Now that you have read many different definitions of gifted through the years and in the state of Texas, develop your own definition of gifted and post it here.
Once upon a time, back home in Mexico, I was an IB (International Baccalaureate) teacher in high school. Some of my colleagues, who were not teaching the IB programme, used to tell us -IB teachers- that we were “in heaven” given that our students were gifted. That might have been partially true: IB programme students are gifted, but they are still youngsters! The only difference is that perhaps, they learn a little faster than other high school students. Furthermore, most of the time they feel the pressure of themselves, their teachers, their peers, and most of all: their parents. I suppose that my best definition for the gifted and talented would be one derived from Dr. Joan Freeman’s research: “the gifted are normal people, but they face special challenges, especially unreal expectations, notably being seen as strange and unhappy…and what they need is acceptance for who they are, appropriate opportunities to develop their potential, and reliable moral support.”
Being gifted is not to be confused with being a high achiever, but it is the awareness that a child naturally functions, or has the potential to function, higher than other students within their age, race, environment, and economic status in areas that include, but aren't limited to, academics, artistic abilities, and leadership. These students have a keen development in their gift that allows them to, possibly, see the unseen and do the undone. Because of these abilities, they are able to make cross-curricular and/or creative connections that are unknown to others.
Definition: Gifted and talented student means a child or youth who performs at or demonstrate the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of achievement when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment, shows a high performance in creativity, intelligence and has leadership ability and does extremely well in a academic field. Sandra I. Kay is district coordinator of Gifted/Talented Programs for Monroe-Woodbury Central Schools and a visiting scholar at Teachers College, Columbia University interviewed Abraham J. Tannenbaum. Dr. Tannenbaum was awarded a Fulbright-Hays Professorship in 1968 to serve as a visiting professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. Among his many awards, he was the 1981 recipient of the Hollingworth Award for research on the gilled and talented. He also received the 1985 Distinguished Scholar Award of the National Association for Gifted Children. He stated: Our highest priority is to plan, test, and implement improvement in what to teach and how to teach it, and only then conceive of the best possible "homes" for these innovations. That is the reason I always parry, rather than answer, the question on how I feel about ability grouping for the gifted. My response is something like this: "Describe in some detail what the gifted can and should be taught in special classes that cannot be taught to them separately, or along with their classmates, in regular classes." If the instructional plan proves worthy of implementing, I will support it along with any administrative plan that is best suited to implement it, including separate classes, and sometimes schools, for the gifted. I agree. Challenge would not only generate from instruction but from each other. Diane Williams
G.T. students are not the ones that read at a very high reading level or have excellent grades. G.T. students are the ones that think outside of the box. They are able to design or build a game with an objective, rules, parts, and pieces. They know how the game board is to look. What colors are to be in each place.
I would define gifted students as those who enjoy learning new things, enjoys intellectual activity, and who need the challenges above the regular curriculum in order to use all their brain capacity and develop their talents. I would add that gifted students quickly and easily see relationships in ideas, objects, or facts, and thus provide unique solutions to problems, elaborating original proposals. Gifted students posses well developed power of abstraction, synthesis, and conceptualization, and this allow them to have fluent and flexible thinking. Those students make connections to create and make sense of information, and indeed posses’ unique approaches and different approaches to situations or problems. Gifted and talented students need their strengths to be stimulated, and for that reason differentiation in the classroom is necessary to address their needs. However, I think it is difficult to serve the needs of Gifted and talented children in the multilevel classroom, especially since not two gifted and talented children are alike. Each of those students posses unique talents at different levels, and they come from different backgrounds ( socio-economic, cultural, etc). I hope theories developed about G&T children can serve me to offer them a classroom that serves their needs.
A gifted child is not necessarily a child who receives excellent grades, or who are academically superior to their peers, but who when compared with other students with similar backgrounds, will stand out in areas such as academics, creativity and leadership with their own ability and take self initiative in areas of their interest.
