What is gifted ?
Learning about giftedness, has been a very new learning experience for me
personally this semester. Honestly out of all my classes in the college of ed.,
my Universal Learning Design class has taught me the most because of all the
new information provided in it, gifted students and social emotional students
were topics covered after disabilities in it. So, by watching these videos it
enabled me to build on my universal/inclusive classroom thinking. I was
surprised with the characteristics provided in video 1. I knew anxiety was a
characteristic but had never heard of asynchronous development. After learning
what it was, and having a gifted student I could see that development described
which is interesting. I did not have any myths or prior beliefs on gifted
students, because I did not ever really put much thought into them until being
in the education program. Therefor no new realities were established, only brand
new ideas/schemas on gifted-ness and social emotional-ness.
After
watching these videos I learned some helpful tips for the classroom. One it is
okay for students who are gifted to work alone if they wish. This is because of
their perfectionism trait, and by working alone it eases their anxiety of
achieving perfection. When their parents are concerned about their lack of friends,
I would also be able to inform them that their child having a small group of friends
is okay and they should not worry. Because I will be teaching at the 6-12
level, I really need to be aware of gifted students or discover them because
like noted in the video they if not accounted for may crash by middle school.
So by seeking them out early, they will be able to have a better chance at
succeeding. Social emotional and gifted are also both accommodated for under
IDEA and 504 which is another thing I need to have in my toolbox while
teaching. Technology would be able to help these students by providing them
with internet to connect to other students, so less stress of an actual social
setting, and enabling the students with means to be able to do higher level
tasks or assessments that meet their higher IQ levels.
so basically, seek out your gifted students who often go under the radar and challenge their thriving young brains!!! :) ,
It is nice to know that I am not the only one that is nearly just learning about gifted students for the first time. So many of my classes has place a large focus on helping those students of the lower tier. However, I have little knowledge on education to help me identify and engage those students that are gifted. Danielle, I had also never heard of asynchronous development before these videos. I was wondering if you or your teacher have made any special accommodations for gifted students in your placement? It's ironic that we are learning about this now because in fact in my placement we just did a group project last week and let one of the students work alone for many of these various reasons mentioned in the video and in your post. I loved that you reinforced that it is okay and normal for gifted students to want to work alone, and in fact they may often work better alone and be more challenged mentally when working alone on projects. I think for my TILP I will allow this option for students I see as gifted.
ReplyDeleteGood comments! A pre-assessment is a great way to group students, yet also shows the teacher who already knows the content and who needs a little more foundation learning. If the student already passes the pre-assessment with an 80% or higher, give that student(s) different material, not extra worksheets or assume they don't need anything because they can already pass. The deserve learning too. The tiered system allows both ends to be challenged, but correctly stated, not much focus is on the top end. This is changing with ESSA.
DeleteI too am learning about gifted students for the first time and I also spend a majority of my time planning ways to help my students who need more support rather than thinking of ways to challenge and help my students who quickly grasp content. What is sad is that when I ask my CT and other teachers about how they balance their classes, they say they go for the middle ground because trying to individualize lessons for every student is not realistic. I believe, that with technology we can help our students master their content and be successful in our classrooms but we can also challenge gifted students and help them grow to their full potential.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! It isn't MORE work for teachers, it is a different way of looking at lessons for the WHOLE class, to include the gifted students. The teacher can give the instruction to all yet the activities are tiered and on technology, so each group works on their own level. I am working tirelessly at the state level to change it and have more PD in gifted and teacher training.
DeleteGreat incite on the UDL method. Now, take it to the next level and design lessons for students who are gifted WITH learning disabilities. Both special needs must be addressed in their learning for them to be able to reach their potential. They are harder to identify because their giftedness masks their LDs until about the time you will get them. At that point, many are labeled lazy by teachers and parents who have seen them succeed until middle school when their coping mechanism no longer works and their LD gets in the way of learning. Low self esteem and self concept results and underachievement which can last a lifetime develops if they are not identified and accommodated. Great reflection!
ReplyDeleteI think after taking UDL and tech, I will be able to design lessons for students who are gifted with learning disabilities! So thats cool , thank you.
DeleteWonderful!
DeleteI connected these videos to what I had learned in UDL as well! It was nice to be able to build on my preexisting knowledge of the topic, and to be able to better understand how to identify a gifted student in the classroom. I was surprised by the characteristics described in the videos as well. How do you deal with or accommodate for the gifted student in your placement?
ReplyDelete