essay for gifted students

TWO WRITING TEACHERS

A meeting place for a world of reflective writers.

“I Feel Like a Real Writer:” Supporting Gifted Students in Writing

“Lucky you! You’ve got gifted kids.They GET IT.”

You’d think working with gifted students would be a smooth, easy road, like those highways in Nevada whose view is unbroken by anything but horizon.

Let’s get real. Our road has speed bumps – plenty of them. If I had my way, gifted education would be a part of the special education spectrum. That, however, is a different soapbox for a different day. 

We can, however, dispel a key myth. Not all gifted readers are strong writers. Even kids who are great with words are plagued by any number of factors. Some wrestle the many-headed hydra of perfectionism. Others have an abundance of ideas but no clear strategies for wrangling those thoughts into writing. Still others are victims of impostor syndrome, wrongly comparing themselves to others and continually falling short. Writing instruction for gifted students is as affective as it is skill-based.

We had another obstacle, a familiar one: COVID. No longer was I able to work right alongside my “loveies.” Despite our district being in-person since August, I was required to hold classes via Zoom to keep classroom “bubbles” intact. 

If we wanted a writing community, we’d have to move beyond flair pens, clipboards, fancy paper, and flexible seating. We’d need a safe place to share writing, where students could gather articulate feedback, and learn the joy of cultivating a responsive, positive readership. Where kids see themselves as writers and enjoy the craft of it.

In short, I wanted what I had through the Slice of Life community: Joy. Love of craft. Validation. 

Opening the Gates: Establishing Safety and Community

As a class, our first order of business was to create the time and space to craft in the modes and genres we loved most. At the end of each day, students posted screenshots or photos of a passage they felt proud to have written that day, and complemented at least three other writers.

Like cats coaxed from under the bed, most grew more comfortable composing. Once I had them writing, I wanted kids to feel the pride of having others read and appreciate their work.

I started with home-grown mentor text: the comment section on my own blog. We identified types of feedback to share: compliments, encouragement, connections, quotes from text, and literary analysis. They did not disappoint.

We had one hard and fast rule: no critique (yet).

Of course kids wanted to make suggestions. (Did I mention that many gifted students feel strongly about “right” ways to do things?) I steered them in a different direction, once again using Slice of Life as the example.

Consider: In our blogging community, how often do readers leave unsolicited advice or suggestions? Just about…never. We trust one another as writers, which allows us to trust OURSELVES as writers. 

Slowly but surely my kids realized they were writing for a genuine audience of peers. I couldn’t ask for more.

Well…perhaps I could.

Revision: The Elephant in the Room

“If no one offers corrections, how can students improve their work?”

I can’t get around it: students need to develop writing skills. Even some of the most talented writers still have hair-graying spelling and conventions.

I started with a self-paced “Fiction Dojo” on the Schoology app. Kids “leveled up” by revising or editing a single area such as capitalization, dialogue, or balance of narration. Students needing support worked with me in breakout rooms.

I learned quickly the “Dojo” system didn’t translate exactly as hoped. Not every student needed to review every single level, and some needed to complete “belts” out of order in the interest of sense-making. 

It was the universe’s sneaky way of reminding me to TRUST my WRITERS. After each revision, students often asked what they “should do next.” Sometimes I gave that guidance, but mostly I said, “I trust your judgment. What do you think your readers need from you?”

What happened, in turn, was the crafting of stories that were more strongly edited and revised than I ever could have accomplished through individual conferencing and assignments.

As for building critique back in, I’ll confess I’ve never had much luck with peer conferences. My kids have a tough time directing that conversation regardless of structure. No chart or questionnaire has ever fit.

And then it hit me. CROWDSOURCING. 

What wisdom from the “hive mind” did they need? A title? Character names? Help making a scene better or more readable? Putting these questions in the hands of WRITERS, seeking feedback from READERS, made the most sense.

Friends, it was magic. Writers trusted themselves to know what they needed help with, and they trusted their peers enough to support without judgment.

Looking Ahead

I think I’m onto something here. Even my most reluctant writers have more confidence and joy in writing than I’ve ever seen. Throughout the coming weeks and into next year, I’m looking for ways to strengthen self-efficacy and community through shared reading and feedback.

Our next area of exploration follows a “what-if.” What if we use STUDENT writing as mentor text? What if we use students’ writing as a basis for book clubs, for literary analysis? Would that encourage students to further develop their craft? Would it engage them more deeply in reading and conversations about text? My intuition says yes, and I’m anxious to learn more. In a perfect world, I would farm this strategy out to my mainstream classroom colleagues.

Now, there are still places where my lovies fall short on their writing rubrics. I’ve learned I can’t control all of their conversation or revisions. I’ve discovered there are still places I’d love kids to “get to,” but that’s not my journey. 

Sometimes their cars are on that Nevada highway, driving somewhere I never would have imagined, and that destination is quite fabulous. 

I’m just glad to be along for the ride.

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Published by Lainie Levin

Mom of two, full-time teacher, wife, daughter, sister, friend, and holder of a very full plate View all posts by Lainie Levin

7 thoughts on “ “I Feel Like a Real Writer:” Supporting Gifted Students in Writing ”

I cannot wait for next year to start to try all this out! I can only imagine, though, how much planning and ‘inner thinking’ must’ve gone into this! STUPENDOUS! 👏🏼

Thank you! It’s the result of a lot of evolution as a teacher of writing. What’s exciting to me is knowing how much FURTHER we can go!

I remember your posts on “crowdsourcing” and its effects, all stemming from putting writers in the driver’s seat and fostering trust. Invaluable! This collective magic – transformational. That community-building, that sense of belonging – priceless. I also recognize so many truths here regarding the “myths” and what I love best is seeing a teacher stopping to consider what her students really need and thinking out of the box about how to make this happen. No “oh wells” or “I don’t know hows” or “things are MOSTLY ok, so…” but how can I get them where they need to be (any student, all students, for all have gifts) and to love the learning journey. It is an evolutional journey for the teacher as well – try and try again, asking “more” of students AND self. So well-done. I sense your own joy as well as theirs, Lainie. It’s something we all need more of in education – for if teaching is a chore, so will the learning be. Just – bravo!

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Thank you, Fran! It’s weird, because even though I can acknowledge how far we come, it only makes me realize how much further we CAN go together. As for the stopping to consider my kids, I’m glad we worked so hard to develop community. In years like these, where there is so much NOISE coming at educators, from every direction, the children are always the one to make things worthwhile. They saved me this year, as they’ve done so often in the past. You also make an important point about how teaching and learning should be a joy rather than a chore. A colleague and I were just having that conversation yesterday – that we should ALL be in touch with the things we’re passionate about learning. If we don’t have those things, well…maybe we’re not in the right place. Thanks for your thoughtful feedback, Fran.

Lainie, thank you for a thought-provoking post. As I was reading this, I found myself nodding along and saying, “yes” more than once. I really appreciate how you used the SOL community as a model for what you wanted in your classroom. As I move into a classroom next year after four years out, I’ve been thinking about how I wanted to do the same thing. Your ideas on bringing others into the conversation regarding editing and revising are a definite help as I put together my own plans. Thank you!

Tim, that’s exactly what I hope to do in posts like these – to get readers to nod along and say “Yes!” “Exactly!” It’s my goal to get folks riled up so they’ll want to take an action (little or big) in whatever direction they feel so moved. And Tim, I can’t help but think how lucky your kids are going to be to have you FULL TIME. You get to take those children under your wing, and THAT will be a wonderful thing for this world.

Well, consider me riled! When I think back to the early years of my teaching career, it was books (good books!) that I looked to for inspiration and direction when it came to developing writers. It’s great — beyond great — to have this community and the experience it shares. Thanks for being a part of it!

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Gifted and Talented Programs: What Parents Should Know

These programs are designed to challenge kids who are ahead of their classmates, but have drawn controversy over inclusion.

Gifted and Talented Programs

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Some school districts opt to have gifted students attend separate schools or classrooms, while others provide the enrichment in their home schools as an add-on to traditional studies.

Across the country, educators, politicians and activists are debating the value and fairness of gifted and talented education programs, which were created to support K-12 students with advanced abilities who need a more challenging academic program than their peers.

The National Association for Gifted Children defines gifted students as those who “perform – or have the capacity to perform – at higher levels compared to others of the same age, experience, and environment.”

But there is no universal method for deciding who qualifies as gifted, and these programs, sometimes referred to as GATE, have been plagued by racial and economic disparities. Nationwide, white, Asian and higher-income students tend to be overrepresented in gifted programs, while other minority and low-income students are underrepresented.

States and localities generally define not only who qualifies, but also what the programs offer, according to Sarah Irvine Belson, an education professor at American University.

“In general, programs include both enrichment programs, in which students explore an area of the curriculum in more depth or in a more applied way, and acceleration programs, in which students can study areas of the curriculum that are above their chronological age,” Belson wrote in an email.

Despite the variability, statistics show that racial disparities are widespread. For example, in the 2017-18 school year, white students were 48% of the public school population, according to NCES data , but made up roughly 58% of those in GATE programs, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Education . Black students represented 15% of the overall student population but only 8% of students in gifted education.

“My research has documented very stark inequities in placement into GATE by both race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status ,” Jason Grissom, a professor of education at Vanderbilt University, wrote in an email. “Importantly, this research also illustrates that the underrepresentation of students of color or low-income students in GATE is not driven by group-level differences in academic achievement. Black students and low-income students with similar math and reading scores are much less likely than white or high-income students to be placed in gifted services.”

He adds: “The identification systems that we have do not appear to work very well.”

How Students Are Identified as Gifted

The selection process for gifted and talented programs varies by district.

Some schools rely on teacher or parent referrals for testing and placement. But multiple studies have shown that teacher referrals can be biased . And relying on parent referrals can disadvantage students whose parents are less able or willing to advocate for them.

Other districts, like Montgomery Country, Maryland, offer universal testing of all public school children, a practice that one study found increases the representation of low-income and Black and Hispanic students in gifted programs. But that process, too, has been criticized.

In New York City, for example, activists have decried a selection process that has relied on a single test of 4-year-olds before they enter kindergarten. Critics say this favors well-to-do families who pay for test preparation services, and has led to an overrepresentation of white and Asian students.

An analysis from the city’s Independent Budget Office found that, in the 2018-19 school year, about one-third of public school kindergartners were white and Asian, but they made up almost three-quarters of that year’s gifted and talented cohort.

The city has announced that it will scrap the test after this year.

The Future of Gifted Education

In response to the concerns over racial disparities, some districts have proposed eliminating gifted and talented programs altogether, replacing them with enrichment programs for all students.

Former New York City mayor Bill De Blasio caused an uproar last year when he unveiled a plan to do just that. Seattle’s NAACP chapter has called for abolishing the city’s gifted program, with one official from the organization calling it “inherently racist.”

But proponents say that there are real benefits from GATE and school districts can ensure a more inclusive process without abolishing the programs altogether.

Colin Seale, a former math teacher whose company thinkLaw develops enrichment curricula, says students who are exceptionally gifted have special needs, which GATE programs are meant to address. Advanced students can fall through the cracks and struggle to reach their potential without additional support.

“A lot of people confuse gifted and high-achieving,” he says. “Just because your kid is gifted doesn’t mean your kid will be high-achieving.”

Some students eligible for GATE are what is known as “twice exceptional,” or capable of advanced learning while also having learning differences, such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorder or dyslexia .

Addressing Racial Disparities

Experts say there are many ways school districts can address inequities in how students are placed in gifted and talented programs.

“First, we can remove adult discretion at the beginning of the pathway by eliminating referrals and screening, or (by) considering every student,” says Grissom. Second, “we can ensure that we use assessments that are unbiased and tuned to uncover giftedness, regardless of student background.”

Seale says school systems should use local norms at the individual school level to ensure children attending economically disadvantaged schools have the same opportunities for enrichment as their peers in wealthier neighborhoods. He suggests that students who score in the top 10% of their school could be placed in gifted programs.

“These kids are going to be in the top 10% at their school, whether we decide to nurture that or not,” he says.

Is Gifted Education Right for Your Child?

Belson says that, while GATE programs offer many benefits to students, they may not be right for every child who qualifies. She says parents should consider not just whether a program is academically appropriate for their child but also whether it is a good fit for the child culturally and emotionally.

“Some children may experience poor academic or social self-esteem, given the perceived or real competitiveness within the program,” she says. That can lead to unnecessary stress. “Parents should ensure the educators who facilitate (gifted and talented) programs understand both the content as well as the social and emotional needs of the students in the program,” she adds.

Seale agrees, and says families should not be discouraged if a child is tested but doesn’t make the cut.

“It’s not a death sentence if you’re not gifted, and it’s not the golden goose if you are,” he says.

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How to identify, understand and teach gifted children

Professor, Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University

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John Munro has been a chief researcher on ARC funded projects and has completed contracted projects for Australian educational authorities.

Australian Catholic University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

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This is a longer read at just under 2,000 words. Enjoy!

The beginning of the 2019 school year will be a time of planning and crystal-gazing. Teachers will plan their instructional agenda in a general way. Students will think about another year at school. Parents will reflect on how their children might progress this year.

One group of students who will probably attract less attention are the gifted learners . These students have a capacity for talent, creativity and innovative ideas. They could be our future Einsteins.

