Gifted education

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Gifted education is a broad term for special practices, procedures and theories used in the education of children who have been identified as gifted or talented. Programs providing such education are sometimes called Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) or Talented and Gifted (TAG) programs. Youths are sometimes identified as gifted by placing highly on certain standardized tests, although this method is becoming antiquated and educators are shifting towards broader means of identification.[citation needed] In order to preclude tracking or gate keeping, programs of gifted education often use student interest, parental request, and teacher recommendations as additional criteria for entry.

Advocates of gifted education argue that gifted and/or talented youth are motivationally or perceptually or intellectually prepared for a challenge not offered in the standard curriculum, so that it is appropriate to pace their lessons more aggressively by encouraging them to participate in honors courses, Advanced Placement courses, International Baccalaureate courses, or other sources of educational enrichment and acceleration.

They also claim that the needs of many gifted students are still neglected, as schools tend to place more emphasis on improving education for the mainstream. Some argue that too many resources are diverted from gifted education to the other end of the spectrum—disabled students—of special education (of which gifted education is a part). This may be an unintended consequence of the development of disability rights litigation, which some pundits argue has led to the disabled receiving escalating resources at the expense of needed growth for gifted programs. See special education. However many advocates believe that both special education and gifted education deserve more resources, on the general principle that each child should receive a challenge appropriate to his preparedness and motivation.

Both gifted and disabled students are often dissatisfied with the education system, which, while it may suit the majority of students, doesn't suit their needs.

Gifted programs are often cut when budgets are tight, partly because they are seen as a luxury, which suggests that they continue to have marginal political support in many communities. The history of gifted education in the US, however, shows continued support from national policy makers since the mid-twentieth century.

Contents

[edit] History

Gifted and talented education dates back thousands of years. We can go back at least to China's Tang Dynasty (circa 618 B.C.), where child prodigies were summoned to the imperial court for specialized education (Colangelo & Davis; Davis & Rimm). A more common reference point in the West is Plato (c. 427–c. 347 BCE), who advocated providing specialized education for the gifted (Colangelo & Davis, 1997; Davis & Rimm, 1989). Throughout the Renaissance, those who exhibited creative talent in art, architecture, and literature were supported by both the government and private patronage (Colangelo & Davis; Davis & Rimm; Hansen & Hoover, 1994).

[edit] United States

The United States has moved slowly toward the idea that specialized educational services should be provided to all who can profit from them, regardless of wealth (Colangelo & Davis, 1997; Davis & Rimm, 1989; Newland, 1976). In the 19th century, new provisions were made for the education of the gifted and talented in the U.S. One early step was flexible promotion, implemented in the St. Louis Public Schools in 1868; in Woburn, MA in 1884; in Elizabeth, NJ in 1886; and in Cambridge, MA in 1891 (Colangelo & Davis; Piirto). The St. Louis Public Schools plan allowed students to complete a six year curriculum in four years (Piirto, 1999). By 1920, two-thirds of major U.S. cities had some type of educational programming for gifted students (Colangelo and Davis, 1997).

During the 20th century, gifted and talented education became a national issue. Mensa was founded in 1946, the American Association for the Gifted was in 1947, the National Association for the Gifted in 1953, and the Association for the Gifted in 1959. The 1957 Sputnik was a seminal event, creating a national sense of urgency to educate more advanced students in mathematics and science. This has been linked to the National Defense Education Act of 1958 (Piirto, 1999). Nevertheless, in the 1972 Marland Report, Congress expressed concern about the inadequate state of gifted and talented education (Delisle, 1999; Piirto), and in 1993, the Department of Education published National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's Talent.

[edit] Forms of gifted education

They usually fall into the following categories:

[edit] Separate classes

Gifted students are educated in either a separate class or a separate school. Classes like this are sometimes called "Congregated Gifted Classes".

Separate or Independent Schools with a primary mission to serve the needs of the academically gifted. Such schools are relatively scarce and often difficult for families to locate. The programs, such as those at Sycamore School in Indianapolis, IN, often work tirelessly to guard their mission, support the professional growth and training of their staff, write curriculum units that are specifically designed to meet the social, emotional, and academic talents of their students, and educate their parent population at all ages. (sycamoreschool.org)

[edit] Montessori method

In the Montessori Method children are in classes of three age groups which gives them the opportunity to advance while they are still among children of their own age. The montessori method gives children a lot of freedom which is very useful to gifted children who often learn at up to twice the speed of the average child.

[edit] Acceleration

Pupils are advanced to a higher-level class which is covering material that is more suited to the pupils' abilities. Some colleges offer early entrance programs that give gifted younger students the opportunity to attend college early. While this approach presents gifted children with academic material commensurate with their ability, it also has the potential to alienate them socially.

