Gifted and Talented Students
In the special education sense, a “gifted student” is defined generally as a learner who has an “exceptional ability to learn.” Sally is in your class and her mother insists that she is gifted. You need to know how to identify the abilities of your students especially if they are gifted and talented.
A gifted student may possess exceptionally high abilities in terms of one or more of the following aspects:
• academic achievement;
• intellect (including curiosity, motivation, and attention span);
• creativity;
• personality traits (including leadership, ability, independence, and intuitiveness); and/or
• one or more specific disciplines, such as the arts or athletics. Failure to meet the learning needs of gifted and talented students can result in frustration, low self-esteem and underachievement (Knight, 2004).
This DET document is very informative and will help you identify these traits:
A gifted student may possess exceptionally high abilities in terms of one or more of the following aspects:
• academic achievement;
• intellect (including curiosity, motivation, and attention span);
• creativity;
• personality traits (including leadership, ability, independence, and intuitiveness); and/or
• one or more specific disciplines, such as the arts or athletics. Failure to meet the learning needs of gifted and talented students can result in frustration, low self-esteem and underachievement (Knight, 2004).
This DET document is very informative and will help you identify these traits:
gifted_and_talented-identification_support.pdf | |
File Size: | 766 kb |
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The DET have also outlined a Policy that includes expectations and standards of the school and teacher in order to facilitate Gifted and Talented students:
policy-gifted_and_talented_students.pdf | |
File Size: | 306 kb |
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Failure to meet the learning needs of gifted and talented students can result in frustration, low self-esteem and underachievement (Knight, 2004). Let's ensure we get the best out of all of our students Amy!
Create a student profile
Amy, I think you would benefit from creating a student profile of your students. Gathering data from a variety of sources will ensure a well-rounded view to assist in educational planning. Five areas that may be considered in developing a student profile include:
• academic achievement;
• learning styles and strengths;
• interests;
• special interests; and
• visions and goals for the future.
• academic achievement;
• learning styles and strengths;
• interests;
• special interests; and
• visions and goals for the future.
Planning for Educational Success
Now to consider your educational planning.
You should consider altering different components of your lessons to facilitate individual needs. Sometimes all components may need altering, others maybe just one. Primarily these would be:
You should consider altering different components of your lessons to facilitate individual needs. Sometimes all components may need altering, others maybe just one. Primarily these would be:
- Content - This includes the actual content that students are working with
- Process - This includes how students work with that content
- Product - This includes the final product that students present
- Learning Environment - This includes the environment that students are working in
The document adjacent is a checklist that you can utilise to check that you are meeting the needs of Sally or any other gifted students you come across.
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Below are some examples of differentiated lessons and how easy it can be to alter one part of a lesson and be able to cater for every student in your class!
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