They will do this only if we support them to learn in an appropriate way. And yet, there is less likely to be explicit planning and provision throughout 2019 to support these students. They’re more likely to be overlooked or even ignored.

Giftedness in the media

You may have noticed the recent interest in gifted learning and education in the media. Child Genius on SBS provided a glimpse of what the brains of some young students can do.

We can only marvel at their ability to store large amounts of information in memory, spell words correctly they’d probably not heard before and unscramble complex anagrams.

The Insight program on SBS, provided another perspective.

Students identified as gifted explained how they learned and their experiences with formal education. Most accounts pointed to a clear mismatch between how they preferred to learn and how they were taught.

Twice exceptional

The students on the Insight program showed the flipsides of the gifted education story. While some gifted students show high academic success – the academically gifted students, others show lower academic success – the “ twice exceptional ” students.

Many of the most creative people this world has known are twice exceptional . This includes scientists such as Einstein, artists such as Van Gogh, authors such as Agatha Christie and politicians such as Winston Churchill.

Read more: Intellectually gifted students often have learning disabilities

Their achievements are one reason we’re interested in gifted learning. They have the potential to contribute significantly to our world and change how we live. They’re innovators. They give us the big ideas, possibilities and options. We describe their achievements, discoveries and creations as “talent”.

These talented outcomes are not random, lucky or accidental. Instead, they come from particular ways of knowing their world and thinking about it. A talented footballer sees moves and possibilities their opponents don’t see. They think, plan, and act differently. What they do is more than what the coach has trained them to do.

Understanding gifted learning

One way of understanding gifted learning is to unpack how people respond to new information. Let me first share two anecdotes.

A year three class was learning about beetles. We turned over a rock and saw slater beetles scurrying away. I asked:

Has anyone thought of something I haven’t mentioned?

Marcus, a student in the class, asked:

How many toes does a slater have?

Why do you ask that?

Marcus replied:

They are only this long and they’re going very fast. My mini aths coach said that if I wanted to go faster I had to press back with my big toes. They must have pretty big toes to go so quick.

He continued with possibilities about how they might breathe and use energy. Marcus’ teacher reported that he often asked “quirky”, unexpected questions and had a much broader general knowledge than his peers. She had not considered the possibility he might be gifted.

Mike was solving year 12 calculus problems when he was six. He has never attended regular school but was home-schooled by his parents, who were not interested in maths. He learned about quadratic and cubic polynomials from the Khan Academy . I asked him if it was possible to draw polynomials of x to the power of 7 or 8. He did this without hesitation, noting he had never been taught to do this.

Gifted students learn in a more advanced way

People learn by converting information to knowledge. They may then elaborate, restructure or reorganise it in various ways. Giftedness is the capacity to learn in more advanced ways.

First, these students learn faster . In a given period they learn more than their regular learning peers. They form a more elaborate and differentiated knowledge of a topic. This helps them interpret more information at a time.

Second, these students are more likely to draw conclusions from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements. They stimulate parts of their knowledge that were not mentioned in the information presented to them and add these inferences to their understanding.

Read more: Should gifted students go to a separate school?

This is called “ fluid analogising ” or “far transfer”. It involves combining knowledge from the two sources into an interpretation that has the characteristics of an intuitive theory about the information. This is supported by a range of affective and social factors , including high self-efficacy and intrinsic goal setting, motivation and will-power.

Their theories extend the teaching. They’re intuitive in that they’re personal and include possibilities or options the student has not yet tested. Parts of the theory may be incorrect. When given the opportunity to reflect on or field-test them, the student can validate their new knowledge, modify it or reject it.

Marcus and Mike from the earlier anecdotes engaged in these processes. So did Einstein, Churchill, Van Gogh and Christie.

Verbally gifted

A gifted learning profile manifests in multiple ways. Much of the information we’re exposed to is made up of concepts that are linked and sequenced around a topic or theme. It’s formed using agreed conventions. It may be a written narrative, a painting, a conversation or football match. Some students exposed to part of a text infer its topic and subsequent ideas – their intuitive theory about it.

These are the verbally gifted students. In the classroom they infer the direction of the teaching and give the impression of being ahead of it. This is what Mike did when he extended his knowledge beyond what the information taught him. Most of the tasks used in the Child Genius program assessed this. The children used what they knew about spelling patterns to spell unfamiliar words and to unscramble complex anagrams.

Visual-spatially gifted

Other students think about the teaching information in time and space. They use imagery and infer intuitive theories that are more lateral or creative. In the classroom their interpretations are often unexpected and may question the teaching. These are the non-verbally gifted or visual-spatially gifted students.

They frequently do not learn academic or social conventions well and are often twice exceptional. They’re more likely to challenge conventional thinking. Marcus did this when he visualised the slaters with large “beetle toes”.

What we can learn from gifted students

Educators and policy makers can learn from the student voice in the recent media programs. Some of the students on Insight told us their classrooms don’t provide the most appropriate opportunities for them to show what they know or to learn.

The twice exceptional students in the Insight program noted teachers had a limited capacity to recognise and identify the multiple ways students can be gifted. They reminded us some gifted profiles, but not the twice-exceptional profile, are prioritised in regular education.

These students thrive and excel when they have the opportunity to show their advanced interpretations initially in formats they can manage, for example, in visual and physical ways. They can then learn to use more conventional ways such as writing.

Multi-modal forms of communication are important for them. Examples include drawing pictures of their interpretations, acting out their understanding and building models to represent their understanding. The use of diagrams by the the famous physicist Richard Feynman is an example of this.

For students like Mike, adequate formal educational provision simply does not exist. With the development of information communication technology, it would be hoped that in the future adaptive and creative curricula and teaching practices could be developed for those students whose learning trajectories are far from the regular.

As a consequence, we have high levels of disengagement from regular education by some gifted students in the middle to senior secondary years. High ability Australian students under-achieve in both NAPLAN and international testing.

The problem with IQ

Identification using IQ is problematic for some gifted profiles. Some IQ tests assess a narrow band of culturally valued knowledge. They frequently do not assess general learning capacity.

As well, teachers are usually not qualified to interpret IQ assessments. The parents in the Insight program mentioned both the difficulty in having their children identified as gifted and the high costs IQ tests incurred. In Australia, these assessments can cost up to A$475 .

An obvious alternative is to equip teachers and schools to identify and assess students’ learning in the classroom for indications of gifted learning and thinking in its multiple forms. To do this, assessment tasks need to assess the quality, maturity and sophistication of the students’ thinking and learning strategies, their capacity to enhance knowledge, and also what students actually know or believe is possible about a topic or an issue.

Read more: Show us your smarts: a very brief history of intelligence testing

Classroom assessments usually don’t assess this. They are designed to test how well students have learned the teaching, not what additional knowledge the students have added to it.

Gifted students benefit from open-ended tasks that permit them to show what they know about a topic or issue. Such tasks include complex problem solving activities or challenges and open-ended assignments. We are now developing tools to assess the quality and sophistication of gifted students’ knowledge and understanding.

Tips for teachers and parents

Over the course of 2019, teachers can look for evidence of gifted learning by encouraging their students to share their intuitive theories about a topic and by completing open-ended tasks in which they extend or apply what they have learned. This can include more complex problem solving.

During reading comprehension, for example, teachers can plan tasks that require higher-level thinking, including analysis, evaluation and synthesis. Teachers need to assess and evaluate students’ learning in terms of the extent to which they elaborate on the teaching information.

Parents are often the first to notice their child learns more rapidly, remembers more, does things in more advanced ways or learns differently from their peers. Most educators have heard a parent say: “I think my child is gifted.” And sometimes the parent is correct.

Parents can use modern technology to record specific instances of high performance by their children, and share these with their child’s teachers. The mobile phone and iPad provide a good opportunity for video-recording a child’s questions during story time, their interpretations of unfamiliar contexts such as a visit to a museum, drawings or inventions the child produces and how they do this, and ways in which they solve problems in their everyday lives. These records can provide useful evidence later for educators and other professionals.

Read more: Explainer: what is differentiation and why is it poorly understood?

Parents also have a key role to play in helping their child understand what it means to learn differently from one’s peers, to value their interpretations and achievements and how they can interact socially with peers who may operate differently.

It is students’ intuitive theories about information that lead to creative, talented outcomes and innovative products. If an education system is to foster creativity and innovation, teachers need to recognise and value these theories and help these students convert them into a talent. Teachers can respond to gifted knowing and learning in its multiple forms if they know what it looks like in the classroom and have appropriate tools to identify it.

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What Students Are Saying About Gifted Programs, What They’d Like to Study, and the Value of a Dollar

Teenage comments in response to our recent writing prompts, and an invitation to join the ongoing conversation.

By The Learning Network

Welcome to another roundup of student comments on our recent writing prompts .

This week, we asked teenagers whether we should eliminate gifted and talented programs nearly 400 debated the topic. Inspired by an article about a graduate program that focuses solely on the Beatles, we also asked what they would devote a year to studying to if they could choose any subject they liked. And, we invited them to interpret an illustration from the Opinion section that featured an image of a tiny dollar bill.

Thank you to all those who joined the conversation this week from around the world, including teenagers from São Paulo, Brazil ; Valley Stream North High School in Valley Stream, N.Y. ; and Atrisco Heritage Academy High School in Albuquerque .

Please note: Student comments have been lightly edited for length, but otherwise appear as they were originally submitted.

Should We Eliminate Gifted and Talented Programs?

Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City announced this month that the city would phase out its gifted and talented programs in an effort to desegregate its public schools. We asked students if this was the right move and whether schools everywhere should follow New York’s lead.

The conversation was robust. Some students argued that gifted programs were beneficial, while others said they were inherently unfair. Several teenagers made suggestions for improving the selection process and for getting schools to address the needs of all students. Many argued from their own experiences. Here are some highlights.

Gifted and Talented Programs Are Beneficial for Students and Teachers.

Gifted and talented programs should not be eliminated from schools. Having all students in the same class regardless of their advancement in academics creates more work for teachers and might cause students that aren’t advanced to feel uncomfortable. As suggested in the article, an alternative to gifted programs would be having teachers trained to accommodate students who need accelerated learning within the general education classrooms. This means that teachers would have to prep extra lessons for accelerated kids when instead schools could train one or two teachers to teach all the gifted students at once instead of the gifted and general education students. Additionally, students who don’t need accelerated learning might be intimidated by having students in their class that are way ahead of them.

— Hailie, Union High School / Vancouver, WA

This whole notion of who is gifted, not gifted, talented, not talented reminds of the quote, “Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life thinking it is stupid.” In simple terms, everyone has their own unique strong points and that means that not everyone is good at everything. The schooling system as well as the families should realize that it is in our best interest to facilitate the kids who are strong in certain academic fields and let them excel. Promoting academically advanced children does not mean that a child is less in any way just because they are not in a gifted program, it might simply mean their talents lie elsewhere.

— Samin, Hoggard High School, Wilmington NC

Gifted and talented programs are beneficial as they challenge students in a positive manner. I believe these programs should stay as they have many benefits. These programs give students the opportunity to learn at an accelerated pace in which they otherwise would not be given. Students in these programs, would suffer in normal classes as they they would progress slower and lose focus. If they can learn at a faster and more efficient rate they should be allowed to do so. Also, these programs set students that are able to up for future success, as they have experienced a bigger and faster workload to prepare them for secondary education.

— Tom, Farmington High School

I don’t think gifted programs should be eliminated because I believe they can help students to make higher achievements and excel in school. I think Mayor de Blasio is disconnected from the real issue at hand which is that many schools in NYC are underfunded and lack the resources needed to effectively engage students in school and ensure that they do well.

— Victoria, NY

These Programs Create a Divide Among Students.

In elementary school, one of the things that I was most proud of was being part of the “gifted” programs my school had. I remember taking extra tests, being in groups with certain kids, and getting different work than some of the other students. It gave me an opportunity to grow and I think it’s part of why I have such a good work ethic today. This program was probably one of my favorite parts of school, and yet I do think it should be eliminated.

Although they do have their pros, these programs do support segregation, whether it’s unintentional or not. As much as I liked the program, I remember feeling anxious about if I was going to continue to be in it, and if I didn’t, would that mean I’ve somehow changed? Beyond that, I can see the upset looks on the other kids’ faces when they weren’t called to participate. Every child should have an equal opportunity to grow at their own pace. Taking a test that requires any sort of tutoring beforehand isn’t a measurement of what the child knows, but rather what they remembered from their sessions.

— Isabella, Glenbard West High School

I agree with DeBlasio’s decision to eliminate gifted and talented programs in schools. These programs do create a divide between students that shouldn’t exist. They cause immense pressure not only for the gifted student to uphold their reputation as a “perfect” student, but also for the students who do not get into the gifted program, who now feel dumber and like their efforts are not enough compared to their gifted classmates. His idea of offering an accelerated course of learning to elementary students is a much better alternative, as it is giving these gifted students the opportunity to learn at a high level without creating as much of a divide as the gifted programs did.

— Emily, Valley Stream North

The racial and intellectual segregation found in early education has no place in modern society. At a young age, children are still learning the most basic, yet important concepts. Unlike teens at a high school, these children are more reliant on the teacher to learn new things, and especially for young children; school should be a place that promotes positive ideas and messages. Separating these children based on their intellect is neither fair nor morally acceptable.