[edit] Pull-out

Students spend a portion of their time in a gifted class, with the rest of their time with their peers.

[edit] Enrichment

Students spend all class time with their peers, but receive extra material to challenge them.

[edit] Homeschooling

An umbrella term encompassing myriad educational options for gifted children: part-time schooling; school at home; classes, groups, mentors and tutors; and unschooling. In many states, the population of gifted students who are being homeschooled is rising quite rapidly, as school districts responding to budgetary issues and standards-based policies are cutting what limited gifted education program remain extant, and families seek educational opportunities that are tailored to each child's unique needs.

[edit] Summer school

This covers a variety of courses, such as CTY and CTYI that take place in the summer.

[edit] Hobby

Some sports like chess give an extra intellectual challenge after school hours.

[edit] Studies of Giftedness

Differences in intelligence have been known for recorded human history, but the development of early intelligence tests by Alfred Binet led to the Stanford-Binet IQ test which was developed by Lewis Terman, who began long-term studies of gifted children with a view to checking if the popular view "early to ripen, early to rot" was true. He showed this popular belief was false and many of the children (dubbed "Termans termites") were studied for decades.

[edit] Commonly used terms in gifted education

[1]

Differentiation: Modification of a gifted student’s curriculum to accommodate their specific needs. This may include changing the content or ability level of the material.

Affective Curriculum: A curriculum that is designed to teach gifted students about emotions, self-esteem, and social skills.

Heterogeneous Grouping: A strategy that enables the grouping of students of all ability levels to learn in the same classroom environment.

Homogenous Grouping: A strategy that enables the grouping of students by specific ability, interest, or subject area.

Individualized Education Plan (IEP): A written document that addresses the gifted student’s needs. It may include specific accommodations, materials or classroom instruction. IEPs are generally used with students with disabilities, who are required by law to have an IEP when appropriate. Most states are not required to have IEPs for students who are only identified as gifted. Some students may be intellectually gifted in addition to having learning and/or attentional disabilities, and may have an IEP that includes, for instance, enrichment activities as a means of alleviating boredom or frustration, or as a reward for on-task behavior. In order to warrant such an IEP, a student needs to be diagnosed with a separate emotional or learning disability that is not simply the result of being unchallenged in a typical classroom.

[edit] Controversies

There are several controversies concerning gifted education.

[edit] Definition of giftedness

Many different educational authorities define giftedness differently — even if two authorities use the same IQ test to define giftedness, they may disagree on what gifted means - one may take top 2% of the population, another would take top 5% of the population. The theory of multiple intelligence would produce a different definition to the traditional IQ definition.

In Identifying Gifted Children: A Practical Guide, Susan K. Johnsen (2004) explains that gifted children all exhibit the potential for high performance in the areas included in the United States federal definition of gifted and talented students:

"The term 'gifted and talented' when used in respect to students, children, or youth means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop such capabilities." (P.L. 103–382, Title XIV, p. 388)

This definition has been adopted in part or completely by the majority of the states in the United States. Most have some definition similar to that used in the State of Texas, whose definition states:

"[The phrase] 'gifted and talented student' means a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment, and who:
  • exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area;
  • possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or
  • excels in a specific academic field." (74th legislature of the State of Texas, Chapter 29, Subchapter D, Section 29.121)

The major characteristics of these definitions are (a) the diversity of areas in which performance may be exhibited (e.g., intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership, academic), (b) the comparison with other groups (e.g., those in general education classrooms or of the same age, experience, or environment), and (c) the use of terms that imply a need for development of the gift (e.g., capability and potential).

[edit] The theory of positive disintegration

Overexcitability has been a popular theme in many gifted circles over the past twenty years. Overexcitability is a component of developmental potential, a part of Dabrowski's theory of Positive Disintegration, a theory of personality development. The application of TPD to gifted education is one of several (other applications include psychotherapy, personality theory, philosophy of Man, etc.).

[edit] Appropriateness of forms of gifted education

This is the most hotly debated aspect of gifted education. Some people believe that gifted education resources lack availability and flexibility. They feel that in the alternate methods of gifted education, the gifted students "miss out" on having a "normal" childhood and educational experience. Others believe that gifted education allows gifted students to interact with peers that are on their level, be adequately challenged, and leaves them better equipped to take on the challenges of life.

[edit] Impact on school

Mara Sapon-Shevin has argued[1] that gifted programs result in educational triage, with the gifted program taking a disproportionate amount of school resources, leaving other pupils with much reduced resources.

Her critics have countered that her research was into a school that was atypical of gifted education programs in general.