Definition: Besides their academic abilities, in my opinion, GT students are the independent thinkers; they are always coming up with new and different solutions to solve, create, and perform a task. It is easy for them to improvise when faced with obstacles and are excited about new ideas. They are patient with peers and willing to share their thinking. I found this article from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted young people under 18 by Rogers, K. B. that made think of the way we are servicing our GT students. The article is about: Grouping the gifted and talented. One grouping is: “Cooperative grouping for regular instruction. Robinson's (1990) exhaustive search of the literature was unable to uncover any solid research to substantiate academic achievement gains for gifted learners when placed in cooperative settings with students of mixed ability”. This is the way I am feeling right now with the ONE GT student I have in my class. Is he benefiting by being in this group? Another grouping is: "Cluster grouping within heterogeneous classrooms. The Kuliks' 1990 meta-analysis identified four research studies that looked at this particular programming option, in which the top 5-8 gifted learners at a grade level are placed with a trained teacher of the gifted and the remainder of that teacher's load includes a normal distribution of ability. The rationale for such an option has been that the teacher can spend a proportionate amount of instructional effort and curriculum development time on the gifted cluster, which may not be possible when a classroom contains only 1-2 of these students”. This is certainly true. It is hard to provide for those who are above grade level when we are working hard making sure that we provide to those “at risk” students; we make the effort to provide for those who are at level, but we tend to think that those who are not struggling are going to be fine without our help. I think that the gifted and talented students should be grouped together so they can benefit from their higher level thinking.
Definition of Gifted: A gifted child has the ability to think and process infomation in different. Their views are more profound and thought provoking. They have the ability to create, synthesis and evaluate. These students look for new ways to learn and gain information. I find that gifted students enjoy and benefit from creative learning. When I think of a gifted students my first thought is the Geek Squad from Best Buy. The man the created the Geek Squad chose to stay at home and read and figure out to put eletronics together while his friend were out enjoying themselves. From his creative abilities he created the Geek Squad. So gifted people find ways to be innovative.
Gifted: Intuitive processing of diverse information based on a self-designed schema which allows the learner to construct his own learning that transcends traditional approaches.
A student that is GT "thinks outside of the box". They do not seem to conform to what other people do. They will most likely fall at the bottom half of their class academically. They typically will do things "their" way. GT students have a strange and unusual way of thinking and processing. Traditional and ordinary is not part of their vocabulary or behavior. They march to a different beat.
What does the term gifted mean? Before becoming a teacher I used to think that a student is gifted whenever I would see a parent driving with a bumper sticker attached to their car that read, "My Child is an Honor Roll Student at PS13." As I have been indoctrinated in the education arena, I discovered that a true gifted person, ask questions, synthesize information, engages both mentally and physically. They are often highly critical of themselves. GT students are cerebral thinkers. They do not accept status quo.
Gifted is someone who has outstanding abilities and goes beyond the normal. It can be only in one certain area or in more than one. It doesn’t have to be only academically. Most schools limit their definition of a gifted child to academics, but I think as we discuss during our last session that you can find students that may not be very bright academically but they are in other areas such as arts, sports or even social. I agree with Josephine about saying that gifted children usually have an unusual way of thinking and processing. I remember this kid I had in my second grade class who was outstanding. We were looking at additions. We had a test and I remember when he turn in his test, when I looked at it I saw that he did his additions with Roman Numbers. He said to me that he thought it would be more interesting to check.
Thanks for sharing these great definitions! Remember these are 'elevator' definitions which are specific to you and can be shared with parents when they ask if they think their child is gifted. Looking forward to seeing some more!
“Elevator” definition of giftedness: Giftedness is when a child possesses an unusual ability in comparison to their peers. It is an ability to the degree that adults are surprised and have to ask themselves: Did they really just say/do that?
Gifted student is the one who analyses concepts in a higher level than other kids their same age, students who demonstrate a potential to achieve outstanding things. Students who have a great hunger of knowledge and perfection. These students like to solve problems, go above them and come up with new ideas. These are children who require a differentiated education programs in order to succeed and meet their needs in the classroom.
A gifted student is one who sometimes may be misunderstood because of the way they think, do and approach things. They are usually high achievers compared to their peers, not necessarily always academically, but in other areas/skills. These students need to be challenged in ways that others may not.