— Evan, Farmington High School

The Selection Process Is Flawed.

Being tested at this age is less about realizing potential and noticing the ability of kids and more about whether a child is able to receive help from their parents at home. I feel the only reason I was selected was because I was able to spend time with my parents to read books together, or do additional math problems. What about the kids that don’t see their parents everyday? What about those who don’t have parents that speak English? I was only put on this pathway because I was lucky to get these resources at home. Very few students being able to join us because we were constantly ahead. This pathway has conditioned me to think I was smarter than everyone else, which is not the case when I reached high school.

— Aaron, Glenbard West High School

I think the gifted and talented program should be eliminated since it gives a unfair disadvantage to minority and kids who are lowincomed. Usually kids that are in the gifted program are a advantage since they get paid tutors and extra help to practice for the exam to become a gifted student. low-income kids wont be able to afford that type of advantage.

— Cyndi, Miguel Contresas Learning complex

Mr. de Blasio’s plan to include accelerated students into classrooms without separating them is so important. Kids are much more perceptive than we give them credit for and for a student of color seeing the students that don’t look like them being considered more gifted can be shattering and destroy their love for learning unbelievably quickly.

— Grace, Hoggard High School in Wilmington, NC

Gifted Programs Can Be Improved.

Gifted students don’t just have better grades or are “smarter.” We think differently and need a class that accepts that and helps us to use it to our advantage. My gifted class in middle school consisted of 5 students, which allowed the teacher to individualize work and understand my way of thinking. It also gave me a space to work with other neurodivergent kids, so that I didn’t feel as alone. The gifted program is just as important as the classes for students that are at a “lower level.” Although racial segregation is an issue in some situations, I do not believe it is an issue with the system, but rather the teachers referring kids into it. The gifted program, in my experience, is based on students who were referred by their teachers to get an IEP (Individual Education Program), and then tested for the class. It isn’t an exam that anyone can take. That being said, it makes the selection process partially subjective, and teachers responsible could be racially motivated in their referrals. This issue does not call for complete elimination of the gifted program, rather, a new, unbiased selection method.

— Cam, Northwest High School, Wichita, Kansas

I believe that gifted and talented programs should not be eliminated, but rather face adjustments. In my opinion, if students happen to learn at a faster or more advanced place than others, they should be accommodated. However, I am not implying that division should take place. I believe that the test to get into such gifted and talented programs should be eliminated, as they are an unfair measure of advanced learning. For example, someone might not be the best test taker, but still have the capacity for advanced learning.

— Alain, Valley Stream North

The bottom line is this: it is neither right nor fair to force bright and excelling students to slow down because of the discontinuation of the gifted program. Would you force someone to crawl when they can walk? No — and likewise we cannot slow a child’s learning because others can’t keep up. There is a way for classrooms to stay unsegregated while still letting advanced students excel. Although this article is specifically about the New York schools, these children are also the of America, and whatever we decide here on out will dictate their future and the impact they leave on the world.

— Evelyn, Union High School / Vancouver, WA

If You Could Devote a Year to Studying Anything, What Would You Choose?

Would you want to spend a year learning all about the Beatles? A new yearlong postgraduate program in Liverpool, England, invites fans to do just that.

We asked teenagers , if they were given the opportunity to devote a year to studying whatever they wanted, what would they choose? While they weren’t all convinced the Beatles would hold their attention for an entire year, they had other ideas: waterfowl conservation, the Korean language, architecture, astronomy, mariachi music and much more.

Something That Would Benefit Me in the Future

Both learning languages and forensic are something I find truly and deeply amusing, but there’s this one topic I can’t quite seem to grasp: stocks. This is why I would choose this — one-syllable — word to study for a year. On one hand, I hear people talk about the significance of stocks on a daily basis; how it has impacted their lives, how it’s made some millionaires, and how some wouldn’t be where they are without stocks. On the other hand, I have never understood how or why it’s so life-changing. I want to know the answers to my questions, and beyond that, I would like to know how I can use stocks to better my life in the future.

— Rocio, Maryland

If I could devote a year to study anything it would be Waterfowl Conservation, which is preserving and protecting wetlands so that waterfowl and other animals can continue to have places to live and repopulate. My family has always been involved in this, mostly because my father and I have owned lots of land and have used it for duck hunting for as long as we have had it. I’ve always found it very fascinating to be able to work out on our land and see how the wildlife there is in the off-season and I am hoping to keep it going and possibly start my own thing in the future.

— Matt, Hoggard High School

If I could devote a year to studying anything I would study history. Every history from every country and state. Surprisingly my worst subject is history, even though my dad is a historian god. But, I have loved the way he knows so much history on everything, it’s so cool to hold that much information in one brain. I would love to learn all history and just know so much about every country. It really just expands your knowledge and it could benefit you in so many ways. History doesn’t go with my career; I want to help kids with disabilities, but it could help me know more about politics, or about fundraising to which country that needs the most help, or just knowing knowledge about a country you have never been connected with.

— Alex, New Mexico

Language and Languages

¨To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world.¨ Learning a language allows you to make connections between things you may otherwise not have: why words mean what they do, why we pronounce something differently than it sounds, or why that street, Morte Boulevard, always had the best Halloween decorations. I am currently learning French, and I love it, finding that when I read a word or passage, I can pick out key words and understand it…

If I were to spend one year studying any subject with a group of peers equally motivated, it would definitely be a language. If you study on your own, you miss out on conversation, which refreshes and improves your repertoire. Additionally, learning a language prepares you for later in life, no matter what job you have, or where you go, knowledge of a language will always be useful. And because of this, this Chinese proverb still applies today, learning a language not only provides another window into the world, it also opens doors for your future.

— Owen, Union High School/Vancouver, Washington

My answer would be language. There is the Korean language that I’ve been trying to learn, whether it is just small phrases or sentences. It seems really basic and some schools already have language classes but I’ve never seen an American school have a Korean language class. Just learning the Korean language would be useful for me as I want to travel to Korea.

— L, south side highschool

If I had to choose something to study for a year it would probably be linguistics. I’ve always been interested in how language works and why it has so many rules and exceptions. It never occurred to me that this was something that you could study in college until my mom told me about it. I would love to take a class where we studied a bunch of different languages from all over the world and learned where all languages originated from and how it has evolved over thousands of years.

— Lillian, Block 4Hoggard High School, Wilmington, NC

I think that if I could study anything I would study photography, an art that had always fascinated me. To travel around and capture the world’s beauty in pictures would be a life changing experience. You can capture different cultures and unique architecture, capture beautiful life and enriching experiences, you could capture churning dark oceans or deep purple mountains, crazy or sane people, mysterious animals and so much more.

— Jane, Hoggard High School Wilmington NC block1

As someone that enjoys listening to older music, I find a course like the one in the article very fascinating….I think studying the origin of rock all the way from Robert Johnson, to Jimi Hendrix, and modern heavy bands like Metallica. To an outside listener the difference between the melancholic swing of blues and distorted bar chords in metal is extremely distinguishable. However I would like to dive into the middle of that progression, and see subtle changes in how music has changed over the past century. Not many people look deep into a topic like music which is why I find a personal connection to the history of raw talent, and jamming in your parents’ garage.

— Harper, Hoggard High School - Wilmington, NC

I would like to take a whole year to study a subject that I like and would be around other people who also like it—Architecture, whether it was drawing stuff or building stuff, I would love to do that. If you’re in a class with all people that actually care about the subject, then there are less distractions and people messing around because they actually want to be there. Also, it is not only something that I like, but also want to be in the future. It would help me learn more about it and have fun at the same time.

— Jameson, Syracuse, New York

If I could devote a year to study anything, I would study music. I would love to use that year to either improve more on the current instrument I play or learn a new instrument like the violin. I am currently in a mariachi group and I play the vihuela and if I could I would love to use that year to solely focus on that and improve.

— Antonio, New mexico

Science and Social Sciences

I would like to study the ocean because it holds so much we don’t know and it is amazing. The reason I say this is because I would see videos on national geographic of inexplicable sightings of giant things in the ocean. To say we have only searched 5% of our oceans is truly breathtaking and I would want to learn so many things I didn’t know before and help in bad things that are happening in our oceans like oil spillings pollution and coral reefs dying.

— Jesus, Hoggard High School

If I could choose one subject to study for a year, I’d choose Astronomy. I really enjoy outer space, stars, planets, comets, etc. My dream is to go into space and be an astronaut. NASA interests me because I love hearing about the different missions astronauts go on and the different discoveries in space.

— Brianna, Baldwinsville

I’ve still got a few years of school left, but I would like to study the work and things that a forensic psychologist or psychiatrist would do. I’d like to do this to see if forensic psychology is something that I would truly enjoy as a future career. I would see all the things they do in a day. I would love to study under this with a small group of students who share the same feelings I am, like feeling almost sure, but not 100% because I’m still young. I feel like having other kids there would help me because I’ve always felt more comfortable in new places with a group of people.

— Brianna, NY

About That Beatles Degree …

My reaction to a yearlong graduate degree for the Beatles is confused. I don’t know why anyone would want to spend a whole year learning about the Beatles. I can’t even think of a month’s worth of content that they could possibly teach for the class. I think if you’re paying for a college course, it might as well be for something that will be useful in life. I’m not saying the Beatles are not important to our culture, but I don’t think they are important enough to create a whole class around them.

— sadie, New York

I am very curious about how those Beatles fans felt about the Beatles after they took that year-long course. My immediate reaction to the article was that it would be so awesome to be able to completely engulf myself in a hobby or interest of mine for a year, but then as I thought about it, I imagined how I would feel after that course. It’s like when you discover a new song you love, but then listen to it over and over again on repeat. You eventually lose your passion for it! It becomes obsolete, only a faint memory of something you used to enjoy. Although I’m certain it was very exciting to research the Beatles in Liverpool as a die-hard fan, I bet it got very exhausting after a while. I can’t say I would want any of the small things that bring me joy to become like an overplayed song, out-of-date and too familiar.

— Cassidy, Block 3 Hoggard High School, Wilmington NC

What Do You Think This Image Is Saying?

We invited students to consider the image above from our Picture Prompt “ Tiny Dollar ” and share their interpretations of it. Though their responses varied, almost all demonstrated their serious interest in issues of fairness, justice and equality, as well their understanding of the powerful role money plays in the world .

“The Big Hand Isn’t That Generous.”

The image does not depict a tiny dollar, rather a large hand. I believe this hand belongs to a businessman, due to the shirt they are wearing, and since the hand is so large, it is a powerful businessman. To a big corporation, a dollar is tiny- their money is accumulated in the millions and billions, so what’s the worth of one dollar? The answer is, a dollar is worth a lot. To those who need it, a dollar could potentially be life changing. The problem is, all of the money is in the hands of huge corporations who don’t understand the worth of a dollar. This is incredibly relevant in today’s society. Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, both are people with a disgustingly large amount of income, and they just keep gathering every single dollar they can, just to have and to hold. Meanwhile, America lives in ruins with people just needing another dollar to get by. But this can only happen if the big hand gives them the tiny dollar. However, the big hand isn’t that generous.

— Annie, Glenbard West, Glen Ellyn, IL

I think that this picture is providing a commentary on big companies underpaying their employees. I think that it is important to note that the man in the photo is wearing what seems to be a nice suit. This shows that he has plenty of money and yet is choosing to only offer one crumpled dollar. I also think that it was an interesting choice to make the hand be in black and white, even though the rest of the photo is in color. I think that this is to symbolize the big company’s soullessness. The absence of color is synonymous with a lack of life, as these big companies only care about money. I also notice that the background of the photo is green. Since green is usually correlated with money, I think that it symbolizes the emphasis that the modern world puts on money. The world is “made of money” because you can’t survive let alone thrive in life without money.

— Megan, Hoggard High School

The last dollar Where did it go? Crinkled and wrinkled Under the bed Or in a box Or all in your head

The last dollar Who could it have bought? A statesman or a scholar Either way their pockets Are prophets

— Isabel, Hoggard High School

“Money Has a Different Value to Everyone.”

I think this image is saying that money has different value to everyone. The guy holding the dollar is wealthy and I can tell because of his suit. The dollar that he is holding probably means nothing to him. However, the dollar could be very meaningful to someone who is poorer and needs every cent they can get to be able to live.

— OM, New York

For me it seems like people with more money have less value for it because they have plenty of it. Then people with less money have more value for it. It’s interesting to me because no one really fully understands the value of money until they don’t have any because we as people have become so dependent on money considering we need it for everything now.

— JB, New York

“Don’t Let Money Overtake Society.”

I think this image shows that humanity and society should not only be about money and how money should be smaller than society. Since the beginning of civilization, we have become increasingly dependent on money. I think the money is crumpled to show how it has negatively impacted our society. While it has many positive benefits, we typically never look at the negatives. Many examples include the income gap between the rich and poor, power cravings stemming from money, etc. I think the central message of this image is ‘don’t let money overtake society,’ which I believe is a valuable one to remember and understand.

— Vivian, Hong Kong

The small dollar seems to say that money is less important than what people commonly think. In the photo, the hand overcasts the minuscule dollar, making the focal point the hand and again reducing the importance of money. In society today, almost everything that people do is based off of how much many said activity will cost them, or how much money it will make them: jobs, free time activities, and even majors in college are determined by the net change each option would introduce. This image displays both the profound effect money has on society and also the small effect it has on someone’s quality of life. While many people agree that money is very important to them because it allows them to provide for their loved ones, allowing the lust for cash to take over your life isn’t necessarily optimal. Finding the right balance of living life and getting money is something that society as a whole needs to work towards.

