Traits Of Gifted Learners

If you first read about the incorporation of Bloom's Taxonomy on gifted education curriculums and then look at the traits of gifted students, trends and similarities begin to emerge.

The following are traits given to describe gifted learners from the Gifted Development Center. Following this link will give their actual scale used in identifying children as gifted.

Traits of gifted learners:

• Good thinker who reasons well
• Learns quickly
• Has an extensive vocabulary
• Excellent memory
• Long attention span for subject in which they are interested
• Sensitive
• Shows compassion
• Often are perfectionists
• Intense at times
• Morally sensitive
• Strong curiosities
• Perseverant in interests
• High degree of energy
• Often prefers to engage with adults
• Wide range of interests
• Good sense of humor
• Early or avid reader
• Concerned with justive and fairness
• Mature judgement at times
• Good observer
• Vivid imagination
• Very creative
• Tends to question authority
• Has facility with numbers
• Good at jigsaw puzzles

Immediately links can be seen between these traits and the curriculum and program options discussed elsewhere. Gifted students are going to be more drawn towards assignments where they get to use higher level orders of thinking. These assignments will include directions with the following words: Synthesize, Arrange, Blend, Create, Deduce, Devise, Organize, Plan, Present, Rearrange, Rewrite.

The Link Among Intelligence, Giftedness, and Identification

There is an inevitable link among intelligence, giftedness, and identification.


When I think about these three words I immediately put them in an order of variance from more concrete to more vague. In this spectrum I would place them as follows:

More Concrete

intelligence

identification

giftedness

More Vague

Is it any wonder why there is such controversy concerning gifted education when it is difficult to even define giftedness? When learning about the identification procedures for gifted education, it is easy to play devil's advocate and to question the methods used. "How do you show creativity?" "How can a student who gets poor grades be gifted?" "Shouldn't gifted students be excellent readers?"

The links among intelligence, giftedness, and identification are inevitable. Giftedness is a reflection of intelligence and identification is a a natural progression from giftedness. I believe that if the vagueness seen in identification and giftedness can be clarified, then gifted education will benefit.

Curriculum For Gifted Students

In addition to program modifications and additions for gifted learners, differentiating in the curriculum is necessary as well.

One caveat for curriculum differentiating is taking care not to give gifted students extra work. The modifications made on the curriculum should be to make their work more exciting and intriguing to them. It should not be the goal of the teacher to keep gifted students busier for a longer period of time by giving them 'more' work.

When making modifications to the curriculum for gifted students, I think that a teacher should first consult Bloom's Taxonomy to see where on there the assignment falls.

Each level of Bloom's Taxonomy is linked to certain verbs that can help for creating curriculum for gifted students.

Remembering:

Acquire, Define, Distinguish, Draw, Find, Label, List, Match, Read, Record

Understanding:

Compare, Demonstrate, Differentiate, Fill in, Find, Group, Outline, Predict, Represent, Trace

Applying:

Convert, Demonstrate, Differentiate between, Discover, Discuss, Examine, Experiment, Prepare, Produce, Record

Analyzing:

Classify, Determine, Discriminate, Form generalizations, Put into categories, Illustrate, Select, Survey, Take apart, Transform

Evaluating:

Argue, Award, Critique, Defend, Interpret, Judge, Measure, Select, Test, Verify

Creating:

Synthesize, Arrange, Blend, Create, Deduce, Devise, Organize, Plan, Present, Rearrange, Rewrite

Assignments should be built upon the lowest level of remembering, and then, as the needs warrant, the higher levels should be incorporated in order to make appropriate assignments in the curriculum for gifted students.

Nature Of Giftedness

Related to intelligence, giftedness is an above-average ability or aptitude for learning and thinking. Oftentimes, young people with gifted intelligence have an asynchronous growth process between cognitive and physical growth. I liken this to the well-known story of the tortoise and the hare where a gifted child's mind is moving at the speed of the hare while their physical growth moves at a slower pace likened to the tortoise.


I think that what makes the nature of giftedness so ambiguous and questionable to some people, is that it requires an identification process. Seeing and proving giftedness may seem arbitrary to doubtful people. As I have recently learned, the process by which schools and educators identify students as gifted can be very vague. Students can be identified as gifted in a number of different ways that may never be the same for each child.

In my own prior experiences, those students labeled as "gifted" were the ones who were in the accelerated classes and who generally earned above-average grades in school. Giftedness, though, can be apparent in many different areas of a academia as well as in the performing arts and sports. Defining giftedness when considering its broadness becomes and almost impossible feat. Only with increased knowledge and awareness of truly gifted individuals can we begin to appropriately define what giftedness may be in the realm of intelligence.

My Thoughts

Before beginning this course on gifted education, I honestly had no idea that it was not offered in all schools. I was in the Gifted and Talented Program (G/T), as it is called in Fauquier County, VA, from early elementary school until late high school when I had moved past its offerings and into the Advanced Placement classes. My sister was also in the program and had many of the same teachers that I did.

I think we were both lucky to have gone to school in an area where gifted education is deemed important enough to have in the schools. She and I have talked about our G/T experiences recently and only have positive things to say about them.

Some of my friends are extremely intelligent and display creativity that astounds me, yet they grew up in areas where gifted education was not offered. I never thought I would be the type of person to say, "I want to live where there are good schools," but after learning more about gifted education, I would consider living in an area with a gifted program a priority.

Lesson Plans

I found some great sites with lesson plans that can be used in gifted classrooms.

Here are some links:

Lesson Plans and Resources

• I especially like the lesson plan on entomology for elementary school. In this lesson, the students begin by being introduced to basic facts about butterflies and then, under the guidance of their teacher, they begin to use different types and levels of thinking in relation to the subject of butterflies. This type of activity should engage many students at once, which is ideal for a class with students of different levels.

Lesson Planet

• This is an extensive database of lessons for all grade and ability levels. Unfortunately, the number of lesson plans for high school are at zero, but reading through some of the lower grade level plans gave me ideas that could be modified for upper level grades and classes.

Lesson Tutor

• Lesson Tutor, while not as extensive as the others, provides an easy to navigate list of included lesson plans. I was surprised to see an inclusion of lesson plans concerning music, but was slightly disappointed that they are not aimed towards gifted students.

Center For Gifted Education

The Center for Gifted Education is located at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.

Their Mission Statement is as follows:

Mission Statement The Center for Gifted Education is a learning community that values and fosters the talent development process of individuals over the lifespan.
Goal #1 To provide graduate education programs and opportunities for individuals interested in teaching gifted students and/or assuming administrative and leadership positions in the field of gifted education.
Goal #2 To provide selected programs and services for precollegiate learners and their families.
Goal #3 To develop, field-test, and disseminate curriculum in relevant content areas at appropriate developmental levels.
Goal #4 To conduct research and evaluation for dissemination to relevant audiences and for data-based decision-making.
Goal #5 To provide professional development to promote leadership and exemplary practice.