
Is pleased perfectionistic to
with own the point of
tantrums when
learning young.
 Bright Versus
Gifted Students
 A Bright student... A Gifted student....

 Enjoys straight-  Thrives on

forward and/or complexity -
sequential needs the whole
presentation picture.
 Key Points on Giftedness
 Being intellectually  Giftedness is due to a
gifted is often combination of genetic
associated with being and social factors.
highly concerned  Students with
about interpersonal intellectual gifts
relationships, sometimes bully others
intrapersonal states, and are sometimes
and moral issues. bullied by others.
 Key Points on Giftedness
 The largest group of  When the
neglected students curriculum moves
with gifts is females. at a slow pace,
 Early enrollment in boredom frequently
college courses has
ensues for gifted
worked particularly
well for adolescents students.
who are gifted in math
 Key Points on Giftedness
 Intellectually gifted  The majority of
children are often intellectually gifted
self-aware, socially children enter
occupations that
skilled and morally demand greater than
responsible. average intellectual
ability, creativity, and
motivation.
 Teaching Strategies for
Gifted Students
Quicken the pace of learning.
Gifted students need their academic
curriculum to move at a more rapid pace to
keep them interested and motivated in
school.-After a while will not distinguish work
from play
 Teaching Strategies for
Gifted Students
Broaden the range of experiences.
Give the student more opportunities to
expand his horizons.
 Teaching Strategies for
Gifted Students
Give gifted students challenging problems.
Gifted students enjoy complex and
challenging situations. They take great pride
in being able to figure out complex and
detailed types of problems.
 Teaching Strategies for
Gifted Students
Create projects that involve more creative
thought.
One of the qualities of gifted students is that
they tend to be very creative.
 Teaching Strategies for
Gifted Students
Teach them how to play chess.
Chess requires great skill, concentration,
and strategic planning. This is an ideal game
for gifted students to learn how to play.
 Teaching Strategies for
Gifted Students
Challenge them with questions where there is
no correct answer.
One of the beauties of working with gifted
students is that they enjoy trying to solve
problems for which there are no solutions i.e.
If you were on a boat with your family and
could only save one of them, whom would you
save.
 Teaching Strategies for
Gifted Students
Allow the student to pursue individual
projects that require sophisticated levels of
thinking.
Gifted students enjoy working on their own and
should be encouraged to do so. Do not make the
assignments easy either-Challenge them and try to
avoid giving away answers.