My impression of a student who is gifted and talented is that he/she will typically have a higher vocabulary repertoire and use it interchangeably. The student creates 'out side the box' activities or play outside of school. They also have difficulty having patience for students who are not thinking on their level and run into a lack of social skills with peers. GT students may go above and beyond in class or may feel the extra practice work is beneath them or not relevant and a waste of their time. Therefore, they may be those who don't finish work in class and never turn in homework. They key importance to remember is that they are not older just because they are gifted and talented. They still need to be fostered by adults. Just in a way that maximizes their talents.
I think I will be the teacher who says "ummmm..." when a parent asks about giftedness... I am having a hard time defining giftedness.I like the comment above which said gifted students do things which surprise adults, and make them think, "did he just say/do that?" In my experience, a gifted child is one who often sees the whole picture when only presented with a few disjointed pieces. He gets it before many other students even know there is something to "get." With a parent, I would probably say that the child performs at a level way above other students in his grade in math, reading, or in general thinking skills.
A gifted child is a student who has the ability or potential to perform above and beyond their peer group. They tend to think outside the box and can be creative and great problem solvers.
GT children think abstractly. Their ideas stand out in the areas of creativity, above average intelligence and task commitment. They have the ability and potential to perform at a higher level compared to their peers of the same age, experience and environment.
A gifted student is a natural learner who is able to think abstractly and someone whose thoughts and ideas tend to be different than those his/her age.
I share Debbie and Stephanie’s point of view about how gifted individuals "think out of the box" It does not have to necessarily be in a traditionally academic area such as math, reading or science. It can be any area where their strength relies, but it is that we call “creativity” or “divergent thinking” what, I believe remains a constant. That is why I believe that the key relies in their individuality more that their current “student” status. What I mean is: for the purpose of this definition, we call them students because we are approaching the subject from an academic point of view. However, in the end, I believe is whether their very personal needs, feelings and fears are met, nurtured or supported that end up shaping their future lives and success –and I do not mean only professional or economic-.
Gifted students are remarkably creative and thus demonstrate strong capabilities to solve problems. This particular trait sets them apart from their peers and, that is why they tend to feel out of place, misunderstood and in many occasions, not liked.
My definition of gifted would be a mixture of the definitions of Francis Galton and Lewis Terman. Galton stated that gifted individuals are people who demonstrate exceptional talent in some area. Lewis Terman expanded this concept by including the idea of a high IQ. Although I believe that gifted definitely includes those who have an unusually high IQ, I also think that there are many people who are gifted but not necessarily highly intelligent.
Definition: A student who naturally excels in multiple areas of learning such as leadership, creativity, etc. in comparison to their peers.
I found an interesting article on a man named Ned Herrmann. He was responsible for identifying the left and right brain's functions. His GT skills aided him in discovering that learning is centered to different parts of the brain. By exposing what those parts consist of, he allows teachers to the opportunity to have a stronger grasp on their students' thinking. Thus, helping us come up with different forms of differentiation in the classroom.
I appreciate anybody who can help my students have a better understanding on how they think, and who can aid me in creating assignments that everyone can excel in.
Gifted and talented students are Those students have or will be identified as high achievers. Who are able to excelle in one or all of the core academic areas,or fine arts and or leadership.
After reading the powerpoint notes from last weeks class about the definition and history of giftedness, I find that my own definition remains relatively unchanged. I define gifted students as students who have one or more areas where their ablilities are greater than average AND they have a need for different teaching styles to match their learning style in order to help them reach their potential. I hope to learn more this week as I fill in the gaps I missed.
A gifted student is one who seems to have the potential to excel in an academic or creative area beyond his peers. He seems to come up with his own ideas and opinions and think outside of the box at times.
When you call someone gifted it is because they possess an outstanding ability in anything in comparison. Someone can be a gifted reader, gifted logically, musically, or --if they had an outstanding ability to sit there -- sitting. We don't say someone is gifted at sitting in comparison to others because there is no scale and there is no need to differentiate sitting styles. We judge when there is a need. If someone was interviewing for a position you could judge their posture and style of sitting. Likewise, there hand placement and the way they gesture becomes important. People are different. You could say they are blessed with different gifts. We judge them accordingly. In education we judge and differentiate because we say a student is gifted IN LEARNING. Learning is where that word potential comes in. It isn't learnt just yet. Our goal isn't to measure how much they know but to give them to tools and to be there so they will know or know how to find out. Therefore gifted is defined as one that has potential to learn well in different methods in comparison to their peers. If I were a music teacher this would apply differently than if I were a physics teacher.
