GIFTEDNESS EXCEPTIONALITY By: Taylor Stiff

Federal Definition of Gifted Children Children and you with outstanding talent perform, or show the potential for performing, at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of 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 by 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.

Children with Disabilities Who Have Gifts & Talents (Twice Exceptional) A student’s inability to see, hear, or walk does not mean that they are not capable of falling under the Federal definition of giftedness. It does however mean that their disability could cause their giftedness to be overlooked. Children who fall under any aspect of the autistic spectrum tend to have gifted abilities, but just like physical disabilities, learning disabilities blockade the giftedness in a child. Children can have high intelligences, but may not have the theory of mind function, which is the ability to perceive and interpret the thoughts and actions of others.

The Groups of Giftedness General intellectual ability or talent. Laypersons and educators alike usually define this in terms of a high intelligence test score--usually two standard deviations above the mean--on individual or group measures. Parents and teachers often recognize students with general intellectual talent by their wide-ranging fund of general information and high levels of vocabulary, memory, abstract word knowledge, and abstract reasoning. Specific academic aptitude or talent. Students with specific academic aptitudes are identified by their outstanding performance on an achievement or aptitude test in one area such as mathematics or language arts. The organizers of talent searches sponsored by a number of universities and colleges identify students with specific academic aptitude who score at the 97th percentile or higher on standard achievement tests and then give these students the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Remarkably large numbers of students score at these high levels. Creative and productive thinking. This is the ability to produce new ideas by bringing together elements usually thought of as independent or dissimilar and the aptitude for developing new meanings that have social value. Characteristics of creative and productive students include openness to experience, setting personal standards for evaluation, ability to play with ideas, willingness to take risks, preference for complexity, tolerance for ambiguity, positive self-image, and the ability to become submerged in a task. Creative and productive students are identified through the use of tests such as the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking or through demonstrated creative performance.

The Groups of Giftedness continued Leadership ability. Leadership can be defined as the ability to direct individuals or groups to a common decision or action. Students who demonstrate giftedness in leadership ability use group skills and negotiate in difficult situations. Many teachers recognize leadership through a student's keen interest and skill in problem solving. Leadership characteristics include self-confidence, responsibility, cooperation, a tendency to dominate, and the ability to adapt readily to new situations. These students can be identified through instruments such as the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation Behavior (FIRO-B). Visual and performing arts. Gifted students with talent in the arts demonstrate special talents in visual art, music, dance, drama, or other related studies. These students can be identified by using task descriptions such as the Creative Products Scales, which were developed for the Detroit Public Schools by Patrick Byrons and Beverly Ness Parke of Wayne State University. Psychomotor ability. This involves kinesthetic motor abilities such as practical, spatial, mechanical, and physical skills. It is seldom used as a criterion in gifted programs.

Identification Any program used to identify gifted children in a school system must use both objective and subjective methods for evaluations. Make sure to observe and collect examples of the students classroom behavior and the work he/she produces in and out of class. There are also several tests that many schools utilize such as group intelligence tests, consensus of expert judges and administrators, individualized tests that measure aptitude. There are some underachievers in school who are recognized as gifted due to their high cognitive abilities.

Examples of Gifted Children http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHZstpQePEI (Linguistic) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Jq15NqNuQ (Analytical/Mathematical) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3bW9P5Z6sI (Musician/Instrumentalist) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkftG-EsXug (Reading/Visual/Auditory)

Characteristics of Children with Giftedness Intellectual giftedness appears to be created by strong combination of heredity & environment. Longitudinal studies indicate that most children who are identified as having gifts are healthy and well adjusted and achieve well into adulthood. There are some exceptions called underachievers. International comparisons between U.S. students and other top level countries in math and science show that the U.S. is lagging behind. Creativity found in children is usually a sign of giftedness. It depends on an individual’s capacity for divergent thinking, a willingness to be different, strong motivation, and a favorable context. Acceleration, the more rapid movement of gifted students through their educational span, appears to have positive results for them. Some giftedness can be hidden due to cultural perspectives, linguistic backgrounds, and life experiences.

Special Programs Use: Cognitive Strategies as a tool to help students build their problem solving, problem finding, and creativity skills. Comprehensive and rigorous programming helps to meet the special needs of gifted children. Programs include: Olympiad, U.I.L., Clubs after schools, AP courses, IB certified schools, TAG & GT programs, etc.

Federal Government’s Role Thirty states are under the federal governments mandate for public schools to meet the needs of gifted students. The other twenty have their state legislatures mandate laws in regards to gifted programs in schools. The federal government provides zero protection for any gifted children, so the citizens of the state must inquire their state legislature in regards to educational protection.