— Logan, Glenbard West High School

The small size of the dollar portrays that money is not as valuable as people may think. This picture is depicting that money is just a piece of paper and isn’t really that important. I know that money is our currency, but what if it didn’t have any value? Would you still think that money is really that important anymore? Would you think of money as a piece of paper if it didn’t have any value?

— C., Bronx

“We Should Strive to Be ‘Bigger Than Money.’”

This is an interesting image. The first thing that came to mind when I saw it was how we, as a society, care very deeply about money and where we fall on the spectrum of poor to rich. This is not necessarily a bad thing, because money and wealth are a very large part of our society. But I do think this image is showing how we as a people should be larger than money. We shouldn’t take jobs just because they pay super well, we shouldn’t be making greedy decisions as easily, and don’t worry I know, this is a lot easier said than done. A lot of us were raised being told to either A) Marry rich. Or B) Become rich. Money, as we’ve all heard a million times over, does not buy happiness and we shouldn’t be basing our well-being off on how many cars or houses we have but on the things we do, the people we know, etc. So I believe this image is essentially saying that we should strive to be “bigger than money.”

— Ava, Hoggard High School, Wilmington, NC

This illustration shows me that the money is smaller in comparison to the man or the population. But it is important to say that in a figurative way this image wants to show me that I shouldn’t love money or live for money.

— Gustavo, São Paulo, Brazil

Learn more about Current Events Conversation here and find all of our posts in this column .

Gifted Education

A resource kit for teachers on gifted education, 4.1 accommodations and modifications for students who are gifted.

Students who are gifted and talented often have a wide range of diverse interests coupled with uneven development and distaste for all that is repetitive and unchallenging. Educating those who are gifted and talented requires flexibility on the part of the teacher and the implementation of choice for the student. The whole notion of differentiated education and instruction was first developed to meet the needs of gifted learners (Hutchinson and Martin, page 55) before being implemented for all learners because, just like all learners, gifted students are a heterogeneous population with varying strengths and weaknesses. An entire classroom of gifted learners may only share the characteristics of “having an unusually advanced degree of general intellectual ability” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2001, page A20) and nothing more. As such, those who teach student who are gifted in the regular classroom or otherwise must be flexible in both instruction delivery and demonstration of student knowledge. The focus of these suggestions is to incorporate the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy in a substantial amount to address the cognitive needs of gifted learners. All students require exposure to all levels of the Taxonomy, however, gifted students need to have more time spent in instruction at the higher levels as they often bring a large amount of knowledge to class with them and can learn new knowledge at a faster pace.

Listed below are the typical accommodations and modifications to address the needs of gifted learners. Please note that in curriculum models designed for gifted learners, it is the combination of all accommodations/modifications listed below that is needed and that each accommodation and/or modification is not a total curriculum program for gifted students.

1. Tiered Assignments

Tiered assignments refer to assignments that are graduated or tiered by level of difficulty or completeness. Creating a tiered assignment in either a self-contained or regular classroom allows for all levels of learners to complete the same assignment to the best of their ability. Creating an assignment in this manner allows the teacher to present content at varying levels of complexity as well as allows students to present their knowledge in varying ways of complexity. An example of a tiered assignment in younger grades given in Hutchinson and Martin (2012) would be to have one group of students investigate the magnetic properties of various household objects while another group of students could add the complexity of determining the affect of magnet size on magnetic strength. In this way both groups of students are learning about magnets at their varying levels of understanding and comprehension.

  2. Open-Ended Assignments

 Open-Ended Assignments refer to giving the student choice as to how far they take their own learning-making them both responsible and accountable for their own education. In this way, students can be given choice of both assignment content and product delivery. An example of an open-ended assignment would be to have students research their favorite animal. All students may provide information of diet and habitat but the option for gifted learners to go one step further in their research, in terms of mating cycles, destruction of habitat for example, as well as the ability to present their knowledge in a unique way allows for the potential of the further depth and breadth needed for gifted learners.

3. Enrichment (Independent Study, Independent Research, Sophistication of Projects)

Enrichment is the modification most used in programs for gifted and talented learners at the elementary and secondary level (Clark, page 407) and refers to adding disciplines or areas of learning not normally found in the regular curriculum. Enrichment encourages gifted students to focus on the upper levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy-analysis, synthesis and evaluation-in their learning. Independent study falls under the category of enrichment along with individually chosen projects to match the interests of the gifted student. The introduction of research skills and critically thinking skills along with multidisciplinary connections are often taught as a way to enrich the program for gifted learners. Enrichment is theoretically the least expensive method of meeting some of the needs of gifted learners; however, it has the potential to become nothing more than more work for the student and as such it is only effective when used in conjunction with other methods as part of a differentiated curriculum plan. Examples of enrichment include allowing the student to complete an independent project and display their findings around the school (a gym poster, a presentation etc), allowing students to display their work in a more sophisticated means (as a flyer, in a spreadsheet for data, as a website or video), and allowing the student to research a topic independently at the library or on a classroom computer.

  4. Acceleration (Telescoping, Compacting, Ability or Need Grouping)

Acceleration refers to educating the student at their level of ability rather than chronological age. This can take many forms and can be in one or more areas depending on the nature of the gifted student’s development. Students can be accelerated by having early entrance into school, skipping grades, or by being placed in a higher grade for a particular subject or discipline. They can also accelerate through the rate at which they are learning-commonly referred to as telescoping. Because gifted students are often “quick learners” it is possible to have them learn both what is required of them in their current grade and then move on to what is taught in the following grade. The usual result is the gifted student finishes their required school in less time than is typically needed. Research has shown that gifted learners are inclined to identify with those older than themselves and as such, acceleration into higher grades with older students is a viable option with positive consequences both academically and socially. Grouping by ability is another form of acceleration that allows the gifted learner to be placed with students of similar ability rather than chronological age and can take the form of a pullout program, special schools or classroom or clustering within a regular classroom. There is extensive research that shows that gifted learners benefit greatly from interaction with their intellectual peers, which makes grouping by ability a viable accommodation from both an academic and social perspective.

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How to Support Gifted Students in Your Classroom

Helping gifted students achieve their best.

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Technically all students, according to developmental psychologists Abraham Maslow and Howard Gardener, are gifted at something. But within the realm of what happens in the classroom, a teacher can help those superstars shine even brighter by simply adding a few additional strategies to their teaching repertoire.

Super heroes see through walls, lift cars, jump high, and even fly. What amazing things can our students do? Are we helping them to see through the unimportant? Do we assist them in lifting their standards from the minimum to their maximum? Do we teach them how to jump over educational obstacles and hurdles? Do we show them how high their imaginations can fly?

Identify the Gift. Recognize it. Accept it and Utilize it.

In order to do this, we have to be observant enough to notice student potential in what ever form it is demonstrated. Teachers in general are aware that giftedness is not always found in the eager beavers of the class. Identifying the student gift for what it is takes a teacher that is not so concerned about controlling student behavior but rather is more concerned about channeling it.

A simple statement of fact, "Your ideas seem to flow easily from one to the next" will have a powerful effect on a student. Aiding a student to identify and recognize their academic gifts early on gives students the necessary resilience to persist in the difficult task of learning.

Accepting that the student has a gift is somewhat more difficult. In this age of equality, teachers feel that praising a student above others is detrimental to the other students. This could not be further from the truth. Students have a need to exceed and innately understand that each exceeds differently. The detriment of this mentality is that the truly gifted students are shackled and not allowed to explore their gifts, or even worse, accept them.

A student who believes he has a gift will pursue it, regardless of whether he, in fact, has a gift. Gary A. Davis explains in his book, Gifted Children and Gifted Education: A Handbook for Teachers and Parents that teachers must engage gifted students at different levels according to their needs. This is often an ignored spectrum of differentiation.

Best Teacher for the Job?

Some teachers view gifted students as nuisances, while other teachers are intimidated by them. In truth, the effective instruction of gifted students requires a gifted teacher. This does not mean that the teacher has to be smarter, more talented or more able than the students. It means that the teacher must be able to teach in a gifted and intuitive manner.

Such a skilled teacher will help the student utilize his own giftedness and will channel resources and enhanced learning opportunities towards that student that will enlarge the student's natural gifts in ways that the students did not even realize existed. Such a teacher will push gifted students to higher personal standards rather than just giving them more work to do or forcing them to tutor other students who are less capable.

I thank the teachers I have had that were able to do that and gave me the resilience to keep going in school and my education. For example, I had a college teacher that noticed my writing ability and encouraged me to continue. Her simple statements are engraved in my memory and serve as a motivation even today.

How do you identify, recognize, accept and utilize giftedness in your classroom?

Gifted Student Essay

Introduction.

The paper is a report about policies and practices needed to be in place to help meet the needs and aspirations of gifted students with special needs. To successfully accomplish this, the report is divided into two sections. The first section is a synthesis of relevant literature to special population who are gifted. The other section is the main report; policies and practice that flow logically from the literature synthesis.

The proposed policies and practice will ensure that there are mechanisms to ensure that teachers work successfully with gifted student, working well with special needs students, working successfully with students at risk and finally to appreciate cultural differences in a class.

Gifted student although has no globally agreed definition, are those students or learners who have or exhibit intellectual capabilities that are significantly higher than average (Alexinia & Wilma, 1998). On the other hand students from special population are those individuals who are challenged by a number of issues such as disabilities as a result of health conditions for instance autism (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2004).

An example of gifted student is one who has exceptional talent and capabilities in mathematics but have very poor skills and knowledge in languages. It is worth noting that although it is fun to teach gifted student; it is a times very challenging for teachers especially if the students are disabled (Westwood, 2003).

On the same note, striking a balance between meeting the needs of gifted student who are disabled is very challenging and can be a nightmare to teacher if well established strategies, policies and practices are not well brought forth.

It is unfortunate to note that in the recent past, students with special needs were not included in normal classrooms. The reason was that they were segregated in special classrooms or centres in which they were only allowed to have very little contact with the other normal students.

Since then laws have been brought forth that encouraged and made it mandatory for special population students to be provided with a learning environment that is less restrictive (Bowe, 2005). This meant that special need students were to be mainstreamed to the greatest possible extent in terms of learning.

As a result of this legislation, more special need students formed part of the ordinary school life. Any successful school will not only be judged on academic performance but also how the different students are treated; for that reason there is need to factor in the needs of both gifted students who are from special need population (King, 2005).

Literature review

Australia recognized that student with disabilities were being mistreated in public schools and were not being given an equal opportunity to compete with their counterparts. The country has a system of education where children of the same age bracket are grouped in a class and subjected to learning experiences that are designed to help the learners’ progress with the aim of attaining specific standards.

Ultimately after a period of 12 to 13 years, learners are awarded with Australian Certificate of Education (Porter 2005). It is no doubt that schools help students attain their maximum potential and to do this Australia has realized that it can only be done by ensuring that equity is the guiding principle where all learners are provided with equal access to appropriate education.

It is worth noting that children of the same age group will differ significantly in a number of ways; this include academic abilities, physical abilities, developmental stages, emotions among others. For this reason, schools find themselves being challenged when dealing with such a diverse group of learners who exhibit very different and wide academic abilities.

Ideally all students who are disabled are entitled to free and appropriate public education in an environment that is least restrictive. Traditionally, for this to be realized professional from education agency usually arrange a meeting with the parents of the affected student and craft ways in which the student will be assisted (Lovecky, 2007).

In the recent past the country has realized that there is increased number of enrolment of disabled student in public school, thanks to the policies and regulations passed by the government, improved medical technology, changes in demographic trends among others (King, 2005).

It is worth noting that there are a number of disabilities that despite affecting the individuals, these persons are capable of exhibiting certain exceptional talents.

These disorders as suggested by Coleman, Harradine & King, 2005 include specific learning disabilities, language impairment, autism, developmental disabilities, intellectual impairment, disability in emotions or behaviours, visual impairment, deafness or blindness, traumatic brain injury, multiple disabilities attention deficit disorder, physical impairment or orthopaedic disabilities and dual sensory impairment (King, 2005).

Special education and gifted students in the Australia

At present the country has close to 0.5 million gifted students; about a quarter of them exhibit some form of disabilities (Porter, 2011). Although there have been tremendous efforts over the years to ensure that disabled learners who are gifted and talented get equal learning opportunities, Australia has no bill of rights aimed at protecting the rights of these individuals.

For that reason, the education sector in Australia did not have binding obligations for inclusive education. It was until Australia signed the international conventions and conferences that endorsed inclusive education for learners with disabilities that it begun seriously thinking of the disabled students who exhibited extra ordinary capabilities.

It was the gifted and talented children and students policy which was designed to help all students who were talented and gifted that marked a change on how education sector handled students with disabilities and at the same time were gifted. The policy was aimed at ensuring that student attain their full academic, personal and social potential (Porter, 2005).

The policy also help bring forth procedures and guidelines on how to identify this group of student as well as the manner with which to provide them with appropriate curriculum and academic pathway.