What I have observed with gifted and talented students is, they tend to be different with thought processes and how they solve problems. I would observe the child while you are not looking to see what they do in their moments by themselves, while playing sports, or even doing their homework. When you conversate with gifted and talent children they can go from speaking on a high level with an adult to speaking with their peers on their grade level. Gifted and talented children can be loners and seldom like to share, they stand out from the rest with like only children. My definition of gifted and talented might be vague but these are the characteristics I have observed so far in my class.
Giftedness is not the same as just being smart or studious. Gifted individuals see, understand, think, or perform at levels significantly higher than their peers and may be perceived as noticeably different for that ability. Giftedness may lead to amazing achievement but will always necessitate special attention to foster that ability.
Gifted students are students that do not fit inside "the box". From what I have observed they are the people that think of unusual ways to solve extraordinary problems, academic or artistic.
GT children are typically those that demonstrate or show intellectual/academic, creative, artistic, and/or leadership abilities that noticeably exceed that of their peers. They are identified in Fort Bend by district appointed testers. If identified, they receive differentiated services on a frequent basis, more frequent and differentiated than what is typically provided in the average classroom.
Gifted children are the ones who usually have a different way of processing things. Their minds work in a variety of ways. Being gifted does not necessarily mean high achieving. All gifted children are stong in different areas. The mind of a gifted child works in a way that is completely different of a general eduation student. It's important for teachers to remember that meeting the needs of a gifted child will be much different than meeting the needs of a general student. Gifted students typically have thoughts that are ongoing. They are always processing something. This is when it becomes difficult to teach and understand where they are coming from.
A gifted student is one who sees things in a different light. Their eyes don't stop at the defined wall in front of them, somehow they know how to stand on their tiptoes and look out into the world through the high window. They have very unique minds that are naturally observant and innately absorbent. They have high potential for achievement and can demonstrate this in abstract or creative ways that, often effortlessly, deviates from the standard mold that is other students. They are curious and crave knowledge and challenges, especially in areas of interest.
Giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average.A gifted student will process things in a unique way, they will solve problems using their own strategies and thats how they work academically or artistically.
I think that giftedness is hard to define, and all of the definitions that we have discussed are pretty vague. According to the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), "there is, as yet, no universally agreed upon [definition for giftedness]... Giftedness, intelligence, and talent are fluid concepts and may look different in different contexts and cultures. Even within schools you will find a range of personal beliefs about the word "gifted," which has become a term with multiple meanings and much nuance."
If asked, I would tell someone that giftedness is hard to define, but generally it is defined as "Having extrordinary talent or potential in a particular academic field or fields, or having demonstrated exceptional artistic, creative, or leadership ability."
Robert Sternberg’s triarchtic theory has had a profound effect on the study of gifted students. I believe that gifted learners are individuals that display high achievement capabilities in academic fields. They may display creativity or have leadership capacity. Like Sternberg, I believe that giftedness can manifest itself in different ways and in different situations. There are a number of thinking styles. Everyone has a mix of such styles, but will vary in the strength of their preferences. His view is that what is good for gifted students is good for all students, but that if badly done, gifted education can become an elitist enterprise.
Giftedness refers to students who have the capability to perform at very high levels compared to their peers. They may shine in the area of leadership, or other disciplines. Most gifted students are intellectual, very creative or artistic.
Gifted behavior occurs when the person exhibits extraordinary development or abilities that are above what are expected from his/her peers. When we look at what abilities will qualify in a gifted definition, we can include all, in a very broad sense, although most will fall into the academic, creative, or leadership fields.
Once upon a time, back home in Mexico, I was an IB (International Baccalaureate) teacher in high school. Some of my colleagues, who were not teaching the IB programme, used to tell us -IB teachers- that we were “in heaven” given that our students were gifted. That might have been partially true: IB programme students are gifted, but they are still youngsters! The only difference is that perhaps, they learn a little faster than other high school students. Furthermore, most of the time they feel the pressure of themselves, their teachers, their peers, and most of all: their parents. I suppose that my best definition for the gifted and talented would be one derived from Dr. Joan Freeman’s research: “the gifted are normal people, but they face special challenges, especially unreal expectations, notably being seen as strange and unhappy…and what they need is acceptance for who they are, appropriate opportunities to develop their potential, and reliable moral support.”
