In response to the mention of “gifted children”, it thas been a mantra for many years to say “all children have a gift”. What this means is that we believe every child can master at least one thing; that there is something they are good at. This is a different idea to giftedness. If you like, you can think of giftedness as the extent to which a child has a gift. Every child can learn to read. Not all children are reading independently before they begin Junior Infants.
“All children are gifted”
Identifying the Gifted Child
Intelligence
Tests (IQ) tests used to be taken as gospel proof of giftedness. However, a
greater awareness of the many ways gifted children may present has made the job
of identifying gifted children a little harder but at the same time rescued
many children for a lifetime of underachievement.
Some
children are ‘Twice Exceptional’. This means that they are gifted academically
but may have a specific learning disorder. A gifted child who is also dyslexic may have trouble
performing on an intelligence test and hence their giftedness may be missed by
testing. Indeed, it would not be unusual for a gifted but dyslexic child to
come across as ‘average’ in the classroom and to be reported on as ‘must work
harder’ eventhough they may already be working very hard to compensate for
dyslexia.
Research in
the USA has shown how there are similar characteristics between children with
Asperger’s Syndrome and those who are gifted. In Ireland, where few psychologists are trained in recognising giftedness,
there may be a tendency to misdiagnose a child with challenging behaviour in
the classroom. A child who is
gifted and unidentified and who becomes bored in class could display
challenging behaviours. And while there are children with severe cases of ADHD,
how many gifted children have been misdiagnosed with ADHD and medicated for it.
Tracy Cross
of the College of William and Mary in Virginia has highlighted 5 common characteristics of gifted children. Because gifted
children represent a heterogeneous group, not all characteristics will be
present to the same extent, but an observant teacher would begin to see these.
They are
· Excessive Self-Criticism
I am not in
favour of telling a child they are gifted however, I recognise that for some
children knowing this can help them come to terms with their ‘differentness’ .
You can find more links to characteristics of gifted children here.
Responding to the Gifted Child
Gifted
children have particular social and emotional needs however, as a teacher, your
more immediate concern maybe how to facilitate a gifted child's learning in the classroom.
I have heard for several years that teachers had a ‘fear’ of gifted children
and often said they wouldn’t know what to do with one. I never believed this
until I heard one primary school teacher actually say these words to me last
year. There is no need for such a fear. It is important to remember is that good teaching is good
teaching regardless of a child’s ability.
It is
difficult to manage additional tasks with increasing class sizes and other
demands. Gifted children will finish work well ahead of most other students in
their class, particularly so at primary level. There is a temptation to give more worksheets for finishing
early. Don’t. Gifted children simply learn that it is better to go slowly to
avoid such ‘rewards’. Instead, try giving more detailed work. Enriching the
work a student is doing, allowing them to explore a topic in more detail or in
a different way can address their intrinsic motivation an love of a subject.
This does take a little extra effort but over a period of time, you can build
up a bank of resources that you can draw on as needed.
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| Learning Centre-stpaulmarshfield.org |
There is a
growing awareness in Ireland of the needs of gifted children. Primary teachers are the most important
drivers of this becasue they first encounter gifted children in school. It is the recognition a gifted child
recieves in primary school that will make all the difference, not only to their
schooling, but also to their life. A good place
to follow up on giftedness is here. This is a fantastic
website with links, resources and research.
You can find Gifted Advocacy Groups and parent support
groups at Gifted and Talented Network Ireland and information for parents on Irish Gifted Education Blog.
I blog
at Gifted and Talented Ireland
ICEPE are offering a 10% discount on their Gifted and Talented Children course for
registrants during Gifted Education Awareness Week. The course is DOES-approved and counts for EPV days.
Information leaflet sent to schools click here
Information leaflet sent to schools click here
