1. Gifted Students

2. Aren’t all children gifted?
The first step is to desensitise the issue.
Labelling a child as gifted does not instil them with more worth than another child.
Identifying a child as gifted is identifying a need that must be addressed.
Gifted students learn differently to to their peers and will suffer if these needs are not met.
Oakland, T 2005, ‘Assessment of Gifted Students for Identification Purposes: New
Techniques for a New Millennium’, Learning and individual differences, vol. 20, no. 4, pp

3. What is giftedness?
Gagné cautions that it is important to differentiate between giftedness and talent.
Gifts are the “natural abilities” that can only become talents provided the right intrapersonal characteristics, environmental influences and luck!
Gross M, et al. 2004, Gifted and Talented Education: Professional development
package for teachers, Department of Education, Science and Training, Sydney, NSW

4. The Gagné Model of Giftedness and Talent

5. Characteristics of gifted students
Cognitive
Social / Emotional

6. Cognitive characteristics of gifted students
Fast pace of learning (dislike slow)
Extremely well developed memory
Preference for independent work
Require deeper exploration of topic
Ask reflective, probing questions
Reason at a level beyond their years
Gross M, Sleap B & Pretorius M, 1999, ‘Characteristics of gifted students’
in Gifted Students in Secondary Schools, GERRIC, Sydney, NSW

7. Characteristics of gifted students
Cognitive
Social / Emotional

8. Affective characteristics of gifted students
Experience intense emotions
Exhibit perfectionist tendencies
Highly developed sense of justice
Empathy – unusually high or absent
Very mature sense of humour
Prefer company of older students
Gross M, Sleap B & Pretorius M, 1999, ‘Characteristics of gifted students’
in Gifted Students in Secondary Schools, GERRIC, Sydney, NSW

9. Not all gifted students are the same
Type I –
The Successful
Type II –
The Divergently Gifted
Type III –
The Underground
Type IV –
The Dropouts
Type V –
The Double-labelled
Type VI –
The Autonomous
Learner
Betts GT & Neihart M 1988, ‘Profiles of the Gifted and Talented’,
The Gifted Child Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, pp

10. Type I – The Successful
Account for approx. 90% of gifted students in school programs
Learned to work within the system
Behavioural problems rare as eager for approval
Become competent but uncreative adults that rarely achieve their full potential
Betts GT & Neihart M 1988, ‘Profiles of the Gifted and Talented’,
The Gifted Child Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, pp

11. Type II – The Divergently Gifted
Rarely identified and placed in program
Very creative but obstinate / tactless / sarcastic
Question authority, challenge teachers
Social problems – potential dropouts
Betts GT & Neihart M 1988, ‘Profiles of the Gifted and Talented’,
The Gifted Child Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, pp

12. Type III – The Underground
Mostly girls craving social inclusion
Will attempt to hide their gifts
More resistant the more they are pushed
Betts GT & Neihart M 1988, ‘Profiles of the Gifted and Talented’,
The Gifted Child Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, pp

13. Type IV – The Dropouts
Angry with parents and teachers for being failed by the system
Angry with themselves for being unable to work within the system
Rejected / depressed / withdrawn / aggressive
Betts GT & Neihart M 1988, ‘Profiles of the Gifted and Talented’,
The Gifted Child Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, pp

14. Type V – The Double-labelled
Academic gifts coupled with physical or social/emotional disability
Most common counterpart is Asperger’s syndrome
Talents often masked – sometimes to the extent that they end up in remedial programs
Betts GT & Neihart M 1988, ‘Profiles of the Gifted and Talented’,
The Gifted Child Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, pp

15. Type VI – The Autonomous Learner
Independent and self-directed
They don’t work for the system but make it work for them
Create their own opportunities
Positive and successful
Often in leadership roles
Betts GT & Neihart M 1988, ‘Profiles of the Gifted and Talented’,
The Gifted Child Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, pp

16. The Identification Process
Standardised
achievement
tests
test of
giftedness
Dynamic testing
teacher-
created
assessments
Above-/Off-level
testing
Program
Placement
Adjustment of
curriculum
Continual
monitoring
Parent nomination
Teacher nomination
Student work
Oakland, T 2005, ‘A 21st-Century model for identifying for gifted and talented programs in
light of conditions: an emphasis on race and ethnicity’, Gifted Child Today, vol. 28, no. 4, pp

17. Issues
Identification is often very difficult in disadvantaged or culturally diverse populations
Failure to identify can result in anger, frustration, alienation, etc
Badly managed programs can also serve to alienate gifted students
Hansen, JB & Johnston Toso, S 2007, ‘Gifted Dropouts: personality, family,
social and school factors’, Gifted Child Today, vol. 30, no. 4, pp.30-41

18. Implications for learning
There are 3 main ways in which the curriculum should be differentiated
1 – Process modifications
2 – Product modifications
3 – Learning environment
Vaille, W & Geake, J 2003, ‘Pedagogy and Curriculum’ in W Vaille & J Geake (eds),
The Gifted Enigma; a collection of articles, Hawker Brownlow Education, Cheltenham, VIC

19. Process Modifications
Learning tasks should be abstract, complex, varied
Learning tasks should involve issues of organisation, study of people, methods of inquiry.
Vaille, W & Geake, J 2003, ‘Pedagogy and Curriculum’ in W Vaille & J Geake (eds),
The Gifted Enigma; a collection of articles, Hawker Brownlow Education, Cheltenham, VIC

20. Product Modifications
Involve higher order thinking processes
Promote creative and critical thinking
Require problem solving
Involve group interaction
Variable levels of pacing
Allow for debriefing of the process
Involve open-endedness
Allow for freedom of choice.
Vaille, W & Geake, J 2003, ‘Pedagogy and Curriculum’ in W Vaille & J Geake (eds),
The Gifted Enigma; a collection of articles, Hawker Brownlow Education, Cheltenham, VIC

21. Learning Environment Flexible and open Encourage independent learning
Accepting and non judgemental
Encourage complex and abstract thought.
Vaille, W & Geake, J 2003, ‘Pedagogy and Curriculum’ in W Vaille & J Geake (eds),
The Gifted Enigma; a collection of articles, Hawker Brownlow Education, Cheltenham, VIC