ReplyDeleteBeing gifted is not to be confused with being a high achiever, but it is the awareness that a child naturally functions, or has the potential to function, higher than other students within their age, race, environment, and economic status in areas that include, but aren't limited to, academics, artistic abilities, and leadership. These students have a keen development in their gift that allows them to, possibly, see the unseen and do the undone. Because of these abilities, they are able to make cross-curricular and/or creative connections that are unknown to others.
ReplyDeleteDefinition: Gifted and talented student means a child or youth who performs at or demonstrate the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of achievement when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment, shows a high performance in creativity, intelligence and has leadership ability and does extremely well in a academic field.
ReplyDeleteSandra I. Kay is district coordinator of Gifted/Talented Programs for Monroe-Woodbury Central Schools and a visiting scholar at Teachers College, Columbia University interviewed Abraham J. Tannenbaum. Dr. Tannenbaum was awarded a Fulbright-Hays Professorship in 1968 to serve as a visiting professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. Among his many awards, he was the 1981 recipient of the Hollingworth Award for research on the gilled and talented. He also received the 1985 Distinguished Scholar Award of the National Association for Gifted Children.
He stated: Our highest priority is to plan, test, and implement improvement in what to teach and how to teach it, and only then conceive of the best possible "homes" for these innovations. That is the reason I always parry, rather than answer, the question on how I feel about ability grouping for the gifted. My response is something like this: "Describe in some detail what the gifted can and should be taught in special classes that cannot be taught to them separately, or along with their classmates, in regular classes." If the instructional plan proves worthy of implementing, I will support it along with any administrative plan that is best suited to implement it, including separate classes, and sometimes schools, for the gifted.
I agree. Challenge would not only generate from instruction but from each other.
Diane Williams
G.T. students are not the ones that read at a very high reading level or have excellent grades. G.T. students are the ones that think outside of the box. They are able to design or build a game with an objective, rules, parts, and pieces. They know how the game board is to look. What colors are to be in each place.
ReplyDeleteI would define gifted students as those who enjoy learning new things, enjoys intellectual activity, and who need the challenges above the regular curriculum in order to use all their brain capacity and develop their talents.
ReplyDeleteI would add that gifted students quickly and easily see relationships in ideas, objects, or facts, and thus provide unique solutions to problems, elaborating original proposals.
Gifted students posses well developed power of abstraction, synthesis, and conceptualization, and this allow them to have fluent and flexible thinking. Those students make connections to create and make sense of information, and indeed posses’ unique approaches and different approaches to situations or problems.
Gifted and talented students need their strengths to be stimulated, and for that reason differentiation in the classroom is necessary to address their needs.
However, I think it is difficult to serve the needs of Gifted and talented children in the multilevel classroom, especially since not two gifted and talented children are alike. Each of those students posses unique talents at different levels, and they come from different backgrounds ( socio-economic, cultural, etc).
I hope theories developed about G&T children can serve me to offer them a classroom that serves their needs.
I agree with Debbie,
ReplyDeleteA gifted child is not necessarily a child who receives excellent grades, or who are academically superior to their peers, but who when compared with other students with similar backgrounds, will stand out in areas such as academics, creativity and leadership with their own ability and take self initiative in areas of their interest.
