Understanding Students who are Gifted and Talented Meera Mehatji M.Ed

Objectives  Define Gifted/Talented  Identify characteristics of gifted and talented students  Explain Gardner theory of multiple intelligence  Identify the assessment process to identify students who meet the criteria.  List appropriate services and academic accommodations required for students.  Discuss the concept of twice exceptional

Why are we discussing Gifted and Talented under special education ?

Definition “Children and youth with outstanding talent perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others their age, experience, or environment. These children and youth exhibit high performance capability in intellectual, creative, and/or artistic areas, possess an unusual leadership capacity, or excel in specific academic fields. They require services or activities not ordinarily provided in the schools. Outstanding talents are present in children and youth from all cultural groups, across all economic strata, and in all areas of human endeavor.” (U.S. Department of Education, 1993)

Definition “Children and youth with outstanding talent perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others their age, experience, or environment. These children and youth exhibit high performance capability in intellectual, creative, and/or artistic areas, possess an unusual leadership capacity, or excel in specific academic fields. They require services or activities not ordinarily provided in the schools. Outstanding talents are present in children and youth from all cultural groups, across all economic strata, and in all areas of human endeavor.” (U.S. Department of Education, 1993)

Definition of Gifted as used by Virginia Department of Education. “Those students in public elementary, middle, and secondary schools beginning with kindergarten through twelfth grade who demonstrate high levels of accomplishment or who show the potential for higher levels of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment. Their aptitudes and potential for accomplishment are so outstanding that they require special programs to meet their educational needs.” (8VAC A)

Multidimensional Model of Intelligence  Howard Gardner, Ph.D., Professor of Education at Harvard University in (1983).  The theory is a critique of the standard psychological view of intellect: that there is a single intelligence, adequately measured by IQ or other short answer tests.  He claims that human beings have a number of relatively discrete intellectual capacities.

Eight specific Intelligence

Areas of giftedness recognized in Virginia  General intellectual aptitude  Specific academic aptitude.  Career and technical aptitude  Visual or performing arts aptitude

Prevalence Rate  A total of 208,153 students were served under the gifted/ talented category in Virginia.  Female =  Male =  shtml shtml

Etiology Which one is more influential Nature or Nurture?

Characteristics  Higher General Intellect  Creativity  Leadership Ability  Talented in Visual and Arts  Emotional and Social Characteristics

Identification Process in Virginia  Observation  Screening  Prereferral  Evaluation  Determination  Screening  Referral  Data collection and Assessment  Identification and Placement

Designing Appropriate Education  Focus on Strengths and Needs  Need for Individualization  Options  Accelerated Programs  Compact Curriculum  Universal Design for Learning

What is Twice Exceptional ?

Twice Exceptional  Students who are both gifted and have a disability  Both the gifted aptitudes and disability areas should be addressed by instructional personnel in the school division  These students qualify for  IEP/ 504 plan  FAPE  LRE

Example of a student who is twice exceptional 

Questions?

References  Turnbull, A., Turnbull, R., Wehmeyer, M. L., & Shogren, K. A. (2013). Exceptional lives: Special education in today’s schools. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN-13:  Virginia Department of Education - Gifted Education  Twice Exceptional-  The Musical Genius