Other land mark changes in Australia with regards to educating gifted individual include the following; the Australian strategic plan 2004-2014 whose central focus is to improve learners outcomes, retention levels and psychological wellbeing, DECS statement of direction which aimed at encouraging a very strong beginning, excellence in teaching, active engagement as well as wellbeing.

Additionally, the Aboriginal strategy 2005-2010 helped ensure that individual learning plan is developed. More importantly, the student with disability policy recognized that gifted students with certain learning difficulties or physical impairments could be hindered to attained their maximum potential, thus the policy sought to come up with ways on how to overcome the challenges facing this group of individuals (Porter, 2011).

It is worth noting that individuals deemed gifted despite the fact that they are affected by previously mention disorders, exhibit the following characteristics; they learn quickly, deeply and broadly than their counterparts (Ford & Tarek, 2003) Additionally as suggested by Johnsen, 2004 students who are gifted are capable of learning how to read at a tender age and do what normal children older than them can do.

This group of individuals are capable of showing unique abilities when it comes to reasoning, being very creative, curious, using significantly wide range of vocabulary as well as demonstrating excellent memory. Gifted children always master ideas and concepts without many repetitions (Krochak & Ryan, 2007).

Gifted individuals show a great deal of perfectionism. On top of this they are very sensitive to emotions and can question relevant authorities on a number of issues. A section of these individuals usually find it very difficult to communicate with their peers as a result of differences in vocabulary and for that matter prefer mingling with older people.

It is important to remember that the concept of giftedness is not evenly distributed meaning that one can be very good in mathematics and dealing with logic problems and be very poor in spelling and language. Additionally it is during the preschool years that one start exhibiting giftedness (Ford &Tarek, 2003).

Gifted individuals also exhibit a number of sensitivity as well as discriminating responsiveness; these may include “sensitivity to light, sound, touch, sight or even smell and movements” (Johnsen, 2004).

Concern of the teacher about gifted disabled children

Being a teacher to one or more disabled student in a mainstream class is a challenge that needs high level of not only professionalism but also tolerance and understanding of the different needs of these students. Teachers are always concerned about how to change the teaching curriculum to accommodate those who are disabled and exhibit exceptional talents in various fields.

For instance, they are compelled to strike a balance between catering for a gifted student in mathematics who is disabled and another who is poor in arithmetic but does very well in spelling and languages. Another concern that is central to this profession is caring for the diverse needs of these students (Westwood, 2003).

It is a fact that in Australia, there has been increased enrolment of disabled students from different cultural background. With this in mind, there is need for teachers to ensure that the differences in culture are factored in when dealing with disabled students.

Additionally teachers are compelled to be in line with the provision of scrutinizing students’ academic performance in basic subjects such as mathematics and languages (Taylor & Whittaker, 2003). On the same note teachers are concerned with issues relating to the behaviour of students with disabilities.

They contend that there are some who behave in extremely dangerous manner that not only impacts on their own lives but those of others and the teachers (Heller, 2000).

There is also a concern about a lack of adequate training, time, personal resources and experience that makes them feel capable of dealing with disabled students who are gifted in one way or another. Lastly, the issue of funding is another serious concern for teachers who deal with disabled students as they need to be accountable among other central issues (Coleman, Harradine & King, 2005).

Policy and practice

It is worth noting that various practices and policies have been proposed to deal with gifted students and those who are disabled. However, none of these policies and practices are coined in dealing with those students who are gifted and exhibiting some form of disabilities.

There has always been a need to ensure that disabled children are provided an access to education on the same basis as their counterparts with no disabilities and with reasonable accommodations and adjustments (Gross, 2008).

There is need to ensure that funding from the federal government is consistent and well accounted for. Without money, nothing can be successfully accomplished even if there is will from all other relevant stakeholders. It is encouraging to note that the prime minister recently announced a $200 million boost to fund spatial education.

This should not be a one time even rather a consistent one with annual increment according to the increasing number of students. On the same note, the relevant stakeholders staring from the ministry of education, schools principals opt to be very transparent and accountable for money and other facilities they are provided with (Taylor & Whittaker, 2003).

Since there have been discrepancies on the amount of funding to independent school and the public ones, government should allocate funds equally in these two kinds of schools so that all learners who are gifted and are disabled receive equal opportunities.

Teachers training

Since teaching disabled students who are gifted is a challenging task, it would be rational for government through the ministry of education to strictly develop minimum requirements for individuals who wish to work with such children before they are extensively trained.

On the same note, government should allocate funds for adequately training teachers who will later deal with gifted students who are disabled. A program should also be in place to periodically evaluate the teachers and identify areas where they will need re-training. This will ensure that we have qualified and adequate resources in terms of human workforce (Nielson, 2002).

Effective partnership and collaboration

It is a fact that unity is strength. To adequately meet the needs of this group of students, there is need to ensure that various stakeholders especially the ministry of education, various Non-Governmental Organization, parents and the general community join hands in all aspects that concern learning of special and gifted students.

Forming partnership for instances with churches, other higher institution of learning will help carryout studies to identify factors for instance that will help encourage these learners to thrive and develop academically, physically and socially.

Inclusive practice

It is worth noting that even if all major policies are brought forth, not having an inclusive practice strategy will render these policies useless. The practice refers to all efforts made by the school and the community at large in ensuring that students and their parent feel accommodated and welcomed (Seon-Young & Olszewski-Kubilius, 2009).

Inclusive practice will help ensure that when participation becomes a serious issue for students as a result of disability, then it would be rational to widen the mainstream thinking, structures and practices to accommodate these students instead of coming up with special programs.

Ideally, the concept involves changing the mindset of the societies, schools and students on how to help disabled children attained meaningful learning outcomes as individuals and as groups (Cortiella, 2009).

The practice will also ensure that leadership in schools develop visions that are sensitive to the unity while emphasizing the significance of relationships. Additionally, the practice will ensure that the culture of inclusion is developed and nurtured. This can be attained by developing staff capacity to include learners, foster collaboration with other relevant partners such as parents and educational professionals (Heller, 2000).

There is a need to start by making teachers aware of the significance of them being personally inclusive of the disabled gifted students, treating them in a manner that is human, disregarding labels and applying what they have learnt as the best practice (Colangelo & Davis, 2003).

I propose the following in order for inclusive practice to be realized; teachers need to work chiefly from the basis of students’ strength and not their disabilities. This ensures that teachers are always focused on strategies that will enhance and support learning (Nielson, 2002).

Secondly there is need for the relevant authorities to operate in a manner that is genuine, very flexible as well as responsive to the affected individuals. This will contribute to bringing in a lot of creativity in developing interesting as well as exciting challenges to disabled students.

Employing a variety of teaching techniques, using exploiting approaches that are effective for all students instead of being rigid to some traditional standards will help in developing an inclusive practice (Cortiella, 2009).

Other strategies and policies

As suggested by Westwood, 2003 there is need to modify learning process for gifted students who are disabled.

This can be attained by giving learners a loose structure which will allow them to take the project to whatever extend, allow gifted students to work together, using technology more often where appropriate, setting up a rapid pace for instruction, being flexible in the nature of assignment given to talented students as well as focusing on higher level thinking skills throughout the course.

It is also advisable that gifted students be put in a group with less gifted individuals to act as tutors; however there is need to set boundaries on this (Gottlieb, 1978). Teachers should also work very closely with parents of gifted students who are disabled to help them understand their needs as well as reducing possible frustrations in situations where the lessons do not match their expectations (Gross, 2008).

Additionally there is need to extensively talk with every student about his or her concerns. This will encourage free communication between teachers and their students. Being sensitive to the needs and aspirations of disabled and gifted students is called for. For instance ensuring that they are in a position where they can comfortably see or hear with no distraction (Colangelo & Davis, 2003).

It is also mandatory for the relevant stakeholders such as teachers and instructors to fully accept learners’ shortcomings and strive to help them overcome them as well as being proactive in addressing issues relating to this group of learners. More importantly teachers opt to provide their students with immediate feedback regarding an assignment they have completed (Seon-Young & Olszewski-Kubilius, 2009).

Similarly teachers dealing with gifted students who are disabled need to work closely with para-educators. Lastly, special needs population academic achievement should be evaluated after every term so that it would be possible to establish areas that need adjustments (Bowe, 2005).

From the review of the issue of gifted students who are disabled, there has been tremendous effort to ensure that these students are provided with quality education in a free and less restrictive environment.

However the practices and policies developed addressed either students who were gifted only or those in need of special attention as a result of a number of disorders. This paper has proposed practices and policies that would help students who are disabled and are gifted to adequately meet their needs and aspirations academically and socially.

Alexinia, Y. & Wilma, V. 1998, The many faces of giftedness: Lifting the mask, London: Wadsworth Publishing

Bowe, F. 2005, Making Inclusion Work . New York: Prentice Hall.

Colangelo, N. & Davis, G. 2003, Handbook of gifted education, Boston: Pearson education, Inc.

Cortiella, C. 2009, The state of learning disabilities . New York, NY: National Centre for Learning Disabilities.

Ford, D. & Tarek, G. 2003, Providing access for culturally diverse gifted students: from deficit to dynamic. Thinking Theory Into Practice 42(3), pp. 23-29.

Gottlieb, J. 1978, Placement in the least restrictive environment. In Criteria for the evaluation of the least restrictive environment provision . Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Education for the Handicapped, Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

Gross, C., Rinn, A. & Jamieson, K. 2008, Gifted adolescents’ overexcitabilities and self-concepts. Journal of Gifted Education , 29(1), pp. 14-27.

Heller, K., Mönks, F. & Sternberg, J. 2000, International handbook of giftedness and talent , Amsterdam: Pergamon.

Johnsen, S. 2004, Identifying gifted students: a practical guide, Waco, Texas: Prufrock Press, Inc.

King, E. 2005, Addressing the social and emotional needs of twice-exceptional students. Council for Exceptional Children , 28(1), pp. 16-20.

Krochak, L. & Ryan, T. 2007, The challenge of identifying gifted/learning disabled students. International Journal of Special Education , 22(3), pp. 44-53.

Lovecky, D. 2007, Different minds: gifted children with Ad/Hd, asperger syndrome, and other learning deficits , New York: Jessica Kingsly Publishers.

Mastropieri, & Scruggs, T. 2004, The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective instruction . NY: Pearson.

Nielson, M. 2002, Gifted students with learning disabilities: Recommendations for identification and programming. Exceptionality , 10(2), pp. 93-111.

Porter, L. 2005, Young gifted children: Meeting their needs. Watson, ACT: Early Childhood Australia.

Porter, L. 2011, ‘Giftedness in the early years’. In D. McAlpine & R. Moltzen (Eds.) Gifted and talented: New Zealand perspectives. (3rd ed.) Auckland, NZ: Pearson Education.

Seon-Young, L. & Olszewski-Kubilius, P. 2009, Follow-up with students after 6 years of participation in project EXCITE. The Gifted Child Quarterly , 53(2), pp. 137.

Taylor, L. & Whittaker, C. 2003, Bridging multiple worlds: Case studies of diverse educational communities , Allyn and Bacon: New York 2003.

Westwood, P. 2003, Commonsense methods for children with special educational needs: Strategies for the regular classroom. London & New York: Routledge Falmer.

• Narrative Communication in the Teaching and Learning Process
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• Benefits of Differentiated Curriculum in the Gifted Classroom
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Home — Essay Samples — Education — Middle School — An Overview of the Gifted and Talented Middle School Students

An Overview of The Gifted and Talented Middle School Students

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Trauma-informed practices in schools, teacher well-being, cultivating diversity, equity, & inclusion, integrating technology in the classroom, social-emotional development, covid-19 resources, invest in resilience: summer toolkit, civics & resilience, all toolkits, degree programs, trauma-informed professional development, teacher licensure & certification, how to become - career information, classroom management, instructional design, lifestyle & self-care, online higher ed teaching, current events, how to engage gifted and talented students in the classroom.

Giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. The federal government defines gifted children as “those who give evidence of high achievement capability in such areas as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields.” However, there aren’t any national standards for identifying gifted students, and it’s usually left to states or school districts to recognize gifted children and determine what programs best meet their academic needs.

Characteristics of gifted students

Gifted students learn at a faster pace than regular students and also tend to finish their assignments more quickly and crave more intellectually challenging assignments. They also may act out in class if bored or understimulated.  Gifted children span all races, genders, ethnicities and socioeconomic levels. According to the National Association for Gifted Children, six to 10 percent of the student population is academically gifted or talented.

Gifted and talented students in the classroom

Gifted learners are least likely to receive special attention from teachers. Research shows when teachers differentiate instruction, they are most likely to do so with students who are struggling academically, because they perceive this group to be most in need of help. Additionally, not all teachers are prepared to support gifted students. A national study by the Fordham Institute found that 58 percent of teachers have not received training focused on teaching academically advanced students in the past few years.

