GIFTED & TALENTED LEARNER

definition
Gifted children are considered special needs children. That means that they have special educational needs based on their intellectual as well as social and emotional traits. Like all special needs children, gifted children may not reach their potential if they are not provided with an appropriate educational environment.

 Giftedness is often defined as being advanced well above average intelligence. Intelligence can be measured through standardized tests once your child is old enough to read and write. But there are recognizable characteristics of gifted behavior that parents can observe at an earlier age.

Young Gifted Children

How old does a child have to be before he or she exhibits characteristics of giftedness? Many parents and teachers believe that a child is gifted when school tests say they are, and these tests aren't given until third or fourth grade, if at all. The truth is that gifted traits show up in toddlers. In fact, some of them can be seen even in infants!

Characteristics of Young Gifted Children

As infants, may get fussy if facing one direction for too long As infants, appear alert Need less sleep, even as infants Frequently reach 'milestones' such as walking and first speech earlier than average May speak late, but then speak in complete sentences Strong desire to explore, investigate, and master the environment (opens up cabinets, takes things apart) Toys and games mastered early, then discarded Very active (but activity with a purpose, not to be confused with ADHD) Can distinguish between reality and fantasy

 Highly gifted toddlers may also show an intense interest in numbers or letters. These are often the children who start doing simple math or teach themselves to read by the time they are three. However, a child who does not read or do math early may still be gifted. Children who read or do math early are almost certainly gifted, but not all gifted children do those things early.

 Studies of gifted infants (those who score high on IQ tests as grade school children) show that they have a low tolerance for the familiar and a preference for novelty. Basically, infants were shown different objects for a certain amount of time. Those infants who later were shown to be gifted children looked away from objects more quickly than other infants. When shown a familiar object and a new one, the gifted infants preferred to look at the new one.

Characteristics of Gifted Children

Cognitive Traits Social and Emotional Traits Language Traits Additional Traits

Cognitive Traits
Very Observant Extremely Curious Intense interests Excellent memory Long attention span Excellent reasoning skills Well-developed powers of abstraction, conceptualization, and synthesis Quickly and easily sees relationships in ideas, objects, or facts Fluent and flexible thinking Elaborate and original thinking Excellent problem solving skills Learns quickly and with less practice and repetition Unusual and/or vivid imagination

Social and Emotional Traits

Interested in philosophical and social issues Very sensitive, emotionally and even physically Concerned about fairness and injustice Perfectionistic Energetic Well-Developed Sense of Humor Usually intrinsically motivated Relates well to parents, teachers and other adults

Language Traits
Extensive Vocabulary May Read Early Reads Rapidly and Widely Asks "what if" questions

Additional Traits
Enjoys learning new things Enjoys intellectual activity Displays intellectual playfulness Prefers books and magazines meant for older children Skeptical, critical, and evaluative Asynchronous development

Teaching of gifted pupils

Pupils promoted to express class can be considered gifted pupils. There are noticeably gifted pupils in some classes who are able to think more critically & creatively, make wise decisions and solve problems quickly and logically. These pupils would be easily bored if teachers did not make science lessons more creative for them.

How to teach gifted pupils?

Encourage gifted pupils to do unstructured or unguided experiments. Co-operating with parents. Give gifted pupils leadership roles. Gifted pupils are encourage to use Mathematics more often.

Encourage gifted pupils to do unstructured or unguided experiments

Teacher can prepare basic facilities and guide these pupils to conduct experiments in an unstructured manner. Example : without giving the step-by-step procedures. These pupils are given some clear investigative questions and asked them to carry out the experiment, collect data, and then make conclusions. The teacher needs to give proper guidance. It is important for the teacher to encourage the pupils to maintain their interest in science.

Co-operating with parents

Parents can help pupils prepare facilities for investigation as discussed earlier. Parents can provide suitable books, magazines and science kits for the pupils. Parents also can discuss with their children about science concept being studied. Teachers should encourage parents to continue to guide their children in a proactive manner.

Give gifted pupils leadership roles

Gifted pupils who master lessons are allowed to lead their peers. Peer leadership has been found to be effective those who lead continue to develop, while those who are led, learn more effectively because both parties can communicate through language, signs and minds that are common to one another.

Gifted pupils are encourage to use Mathematics more often

Mathematics is the mother of all sciences. Encourage pupils to answer How much? or What relationship exist between and ? instead of How, What and Why questions. Their quantitative skills are better, and thus will help them develop their scientific skills at a faster pace.

Teachers role
Needs to be creatively manoeuvred because these pupils required more challenging learning experiences. Sometimes the teacher needs to learn from certain gifted pupils, because these pupils may have already learnt some science concepts through the television, reading material, multimedia software or the internet. Teacher always needs to encourage and motivate these pupils.