Definition: Besides their academic abilities, in my opinion, GT students are the independent thinkers; they are always coming up with new and different solutions to solve, create, and perform a task. It is easy for them to improvise when faced with obstacles and are excited about new ideas. They are patient with peers and willing to share their thinking. I found this article from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted young people under 18 by Rogers, K. B. that made think of the way we are servicing our GT students. The article is about: Grouping the gifted and talented. One grouping is: “Cooperative grouping for regular instruction. Robinson's (1990) exhaustive search of the literature was unable to uncover any solid research to substantiate academic achievement gains for gifted learners when placed in cooperative settings with students of mixed ability”. This is the way I am feeling right now with the ONE GT student I have in my class. Is he benefiting by being in this group? Another grouping is: "Cluster grouping within heterogeneous classrooms. The Kuliks' 1990 meta-analysis identified four research studies that looked at this particular programming option, in which the top 5-8 gifted learners at a grade level are placed with a trained teacher of the gifted and the remainder of that teacher's load includes a normal distribution of ability. The rationale for such an option has been that the teacher can spend a proportionate amount of instructional effort and curriculum development time on the gifted cluster, which may not be possible when a classroom contains only 1-2 of these students”. This is certainly true. It is hard to provide for those who are above grade level when we are working hard making sure that we provide to those “at risk” students; we make the effort to provide for those who are at level, but we tend to think that those who are not struggling are going to be fine without our help. I think that the gifted and talented students should be grouped together so they can benefit from their higher level thinking.
ReplyDeleteDefinition of Gifted: A gifted child has the ability to think and process infomation in different. Their views are more profound and thought provoking. They have the ability to create, synthesis and evaluate. These students look for new ways to learn and gain information. I find that gifted students enjoy and benefit from creative learning. When I think of a gifted students my first thought is the Geek Squad from Best Buy. The man the created the Geek Squad chose to stay at home and read and figure out to put eletronics together while his friend were out enjoying themselves. From his creative abilities he created the Geek Squad. So gifted people find ways to be innovative.
ReplyDeleteGifted: Intuitive processing of diverse information based on a self-designed schema which allows the learner to construct his own learning that transcends traditional approaches.
ReplyDeleteMy perspective of a GT student:
ReplyDeleteA student that is GT "thinks outside of the box". They do not seem to conform to what other people do. They will most likely fall at the bottom half of their class academically. They typically will do things "their" way. GT students have a strange and unusual way of thinking and processing. Traditional and ordinary is not part of their vocabulary or behavior. They march to a different beat.
What does the term gifted mean? Before becoming a teacher I used to think that a student is gifted whenever I would see a parent driving with a bumper sticker attached to their car that read, "My Child is an Honor Roll Student at PS13." As I have been indoctrinated in the education arena, I discovered that a true gifted person, ask questions, synthesize information, engages both mentally and physically. They are often highly critical of themselves. GT students are cerebral thinkers. They do not accept status quo.
ReplyDeleteGifted is someone who has outstanding abilities and goes beyond the normal. It can be only in one certain area or in more than one. It doesn’t have to be only academically. Most schools limit their definition of a gifted child to academics, but I think as we discuss during our last session that you can find students that may not be very bright academically but they are in other areas such as arts, sports or even social. I agree with Josephine about saying that gifted children usually have an unusual way of thinking and processing. I remember this kid I had in my second grade class who was outstanding. We were looking at additions. We had a test and I remember when he turn in his test, when I looked at it I saw that he did his additions with Roman Numbers. He said to me that he thought it would be more interesting to check.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these great definitions! Remember these are 'elevator' definitions which are specific to you and can be shared with parents when they ask if they think their child is gifted. Looking forward to seeing some more!
ReplyDelete“Elevator” definition of giftedness: Giftedness is when a child possesses an unusual ability in comparison to their peers. It is an ability to the degree that adults are surprised and have to ask themselves: Did they really just say/do that?
ReplyDeleteGifted student is the one who analyses concepts in a higher level than other kids their same age, students who demonstrate a potential to achieve outstanding things. Students who have a great hunger of knowledge and perfection. These students like to solve problems, go above them and come up with new ideas. These are children who require a differentiated education programs in order to succeed and meet their needs in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteA gifted student is one who sometimes may be misunderstood because of the way they think, do and approach things. They are usually high achievers compared to their peers, not necessarily always academically, but in other areas/skills. These students need to be challenged in ways that others may not.
ReplyDeleteMy impression of a student who is gifted and talented is that he/she will typically have a higher vocabulary repertoire and use it interchangeably. The student creates 'out side the box' activities or play outside of school. They also have difficulty having patience for students who are not thinking on their level and run into a lack of social skills with peers. GT students may go above and beyond in class or may feel the extra practice work is beneath them or not relevant and a waste of their time. Therefore, they may be those who don't finish work in class and never turn in homework. They key importance to remember is that they are not older just because they are gifted and talented. They still need to be fostered by adults. Just in a way that maximizes their talents.