Lesson plans for gifted and talented students

Here are a few instructional strategies and activities to use with gifted students:

• Design your lessons with Bloom’s Taxonomy in mind . For gifted students, construct activities from the two upper levels: creating and evaluating. For example, activities could include conducting an experiment, designing a game or musical composition or writing an editorial about a current events topic.
• Assign independent projects . When your gifted students finish class assignments early, allow them to work on special projects. Assign topics that are of special interest to your students and have them explore the topic in depth.
• Ask intellectually stimulating questions . When constructing your lesson plan, write questions that are open-ended and require more thoughtful responses.
• Find mentors . Gifted students need guides just like other students. Find an adult who can help your student explore a subject of interest more deeply. This mentor can serve as an advisor, counselor and role model to the student. Ask other teachers and parents for recommendations or contact a local organization.
• Organize cluster groups . Research shows gifted students of the same grade benefit from being grouped together. As a way to combine resources, teachers can shift gifted students from different classrooms into one group to learn about a specific topic in more depth. This method works best with teachers who are specially trained to work with gifted students and have minimal distractions from other students in the class.

Related: 4 Tips for Teaching Gifted and Talented Students

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Neag School of Education

Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development

Reflections on the education of gifted and talented students in the twentieth century: milestones in the development of talent and gifts in young people, sally m. reis university of connecticut professor, educational psychology, university of connecticut president of the national association for gifted children.

In the recently released federal report on the status of education for our nation’s most talented students entitled National Excellence, A Case for Developing America’s Talent (O’Connell-Ross, l993), a quiet crisis is described in the education of talented students in the United States. The report clearly indicates the absence of attention paid to this population: “Despite sporadic attention over the years to the needs of bright students, most of them continue to spend time in school working well below their capabilities. The belief espoused in school reform that children from all economic and cultural backgrounds must reach their full potential has not been extended to America’s most talented students. They are underchallenged and therefore underachieve” (p. 5). The report further indicates that our nation’s talented students are offered a less rigorous curriculum, read fewer demanding books, and are less prepared for work or postsecondary education than top students in many other industrialized countries. Given this depressing appraisal, it seems a timely endeavor to reflect upon the most important accomplishments in the field of gifted education in the twentieth century. The following accomplishments emerge as major accomplishments on my list.

For many years, psychometricians and psychologists, following in the footsteps of Lewis Terman in 1916, equated giftedness with high IQ. This “legacy” survives to the present day, in that giftedness and high IQ continue to be equated in some conceptions of giftedness. Since that early time, however, other researchers (e.g., Cattell, Guilford, and Thurstone) have argued that intellect cannot be expressed in such a unitary manner, and have suggested more multifaceted approaches to intelligence (Wallace & Pierce, 1992). Research conducted in the 1980s and 1990s has provided data which support notions of multiple components to intelligence. This is particularly evident in the reexamination of “giftedness” by Sternberg and Davidson (1986) in their edited Conceptions of Giftedness . The 16 different conceptions of giftedness presented (those of Albert and Runco; Bamberger; Borkowski and Peck; Csikszentmihalyi and Robinson; Davidson; Feldhusen; Feldman and Benjamin; Gallagher and Courtwright; Gruber; Haensly, Reynolds, and Nash; Jackson and Butterfield; Renzulli; Stanley and Benbow; Sternberg; Tannenbaum; and Walters and Gardner), although distinct, are interrelated in several ways. Most of the investigators define giftedness in terms of multiple qualities, not all of which are intellectual. IQ scores are often viewed as inadequate measures of giftedness. Motivation, high self-concept, and creativity are key qualities in many of these broadened conceptions of giftedness (Siegler & Kotovsky, 1986).

Howard Gardner’s (1983) theory of multiple intelligences (MI) and Joseph Renzulli’s (1978) “three ring” definition of gifted behavior serve as precise examples of multifaceted and expanded conceptualizations of intelligence and giftedness. Gardner’s definition of an intelligence is “the ability to solve problems, or create products, that are valued within one or more cultural settings” (Gardner, 1993, p. x). Within his MI theory, he articulates at least seven specific intelligences: linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Gardner believes that people are much more comfortable using the term “talents” and that “intelligence” is generally reserved to describe linguistic or logical “smartness”; however, he does not believe that certain human abilities should arbitrarily qualify as “intelligence” over others (e.g., language as an intelligence vs. dance as a talent) (Gardner, 1993).

Renzulli’s (1978) definition, which defines gifted behaviors rather than gifted individuals, is composed of three components as follows:

Characteristics which may be manifested in Renzulli’s three clusters are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Taxonomy of Behavioral Manifestations of Giftedness According to Renzulli’s “Three-ring” Definition of Gifted Behaviors

• high levels of abstract thought
• adaptation to novel situations
• rapid and accurate retrieval of information

Above Average Ability (specific)

• applications of general abilities to specific area of knowledge
• capacity to sort out relevant from irrelevant information
• capacity to acquire and use advanced knowledge and strategies while pursuing a problem

Task Commitment

• capacity for high levels of interest, enthusiasm
• hard work and determination in a particular area
• self-confidence and drive to achieve
• ability to identify significant problems within an area of study
• setting high standards for one’s work
• fluency, flexibility and originality of thought
• open to new experiences and ideas
• willing to take risks
• sensitive to aesthetic characteristics

(adapted from Renzulli & Reis, 1997, p. 9)

The United States federal government also subscribed to a multifaceted approach to giftedness as early as 1972 when the Marland Report definition was passed (Public Law 91-230, section 806). The Marland , or “U.S. Department of Education,” definition has dominated most states’ definitions of giftedness and talent (Passow & Rudnitski, 1993). The most recent federal definition was cited in the Jacob K. Javitz Gifted and Talented Students Education Act of 1988, and is discussed in the most recent national report on the state of gifted and talented education:

Though many school districts adopt this or other broad definitions as their philosophy, others still only pay attention to “intellectual” ability when both identifying and serving students. And, even though we have more diverse definitions of giftedness and intelligence today, many students with gifts and talents go unrecognized and underserved (Hishinuma & Tadaki, 1996; Kloosterman, 1997) perhaps due to the differing characteristics found in intellectually gifted, creatively gifted, and diverse gifted learners.Common themes identified by the implicit theorists include the need to identify the domain that serves as the basis of one’s definition, whether individual or societal; the essential role that cognitive abilities and motivation play in giftedness; the importance of the developmental course of one’s talents for whether or how they are expressed; and the inevitability of how one’s abilities come together or coalesce as affected by societal forces (Sternberg & Davidson, 1986, pp. 6–7).

Sternberg’s explicit theoretic approach emphasizes three aspects of intellectual giftedness: the superiority of mental processes, including metacomponents relating intelligence to the internal world of the individual; superiority in dealing with relative novelty and in automating information processing, an experiential aspect relating cognition to one’s level of experience in applying cognitive processes in particular tasks or situations; and superiority in applying the processes of intellectual functioning, as mediated by experience, to functioning in real-world contexts, a contextual aspect. Sternberg believes that “the outward manifestation of giftedness is in superior adaptation to, shaping of and selection of environments” (1986, p. 9) and would agree with Renzulli and Tannenbaum that it can be attained in a number of ways, differing from one person to another. Recurrent themes among the explicit theorists include questioning the cognitive bases of giftedness-asking “what is it that a person can do well to be identified by this term” (Sternberg & Davidson, 1986, p. 10)-and emphasizing the importance of theory-driven empirical research as the primary means for advancing our understanding of giftedness (pp. 10–11).

Feldman (1986), like Csikszentmihalyi and Robinson, views development as a movement through a sequence of stages. Feldman, however, believes that the development of giftedness is domain specific, observing that the movement through the levels of a domain not mastered by all individuals includes three forms: the rate at which one moves to the level of mastery, the number of levels one achieves, and the domain one selects. According to Feldman, giftedness “is the outcome of a sustained coordination among sets of intersecting forces, including historical and cultural as well as social and individual qualities and characteristics” (p. 303). Walters and Gardner (1986) add the concept of crystallizing experiences that is derived from Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. According to Gardner (1983), all normal individuals are capable of seven forms of intellectual accomplishment: linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. These multiple intelligences manifest themselves early in life as abilities to process information in certain ways. During crystallized experiences, latent skills of underutilized intelligence may be activated, and an individual’s major life activities may change as a result of such an experience.

Bloom and his associates at the University of Chicago also engaged in a study of the development of talent in children, examining the processes by which young people who reached the highest levels of accomplishment developed their capabilities. Groups studied included concert pianists, sculptors, research mathematicians, research neurologists, Olympic swimmers, and tennis champions who attained these high levels of accomplishment before the age of 35. According to Bloom and his associates, the following factors play a role in the development of talent: the home environment, which develops the work ethic and the importance of doing one’s best at all times; the encouragement of parents in a highly approved talent field; the involvement of families and teachers; and the presence of achievement and progress, which are necessary to maintain a commitment to talent over a decade of increasingly difficult learning (Bloom, 1985, pp. 508–509).

The importance of development throughout the lifespan of the individual is reinforced by each of these developmental theorists, as is the domain-specific nature of giftedness. Gifted individuals are seen as those who can excel usually in one domain, providing that the environmental factors allow this excellence to manifest itself. These developmental psychologists also emphasize the insights gained from intensive case study research and qualitative or naturalistic methodology.

The accomplishments of the last 40 years in the education of gifted students since the launching of Sputnik in the United States should not be underestimated; the field of education of the gifted, although still historically in its infancy, has emerged as strong, visible, and viable. The most recent comprehensive United States Gifted and Talented Education Report (Council of State Directors, 1994) shows that 47 states, plus Puerto Rico and Guam, have recognized education of the gifted and talented through specific legislation, and the same number of states have assigned state department of education staff to leadership positions in this area. Twenty-nine states have either a policy or position statement from the state board of education supporting the education of the gifted and talented. The report also shows that since 1963, when Pennsylvania first required services for the gifted and talented, 24 other states and Guam have implemented a mandate for services. Twenty-two other states that do not have a mandate support permissive (discretionary) programs for the gifted and talented. This growth has not been constant, however, researchers and scholars in the field have pointed to various high and low points of national interest and commitment to educating the gifted and talented (Gallagher, 1979; Renzulli, 1980; Tannenbaum, 1983). Gallagher described the struggle between support and apathy for special programs for this population as having roots in historical tradition-the battle against an aristocratic elite and our concomitant belief in egalitarianism. Tannenbaum portrays two peak periods of interest in the gifted as the five years following Sputnik in 1957 and the last half of the decade of the 1970s. Tannenbaum described a valley of neglect between the peaks in which the public focused its attention on the disadvantaged and the handicapped. “The cyclical nature of interest in the gifted is probably unique in American education. No other special group of children has been alternately embraced and repelled with so much vigor by educators and laypersons alike” (Tannenbaum, 1983, p.16). Renzulli (1980) raised similar concerns when comparing the gifted child movement with the progressive education movement of the 1930s and 1940s, stating that the field has been alternately embraced and rejected by general educators, parents, and laypeople, and he offers suggestions for dealing with some of the criticisms leveled at proponents of a differentiated education for gifted and talented students. “Simply stated, the field of education for the gifted and talented must develop as strong and defensible a rationale for the practices it advocates as has been developed for those things that it is against” (p. 3).

Excellent educational research continues to be conducted by scholars in the field and at research-based university programs. In the mid-seventies, only one programming model had been developed for gifted programs; by 1986, a textbook on systems and models for gifted programs included 15 models for elementary and secondary programs (Renzulli, 1986b). The Jacob Javits Legislation passed in 1990 by the federal government resulted in the creation of a National Research Center for the Gifted and Talented which involves three universities (The University of Connecticut and Yale University, state departments of education in every state and a consortium of over 300 school districts from across the country.

Too often, the majority of young people participating in gifted and talented programs across the country continue to represent the majority culture in our society. Few doubts exist regarding the reasons that economically disadvantaged and other minority group students are underrepresented in gifted programs. For example, Frasier and Passow (1994) indicate that identification and selection procedures may be ineffective and inappropriate for the identification of these young people. They also indicate that limited referrals and nominations of students who are minorities or from other disadvantaged groups affect their eventual placement in programs. Test bias and inappropriateness have been mentioned as a reason as the continued reliance on traditional identification approaches. Groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in gifted programs could be better served, according to Frasier and Passow (1994), if the following elements are considered: new constructs of giftedness, attention to cultural and contextual variability, the use of more varied and authentic assessment, performance identification, identification through learning opportunities, and attention to both absolute attributes of giftedness, the traits, aptitudes, and behaviors universally associated with talent as well as the specific behaviors that represent different manifestations of gifted potential and performance as a consequence of the social and cultural contexts in which they occur (p. xvii).

In addition to students from economically disadvantaged populations, various minority and cultural groups, as well as gifted students with various disabilities such as learning disabilities, visual and hearing impairments, and physical handicaps. Another group of students who are traditionally underrepresented in gifted programs are females who have potential in mathematics and science, as well as gifted females who achieve in school but later underachieve in life (Reis, 1987). Special programs, strategies, and identification procedures have been suggested for many of these groups, however, much progress still remains to be made to achieve equity for these underrepresented groups.

In the last decade many promising practices have been implemented in the education of gifted and talented students. More primary and secondary programs have been developed since the first programming model, The Enrichment Triad Model (Renzulli, 1977) was developed for gifted students. Other programming models such as The Purdue Three-Stage Enrichment Model (Feldhusen & Kolloff, l986); Talents Unlimited (Schlichter, 1986); The Autonomous Learner Model (Betts, l986) are also widely used throughout the country. National programs such as Future Problem Solving, which was conceived by Dr. E. Paul Torrance, have taught hundreds of thousands of students to apply problem-solving techniques to the real problems of our society. Although not developed solely for gifted students, Future Problem Solving is widely used in gifted programs because of the curricular freedom associated with these programs.