ReplyDeleteI think I will be the teacher who says "ummmm..." when a parent asks about giftedness... I am having a hard time defining giftedness.I like the comment above which said gifted students do things which surprise adults, and make them think, "did he just say/do that?" In my experience, a gifted child is one who often sees the whole picture when only presented with a few disjointed pieces. He gets it before many other students even know there is something to "get." With a parent, I would probably say that the child performs at a level way above other students in his grade in math, reading, or in general thinking skills.
ReplyDeleteA gifted child is a student who has the ability or potential to perform above and beyond their peer group. They tend to think outside the box and can be creative and great problem solvers.
ReplyDeleteGT children think abstractly. Their ideas stand out in the areas of creativity, above average intelligence and task commitment. They have the ability and potential to perform at a higher level compared to their peers of the same age, experience and environment.
ReplyDeleteA gifted student is a natural learner who is able to think abstractly and someone whose thoughts and ideas tend to be different than those his/her age.
ReplyDeleteI share Debbie and Stephanie’s point of view about how gifted individuals "think out of the box" It does not have to necessarily be in a traditionally academic area such as math, reading or science. It can be any area where their strength relies, but it is that we call “creativity” or “divergent thinking” what, I believe remains a constant. That is why I believe that the key relies in their individuality more that their current “student” status. What I mean is: for the purpose of this definition, we call them students because we are approaching the subject from an academic point of view. However, in the end, I believe is whether their very personal needs, feelings and fears are met, nurtured or supported that end up shaping their future lives and success –and I do not mean only professional or economic-.
ReplyDeleteGifted students are remarkably creative and thus demonstrate strong capabilities to solve problems. This particular trait sets them apart from their peers and, that is why they tend to feel out of place, misunderstood and in many occasions, not liked.
My definition of gifted would be a mixture of the definitions of Francis Galton and Lewis Terman. Galton stated that gifted individuals are people who demonstrate exceptional talent in some area. Lewis Terman expanded this concept by including the idea of a high IQ. Although I believe that gifted definitely includes those who have an unusually high IQ, I also think that there are many people who are gifted but not necessarily highly intelligent.
ReplyDeleteDefinition: A student who naturally excels in multiple areas of learning such as leadership, creativity, etc. in comparison to their peers.
ReplyDeleteI found an interesting article on a man named Ned Herrmann. He was responsible for identifying the left and right brain's functions. His GT skills aided him in discovering that learning is centered to different parts of the brain. By exposing what those parts consist of, he allows teachers to the opportunity to have a stronger grasp on their students' thinking. Thus, helping us come up with different forms of differentiation in the classroom.
I appreciate anybody who can help my students have a better understanding on how they think, and who can aid me in creating assignments that everyone can excel in.
Gifted and talented students are Those students have or will be identified as
ReplyDeletehigh achievers. Who are able to excelle in one or all of the core academic
areas,or fine arts and or leadership.
After reading the powerpoint notes from last weeks class about the definition and history of giftedness, I find that my own definition remains relatively unchanged. I define gifted students as students who have one or more areas where their ablilities are greater than average AND they have a need for different teaching styles to match their learning style in order to help them reach their potential. I hope to learn more this week as I fill in the gaps I missed.
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ReplyDeleteA gifted student is one who seems to have the potential to excel in an academic or creative area beyond his peers. He seems to come up with his own ideas and opinions and think outside of the box at times.
ReplyDeleteWhen you call someone gifted it is because they possess an outstanding ability in anything in comparison. Someone can be a gifted reader, gifted logically, musically, or --if they had an outstanding ability to sit there -- sitting. We don't say someone is gifted at sitting in comparison to others because there is no scale and there is no need to differentiate sitting styles. We judge when there is a need. If someone was interviewing for a position you could judge their posture and style of sitting. Likewise, there hand placement and the way they gesture becomes important. People are different. You could say they are blessed with different gifts. We judge them accordingly. In education we judge and differentiate because we say a student is gifted IN LEARNING. Learning is where that word potential comes in. It isn't learnt just yet. Our goal isn't to measure how much they know but to give them to tools and to be there so they will know or know how to find out. Therefore gifted is defined as one that has potential to learn well in different methods in comparison to their peers. If I were a music teacher this would apply differently than if I were a physics teacher.
ReplyDeleteMy elevator (brief?) definition is in the 2nd to last sentence sorry for not being organized.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have observed with gifted and talented students is, they tend to be different with thought processes and how they solve problems. I would observe the child while you are not looking to see what they do in their moments by themselves, while playing sports, or even doing their homework. When you conversate with gifted and talent children they can go from speaking on a high level with an adult to speaking with their peers on their grade level. Gifted and talented children can be loners and seldom like to share, they stand out from the rest with like only children. My definition of gifted and talented might be vague but these are the characteristics I have observed so far in my class.
ReplyDeleteGiftedness is not the same as just being smart or studious. Gifted individuals see, understand, think, or perform at levels significantly higher than their peers and may be perceived as noticeably different for that ability. Giftedness may lead to amazing achievement but will always necessitate special attention to foster that ability.
ReplyDeleteGifted students are students that do not fit inside "the box". From what I have observed they are the people that think of unusual ways to solve extraordinary problems, academic or artistic.
ReplyDeleteGT children are typically those that demonstrate or show intellectual/academic, creative, artistic, and/or leadership abilities that noticeably exceed that of their peers. They are identified in Fort Bend by district appointed testers. If identified, they receive differentiated services on a frequent basis, more frequent and differentiated than what is typically provided in the average classroom.
ReplyDeleteGifted children are the ones who usually have a different way of processing things. Their minds work in a variety of ways. Being gifted does not necessarily mean high achieving. All gifted children are stong in different areas. The mind of a gifted child works in a way that is completely different of a general eduation student. It's important for teachers to remember that meeting the needs of a gifted child will be much different than meeting the needs of a general student. Gifted students typically have thoughts that are ongoing. They are always processing something. This is when it becomes difficult to teach and understand where they are coming from.
ReplyDeleteA gifted student is one who sees things in a different light. Their eyes don't stop at the defined wall in front of them, somehow they know how to stand on their tiptoes and look out into the world through the high window. They have very unique minds that are naturally observant and innately absorbent. They have high potential for achievement and can demonstrate this in abstract or creative ways that, often effortlessly, deviates from the standard mold that is other students. They are curious and crave knowledge and challenges, especially in areas of interest.
ReplyDeleteGiftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average.A gifted student will process things in a unique way, they will solve problems using their own strategies and thats how they work academically or artistically.
ReplyDeleteCynthia Romero
I think that giftedness is hard to define, and all of the definitions that we have discussed are pretty vague. According to the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), "there is, as yet, no universally agreed upon [definition for giftedness]... Giftedness, intelligence, and talent are fluid concepts and may look different in different contexts and cultures. Even within schools you will find a range of personal beliefs about the word "gifted," which has become a term with multiple meanings and much nuance."
ReplyDeleteIf asked, I would tell someone that giftedness is hard to define, but generally it is defined as "Having extrordinary talent or potential in a particular academic field or fields, or having demonstrated exceptional artistic, creative, or leadership ability."
Robert Sternberg’s triarchtic theory has had a profound effect on the study of gifted students. I believe that gifted learners are individuals that display high achievement capabilities in academic fields. They may display creativity or have leadership capacity. Like Sternberg, I believe that giftedness can manifest itself in different ways and in different situations. There are a number of thinking styles. Everyone has a mix of such styles, but will vary in the strength of their preferences. His view is that what is good for gifted students is good for all students, but that if badly done, gifted education can become an elitist enterprise.
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I included this part of the homework with the second part (next blog) on a reseacher.
ReplyDeleteGiftedness refers to students who have the capability to perform at very high levels compared to their peers. They may shine in the area of leadership, or other disciplines. Most gifted students are intellectual, very creative or artistic.
ReplyDeleteGifted behavior occurs when the person exhibits extraordinary development or abilities that are above what are expected from his/her peers. When we look at what abilities will qualify in a gifted definition, we can include all, in a very broad sense, although most will fall into the academic, creative, or leadership fields.
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