The Future Problem Solving Program is a year-long program in which teams of four students use a six-step problem solving process to solve complex scientific and social problems of the future such as the overcrowding of prisons or the greenhouse effect. At regular intervals throughout the year, the teams mail their work to evaluators, who review it and return it with their suggestions for improvement. As the year progresses, the teams become increasingly more proficient at problem solving. The Future Problem Solving Program takes students beyond memorization. The program challenges students to apply information they have learned to some of the most complex issues facing society. They are asked to think, to make decisions, and, in some instances, to carry out their solutions.

A national program called Talent Search actively recruits and provides testing and program opportunities for mathematically precocious youth. Talent Search is an annual effort to identify 12-14 year old students who score in the top five percent of the country in mathematics on the SAT math test. These students generally have scored highly in other standardized tests and are recommended by teachers or counselors to take the SAT-Math. If they do well on this test, they are eligible for multiple options including summer programs, grade skipping, completing two or more years of a math subject in one year, taking college courses, or other options. Eleven states have created separate schools for talented students in math and science such as The North Carolina School for Math and Science. Some large school districts have established magnet schools to serve the needs of talented students. In New York City, for example, the Bronx High School of Science has helped to nurture and develop mathematical and scientific talent for decades, producing internally known scientists and Nobel laureates. In other states, Governor’s Schools provide advanced, intensive summer programs in a variety of content areas. It is clear, however, that these opportunities touch a small percentage of students who could benefit from them.

Within the schools that have gifted programs, limited options often exist. Resource room programs in which a student leaves his/her regular classroom and spends a limited amount of time doing independent study or becoming involved in advanced research in a resource room for gifted students with a teacher are commonly found. Independent study projects provide talented students with opportunities to engage in pursuing individual interests and advanced content. Many local districts have created innovative mentorship programs which pair a bright student with a high school student or adult who has an interest in the same area as the student. Some schools use cluster grouping which allows students who are gifted in a certain content area to be grouped in one classroom with other students who are talented in the same area. Therefore, one fifth grade teacher may have six students who are advanced in mathematics in a classroom instead of having these six students distributed among four different fifth grade classrooms. Some schools acknowledge that they can do little different for gifted students within the school day and provide after school enrichment programs or send talented students to Saturday programs offered by museums, science centers, or local universities. Unfortunately, many of these promising strategies seem insignificant when compared with the plight of thousands of bright students who still sit in classrooms across the country bored, unmotivated, and unchallenged.

Acceleration, once a standard practice in our country, is too often dismissed by teachers and administrators as an inappropriate practice for a variety of reasons, including scheduling problems, concerns about the social effects of grade skipping, and others. Many forms of acceleration hold promise for gifted students including enabling precocious students to enter kindergarten or first grade early, grade skipping, and early entrance to college are not commonly used or encouraged by most school districts. And in many schools, the pervasive influence of anti-intellectualism that affects our society has a two pronged effect. First, policy makers do little to encourage excellence in our schools and less and less attention is paid to intellectual growth. Second, peer pressure is exerted on gifted students. The labels such as “smarty-pants” commonly used to describe bright students in the fifties and sixties has been replaced by more negative labels such as “nerd”, “dweeb” or “dork”. Our brightest students often learn not to answer in class, to stop raising their hands and to minimize their abilities to avoid peer pressures.

A number of challenging curriculum options in science and language arts have been developed under the auspices of the federal Javits Education Act mentioned earlier. Several national programs have been developed or implemented for high ability students in many districts, regional service centers, and states. Many high ability students have the opportunity to participate in History Day in which students work individually or in small groups on an historical event, person from the past, or invention related to a theme that is determined each year. Using primary source data including diaries or other sources gathered in libraries, museums, and interviews, students prepare research papers, projects, media presentations or performances as entries. These entries are judged by local historians, educators, and other professionals and state finalists compete with winners from other states each June. Information about History Day can be obtained from state historical societies. Many model projects such as mentorships, Saturday programs, summer internships, and computer camps that are of extremely high quality continue to be implemented.

Much that has been learned and developed in gifted programs can offer exciting, creative alternatives in instruction and curriculum for all students. A rather impressive menu of exciting curricular adaptations, independent study and thinking skill strategies, grouping options, and enrichment strategies have been developed in gifted programs which could be used to improve schools. The Schoolwide Enrichment Model (Renzulli & Reis, 1985: 1007) has been field tested and implemented by hundreds of school districts across the country for the last nine years. Our experiences with schoolwide enrichment led us to realize that when an effective approach to enrichment is implemented, all students in the school benefit and the entire school begins to improve. This led to the development of Schools for Talent Development (Renzulli, 1994). This approach seeks to apply strategies used in gifted programs to the entire school population, emphasizing talent development in all students through a variety of acceleration and enrichment strategies that have been discussed earlier. Not all students can, of course, participate in all advanced opportunities but many can work far beyond what they are currently asked to do. It is clear that our most advanced students need different types of educational experiences than they are currently receiving and that without these services, talents may not be nurtured in many American students, especially those who attend schools in which survival is a major daily goal.

Specialists in the area of gifted education have also gained expertise in adjusting the regular curriculum to meet the needs of advanced students in a variety of ways including: accelerating content, incorporating a thematic approach, and substituting more challenging textbooks or assignments. The present range of instructional techniques used in most classrooms observed by Goodlad (1984) and his colleagues is vastly different than what is recommended in many gifted programs today. The flexibility in grouping that is encouraged in many gifted programs might also be helpful in other types of educational settings.

We can, therefore, make every attempt to share with other educators the technology we have gained in teaching students process skills, modifying the regular curriculum, and helping students become producers of knowledge (Renzulli, 1977). We can extend enrichment activities and provide staff development in the many principles that guide our programming models. Yet, without the changes at the local, state and national policy making levels that will alter the current emphasis on raising test scores and purchasing unchallenging, flat and downright sterile textbooks, our efforts may be insignificant.

These questions have led us to advocate a fundamental change in the ways the concept of giftedness should be viewed in the future. Except for certain functional purposes related mainly to professional focal points (i.e., research, training, legislation) and to ease-of-expression, we believe that labeling students as “the gifted” is counter-productive to the educational efforts aimed at providing supplementary educational experiences for certain students in the general school population. We believe that our field should shift its emphasis from a traditional concept of “being gifted” (or not being gifted) to a concern about the development of gifted behaviors in those youngsters who have the highest potential for benefiting from special educational services. This slight shift in terminology might appear insignificant, but we believe that it has implications for the entire way that we think about the concept of giftedness and the ways in which we should structure our identification and programming endeavors. This change in terminology may also provide the flexibility in both identification and programming endeavors that will encourage the inclusion of at-risk and underachieving students in our programs. If that occurs, not only will we be giving these high potential youngsters an opportunity to participate, we will also help to eliminate the charges of elitism and bias in grouping that are sometimes legitimately directed at some gifted programs.

We cannot forget that our schools should be places that seek to develop talents in children. We won’t produce future Thomas Edisons or Marie Curies by forcing them to spend large amounts of their science and mathematics classes tutoring students who don’t understand the material. A student who is tutoring others in a cooperative learning situation in mathematics may refine some of his or her basic skill processes, but this type of situation does not provide the level of challenge necessary for the most advanced types of involvement in the subject, nor for inspiring our young people to strive to develop their talents.

Gifted Students Talk About Cooperative Learning

What do gifted students say, what can educators do.

About explaining material . First, they have a hard time understanding why other students can't grasp material that they have no difficulty with. They also resent having to explain the material to students who won't listen to them. What's the point in me explaining it; he's there listening to everything we're saying when we're in our group ... so why doesn't he just hear what we're saying, you know, instead of singling him out and then explaining and you know he's not even listening to you. Gifted students also resent the time taken away from their own learning to work with uncooperative students. They enjoy explaining material if a student wants to learn but get frustrated if it is hard for the other student to understand: If they seem interested then you'll explain it ... at least you feel like they got something out of it. You feel frustrated because they can't get it as easy as you, even though they're trying as hard as they can.

None of the 15 students say that they understand the material better themselves after explaining it to others. As one points out: When you explain it, you want to do it real fast because you're bored or something and you might leave out something real important and the kid doesn't get all of it [as a result]. And then you say, `Do you get it now?' and because you're going so fast, the kid goes, `Yeah, yeah, yeah,' and you just go on with it. These gifted students see no benefits for themselves, and they recognize how their being bored with the material could hurt another student.

About social skill behaviors . The social skill behaviors identified by the Johnsons include those that allow for successful group functioning. The gifted students were supposed to divide the work equally among all the group members, but they were concerned about quality. A student comments: You split up the work and say, “You do this,” and “You do that,” but sometimes the other person doesn't do it or doesn't do it at all well ... [In that case] you feel that you should do it again because it's real bad and you'll probably get a worse grade. It's this concern with quality that many times causes gifted students to dominate the group or to do all the work themselves. Many students are troubled about this. One student comments: I did a project last year and I spent half of my time explaining to the others in the group what to do and they just sat there reading magazines in the library all the time. I did all the work and still got a D on it because they did absolutely nothing. As a result of this experience, this student had a negative attitude toward fellow group members.

About cooperative learning in homogeneous groups . Silverman suggests that gifted students will learn humility and democratic values much better by being placed with their intellectual peers (see Willis 1990). The students in this study were much less negative about cooperative learning when working with students on their level: If we're all on the same level we just help each other ... overall it's pretty balanced. If one kid knows more on one subject, he teaches the other ones, and if another one knows another subject, he just tells them what he knows. I don't think we have a dominant person. [in that case].

The students also discuss the issue of trust when working with peers: You feel more relaxed because you know you won't have to do all the work ... we're good at different things.... If you work in a group with someone that you know that isn't scared or ashamed to say, “I think we should do it this way.” You might fight over it for a little while but eventually.... If you know that they're on the same level as you then you think they're going to come up with an idea that's just as good so it's easier to have confidence in them ....”

Six Ways to Make Cooperative Learning More Effective

Design cooperative projects so that all students can interact and contribute equally. Avoid traditional worksheet, “right answer” tasks, because often they will be completed by one person, who can do the job better and more efficiently than the group.

Use new curricular materials that involve collaborative practices—projects in which students share creative ideas, build on one another's knowledge, and draw on diverse skills (Cohen 1990, Gamoran 1990). Projects might include: writing workshops, oral histories, guided nature walks, ecology projects, discussions of political issues, plays, science experiments, manipulatives-based math explorations, Odyssey of the Mind competitions, Future Problem Solving teams, and foreign language talk shows.

Encourage successful group functioning by including five conditions: positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, individual accountability, social skills, and group processing. (Johnson et al. 1986)

Set authentic group goals that are important to group members. Sharan and Sharan point to student interest and autonomy as motivating factors and essential to the success of cooperative learning (1989/90).

Teach students how successful groups work and how to apply this information to their own groups (Johnson et al. 1986). How to ask for assistance, help others, and take responsibility for group members are important skills (Cohen 1990). Roleplay and model these skills with students.

Group students in flexible ways. If we group students heterogeneously at all times, the only one providing assistance will probably be the high-achieving student. Flexible grouping gives the low achievers the opportunity to realize the positive effects of being the “explainer” and provides gifted students opportunities to get to know and work with a wide range of students.

—Marian Matthews

Cohen, E. G. (1990). “Continuing to Cooperate: Prerequisites for Persistence.” Phi Delta Kappan 72, 2: 134–138.

Gamoran, A. (1990). “How Tracking Affects Achievement.” Occasional paper. (Available from the Clearing-house, National Center on Effective Secondary Schools, 1025 W. Johnson St., Madison, WI 53706.)

Johnson, D. W., and R. T. Johnson. (1989). “What to Say to Parents of Gifted Children.” The Cooperative Link 5, 2: 1–3.

Johnson, D. W., R. T. Johnson, and E. J. Holubec. (1986). Circles of Learning: Cooperation in the Classroom . Edina, Minn.: Interaction Book Company.

Kulik, J., and C. Kulik. (1987). “Effects of Ability Grouping on Student Achievement.” Equity and Excellence 23, 1–2: 22–30.

Robinson, A. (1990). “Cooperation or Exploitation? The Argument Against Cooperative Learning for Talented Students.” Journal for the Education of the Gifted 14: 9–27.

Sharan, Y., and S. Sharan. (December 1989/January 1990). “Group Investigation Expands Cooperative Learning.” Educational Leadership 47, 4: 17–21.

Willis, S. (October 1990). “Cooperative Learning Fallout?” ASCD Update 6, 8.

Winebrenner, S. (November 1990). “Cooperative Learning and Gifted Students.” Paper presented at the National Association for Gifted Children convention, Little Rock, Ark.

• 1 I have used cooperative learning with gifted students in public schools and with my college students since I began teaching at the university level. These interviews were the precursor to my nationwide survey of 800 gifted students involved in cooperative learning. While the results are not yet analyzed, the survey seems to support the findings of the interviews: that high-ability students prefer cooperative learning in homogeneous groups.

Marian Matthews has been a contributor to Educational Leadership.

ASCD is a community dedicated to educators' professional growth and well-being.

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Gifted Summer Programs: Day Camps

This list of  day camp  summer programs available to students across the nation. Links to websites are provided so that parents and students may investigate more about an individual program. While the Davidson Institute does not endorse any specific programs, this list includes programs that have been recommended by parents, professionals and young people associated with the Davidson Institute. Each listing includes the program’s location, a short description and a link.

See also: Gifted Summer Programs: Listed by Topics of Interest Gifted Summer Programs: Residential

Alabama  –  Space Camp Space Camp provides a number of camp options for students of different ages who are interested in space exploration, aviation and aerodynamics.

Arkansas  –  Jodie Mahony Center for Gifted Education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) – Summer Laureate University for Youth SLUFY is an educational program that provides unique learning experiences for high-ability students to explore and expand their talents and abilities. The program offers a variety of classes taught by a staff that includes graduate students seeking masters degrees in teaching the gifted and talented, certified master teachers, and other experts.

California  –  Academic Talent Development Program This program offers challenging summer classes for K-11 students. ATDP courses offer students opportunities to gain in-depth knowledge of the subjects that interest them. Taught by outstanding university, public, and private school instructors, classes are designed to engage students’ hearts as well as their minds. Admission is based on the student’s overall academic profile. Grades, achievement test scores, an essay, and teacher recommendations are all considered.

California  –  AlphaStar Academy A-Star Program Offers year-round courses and winter/summer camps in math, computer science and physics for gifted students in Bay Area, California. The program mainly focuses on problem solving skills for 4-12 grade students.

California  –  Bay Area Writing Project – Young Writers Camps and Teen Writing Camps (Berkeley) The Bay Area Writing Project sponsors both the annual Young Writers Camps and Teen Writing Camps. Young Wirters Camps offer students entering grades three through nine a unique opportunity to develop their creative abilities and writing talents. The Teen Writing Camps are for incoming ninth through 12th graders. Enrichment opportunities for students who enjoy writing, literature and poetry, both camps are offered on the University of California Berkeley campus.

California  –  (ATS) California State University at Sacramento – Academic Talent Search Academic Talent Search (ATS) provides academically challenging, fast-paced courses to highly able and motivated students.

California  –  Explore Externships Providing Leadership Opportunities in Research and Education (EXPLORE) Program matches high-potential and gifted high school students with distinguished mentors, hands-on research opportunities, and professional experience in their field of interest.

California  –  Research Mentorship Program – UC Santa Barbara Summer Sessions This competitive summer program engages qualified, high-achieving high school students from all over the world in interdisciplinary, hands-on, university-level research. Students will be paired with a mentor (graduate student, postdoc, or faculty) and choose a research project from a long list of disciplines offered by the program each year.

California  –  Summer Research Academies – UC Santa Barbara Summer Sessions This dynamic summer experience engages qualified high school students in project-based, directed research in STEM, Humanities, and Social Sciences fields. Students will take a 4-unit university course in which they choose and develop a research topic specific to the track they select, under the direction of an instructor who is conducting active research in that field.

California  –  Star League This is a learning center teaching Math, Computer Science, and Physics courses to gifted and highly motivated students during summer/winter camps and fall/spring semesters.

Colorado  –  Aspen Summer Words Each participant will be involved in four classes per day plus evening options. Two of the classes are designed to enhance leadership abilities. In addition, students will assist a teacher in the Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) class of their choice.

Colorado  –  Colorado Math Camp Colorado Math Camp is for elementary or middle school students who love math, and want to improve their math problem-solving and math-contest abilities. Students can sign up for Math Contest Mini-Camps in with beginner and advanced sessions in July.

Colorado  –  Summer Enrichment Program (Young Child Program at Northern Colorado) Each participant will be involved in four classes per day plus evening options. Two of the classes are designed to enhance leadership abilities. In addition, students will assist a teacher in the Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) class of their choice.

Connecticut  –  Manchester Community College in Connecticut These programs are offered for students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade. This program is designed for gifted, talented, and high-achieving students will have the opportunity to take a variety of college courses during the first two weeks of August.

Connecticut  –  Talcott Mountain Science Center Summer Program in Avon In addition to a school and saturday programs for “intellectually excited” students, the Talcott Mountain Science Center also offers a summer day camp. The summer program theme varies each year.

Connecticut  –  University of Connecticut Confratute This program is for educators to take summer classes about gifted and talented education.

Florida  –  Seacamp Seacamp is a non-profit, marine science education facility located in the Florida Keys. The organization offers marine science education and summer camp experiences including SCUBA, sailing, board sailing, and arts & crafts to students from 12-17 years of age.

Florida  –  Stetson University HATS Program Stetson sponsors a variety of classes for high achieving students that stimulate their unique interests and challenge them in their strongest subject areas.

Illinois  –  Columbia College – Summer Arts Camp Classes offered include media, performing and fine arts for students entering grades 2-10.

Illinois  –  Northwestern University Center for Talent Development Through their Leapfrog, Apogee, Spectrum and Equinox course series, this program serves outstanding students from PreK through grade 12, facilitating high achievement, self-confidence and a love of learning among all participants. Programs are available for students who wish to be residents or commuters. Program sessions last one to three weeks, and students can apply for one, two or three sessions, depending on the program.

Indiana  –  (GERI) Gifted Education Resource Institute: Summer Youth Programs The Summer Residential Programs sponsored by the Gifted Education Resource Institute offer “accelerated and enriched learning experiences in mathematics, science, the humanities, and the arts” for academically talented youth. Enrichment programs for ages 4 through 4th grade, as well as residential summer camps for students in grades 5-12 are available. The program also presents the opportunity for students to interact and establish lasting friendships with cognitive peers.

Massachusetts  –  Boston Museum of Science – Explore It Summer Camp The Boston Museum of Science offers hands-on, minds-on science learning and fun during six one-week sessions.

Massachusetts  –  College Gate & College Academy This program provides students in grades K-8th the opportunity to participate in project-based learning activities. Camps are broken up by age group.

Michigan  –  (ACE) Academics Camps of Excellence at Calvin College ACE offers summer camps for gifted middle school students in math, science, literature, computer science, and economics.

Missouri –  Gifted Resource Council Summer Academies The Gifted Resource Council’s Summer Academies offer a variety of two-week academic day camps in the St. Louis area. Choose from six Summer Academies focused on history, science, business/entrepreneurship and mathematics. These full-day sessions are for students completing kindergarten through eighth grade. Participants may attend two, four or all six weeks. Before/after care is available.

Missouri –  Mathematics Education for Gifted Secondary School Students (MEGSSS) The MEGSSS Summer MathJam program offers math challenge and enrichment for math-talented students in the 90th percentile. Financial aid is available. Project MEGSSS bridges the gap between elementary and high school mathematics for mathematically talented middle school students. Coursework is offered to MEGSSS-qualified students for up to 3 years, including summer programming, which also serves as excellent enrichment for students unable to commit to an after-school program.

Missouri –  College for Kids Summer program for gifted and talented children. Courses are designed to challenge and advance general skills already possessed by the student.

Missouri  –  Students and Teachers as Research Scientists (STARS) Students and Teachers As Research Scientists (STARS) is a program that introduces both rising high school juniors and seniors and teachers to the various aspects of the scientific enterprise.

New Jersey  –  Primoris Academy Summer Enrichment Program Primoris Academy has created a wide variety of fun-filled and intellectually stimulating programs for preschoolers through seniors in high school. The programs are broken into four 2-week sessions and by age. Choose only one session, all four, or something in between. Each day also has the choice of full or half-day enrollment.

New Jersey  –  The Gifted Child Society – Summer Super Stars Camp STEAM Day Camp This summer program is for gifted child(ren) in preschool, elementary school, and middle school. The summer day camp offers academic mornings with explorations of true Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics, plus recreational afternoons filled with swimming and fun activities. TGCS offers full- and half-day options for preschool campers and special curricula and experiences for middle school campers who will be bridging to high school in the fall.

New York –  Challenge Camp Challenge Camp offers summer enrichment learning opportunities for bright and curious children ages 4 to 15. Located in Hartsdale, Westchester County, Challenge Camp is accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA) and offers over 100 STEM and Arts courses. These courses range from 3D printing to architecture to chess to cooking to magic to Minecraft to model rocketry to robotics to theater to video production and many options in between. The Afternoon Challenge includes enrichment and sports options to encourage students to challenge both their mind and body. Bus transportation, early drop-off / extended day options are available.

New York  –  Long Island University Center for Gifted Youth The Long Island University Center for Gifted Youth conducts a four-week, non-residential summer program for gifted children, which offers students a unique combination of academic and recreational activities within a university setting.

New  York  –  Roswell  Park Cancer Institute This program offers students the ability to do summer scientific research at America’s Cancer Research Center.

New York  –  Usdan Summer Camps Usdan’s 1,700 young musicians, dancers, artists, writers and actors establish lifelong friendships with those who share their passion for creative exploration. Usdan offers you a world class faculty and an incredible campus.

North Carolina  –  Coast Trek Join MarineQuest to travel back in time to the age of giant prehistoric sharks and discover how North Carolina’s coast has changed over the years. While time traveling through their coastal habitats back to the future, Trekkies will use the tools of oceanography, meteorology and paleontology to experience first-hand how hurricanes and other forces of nature have created the coastline that we see today. The program is for students ages 10-12; participants must have completed 4th grade and turn 10 by May 1st. Residential and commuter programs are available.

Pennsylvania  –  The Grayson School (Philadelphia, PA) The Grayson School is a non-profit, independent private school for gifted students in the greater Philadelphia area. The goal of the school is to provide an individual learning experience for every child, tailored to their advanced educational needs.

Tennessee  –  Vanderbilt Program for Talented Youth – SAVY (Grades K-6) – Summer Academy at Vanderbilt for the Young (Nashville, TN) Each summer, rising 1st-7th grade students take part in a variety of advanced courses taught by content experts. Weekly sessions are available for all grades in the months of June and July.

Texas  –  Summer Wonders Summer Wonders is a nonresidential, full or half-day program that allows students to explore diverse subjects in a challenging, creative environment through an integrative, hands-on, non-traditional approach.

Virginia  –  Burgundy Center for Wildlife Studies (BCWS) The purpose of the camp is to nurture in children and teens a respect and sensitivity to the natural world through greater knowledge of self and nature.

Virginia  –  Summer Regional Governor’s Schools Twenty Summer Regional Governor’s Schools are available throughout the state. Most often, groups of school divisions design these programs to meet the needs of their local gifted elementary and middle school students, providing opportunities in the arts, sciences and humanities. The schools are typically housed at a public school or on the campus of a college, community college, or university. The lengths of programs vary, with some lasting a week or less while others may last four or more weeks. Most students return to their homes at the end of each day’s activities.

Washington  –  Robinson Center for Young Scholars at the University of Washington – Summer Programs The Robinson Center for Young Scholars at the University of Washington offers summer academic programs. All classes are offered on the UW-Seattle campus, and provide challenging and fun summer experiences for academically talented students.

Wisconsin  –  Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth There is a variety of residential as well as online summer programs offered for students who have taken and passed specific tests and are of a specific age.

Various Locations –  American Academy of Medicine & Surgery (CA & HI) The Cardiothoracic Surgical Skills Internship is a two week course of study for High School and Pre-Med students to initiate the steps towards mastering basic and advanced cardiothoracic surgery. Students will progress from basic surgical skills to completing advanced cardiothoracic procedures normally performed at an attending level.

Various Locations  –  Camp Invention Camp Invention is a weeklong summer enrichment day program offered at your local elementary school.

Various Locations  –  Emagination Computer Camps (GA, IL, MA, PA) This camp offers typical fun camp activities with a touch of technology. Students learn computer animation, web design, digital photography, Lego robotics and much more.

Various Locations  –  Exploration Summer Programs Exploration Summer Programs is an academic summer enrichment program where young people can expand their horizons, try something new, and learn in a pressure-free environment.

Various Locations  –  iD Tech Camps ,  iD Coding & Engineering Academy ,  iD Game Design & Development Academy This organization allows students to explore a top campus and make friends while mastering new tech skills and joining a community of more than 275,000 alumni. At iD Tech Camps, students ages 7-17 can learn to code, build websites, design video games, experience virtual reality, mod Minecraft, engineer robots, model and print 3D characters, and more! iD Tech also offers early-education STEM programs, all-girls tech camps, teen-only academies, and an online learning platform.

Various Locations –   iMACS Hi-Tech Summer Camp (FL, NC) This camp offers talented children a unique opportunity to explore and expand their intellectual world. Campers are immersed in academic pursuits such as playing strategic logic games, designing and building electronic devices and programming computers. Campers may either attend a full day program (grades 3 – 10) or individual one to two hour classes (grades 1 – 12).

Various Locations  –  National Computer Camps (CT, GA, NY, OH) This program offers both residential and non-residential options in curriculum that covers topics from video game design to computer languages and web page design.

Various Locations  –  Science Adventures This program’s week-long science day camps and programs are offered throughout the summer in casual indoor or outdoor settings.

Various Locations  –  Summer Institute for the Gifted (SIG) This program provides instruction in several dozen courses during its regular academic schedule and engages students in recreational activities every day. Numerous humanities, mathematics, sciences, and multidisciplinary courses are offered. In 2019, SIG day programs will be offered in the following states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.

For more summer program opportunities, visit Cogito’s  Summer Programs Database .

If you know of any other summer programs for gifted students, please email the information, including a link to the program’s website, to [email protected] .

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