Gifted programs also often have problems with the singling out of the gifted students by regular students. Gifted programs that are in the same school but under a separate program can cause a problem with bullying[2], as a specific set of targets, already singled out for a reason that might fuel a bully's insecurity (above-average performance intellectually), are objects of abuse. Such a program can result in gifted students being discriminated against by other students. This obviously has negative effects on the students as well, perhaps not just limited to a dim view of 'normal' students. However, some people could argue that while students may be teased for high intellectual capacity, they would also be able to make friends amoungst peers who are treated the same way and not let the bullies be such a big impact on their life.

[edit] Impact on pupils

While giftedness is seen as an academic advantage, psychologically, it can pose social challenges for the gifted individual. Especially in regard to children, social pressures cause cause children to want to "play down" their intelligence and blend in with other students. This is a behavior that is obviously discouraged by educators as they attempt to teach children to not only challenge themselves, but also embrace their gifts and talents. Children can flee or fight. "Playing down" is a strategy often used by girls, boys tend to attract attention and to disrupt the normal order of the class by giving the correct answers all the time, working ahead, asking for new things, etc. This behavior is often mistaken for ADHD. Another social challenge for Gifted children is the ever often stereotype. Many people think of Gifted kids as people who completely rely on IQ alone, are nonathletic, have many social problems, or any combination of the above. Many people have been known to discriminate against Gifted kids, from excluding them to just plain ridiculing them in public.

[edit] Reliance on IQ

Some authors question the existence of "the g factor" and thus hold that the result of an IQ test is meaningless, thus rendering the notion of giftedness meaningless. The most famous example is The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould.

In her book, Identifying Gifted Children: A Practical Guide, Susan K. Johnsen (2004) argues that schools should use a variety of measures of students capability and potential when identifying gifted children. These measures may include portfolios of student work, classroom observations, achievement measures, and intelligence scores. Most educational professionals accept that no single measure can be used in isolation to accurately identify a gifted child.

[edit] Selection criteria

If the notion of IQ is a good one, the question of the cutoff point for giftedness is still important. As noted above, different authorities often define giftedness differently.

[edit] Gifted and talented programs

A Talented and Gifted program is an academic program that caters to excelling students. The program may be found in various forms in schools around the world, often with the name "Talented and Gifted" (TAG) or "Gifted and Talented Education" (GATE). Classes may either be in the form of more challenging, in depth or advanced courses, or in the form of a regularly scheduled seminar that covers extracurricular material.

[edit] Criticism

Some have argued that the title suggests that those not in the program are not "Talented and Gifted." Whether or not this is a valid criticism is debatable, as it hinges on whether those outside such programs are, in fact, gifted and talented. (I.e. if they are not -- a possibility -- then the program title is only more apt, not less.)

[edit] A list of Gifted and Talented Programs

[edit] Canada

Alberta

  • G.A.T.E.

Saskatchewan

Ontario

British Columbia

[edit] United States

As of 2002, only 37 US states have laws requiring that some services be made available for the gifted. Of these, approximately 28 require that the services must be adequate to meet to the educational needs of every gifted student. There is one federal law with respect to gifted education. The Jacob K. Javits Gifted & Talented Student Education Act of 1988 was renewed as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1994 and as part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Alaska Rogers Park Elementary School.

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Georgia

Florida

Indiana

Illinois

Louisiana

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Mississippi

Missouri

Nevada

North Carolina

Ohio

South Carolina

Texas

Virginia

Washington

Gifted Homeschooling (U.S.)

[edit] Australia

New South Wales

  • Gifted Education Research, Resource and Information Centre (GERRIC), The University of New South Wales

South Australia

[edit] Singapore

[edit] Philippines

[edit] Europe

England & Wales

Republic of Ireland

Lithuania

  • The National Student Academy (Lithuania)

Serbia

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Gifted organizations by region

[edit] References

  1. Colangelo, N., & Davis, G. (1997). Handbook of gifted education (2nd ed.). New York: Allyn and Bacon.
  2. Davis, G., & Rimm, S. (1989). Education of the gifted and talented (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  3. Hansen, J., & Hoover, S. (1994). Talent development: Theories and practice. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.
  4. Johnsen, S. (1999, November/ December). The top 10 events in gifted education. Gifted Child Today, 22(6), 7.
  5. Newland, T. (1976). The gifted in historical perspective. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  6. Marland, S. P., Jr. (1972). Education of the gifted and talented: Report to the Congress of the United States by the U.S. Commissioner of Education and background papers submitted to the U.S. Office of Education, 2 vols. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. (Government Documents Y4.L 11/2: G36)
  7. Piirto, J. (1999). Talented adults and children: Their development and education (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  8. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement. (1993). National excellence: A case for developing America's talent. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  1. ^ Sapon-Shevin, M. (1994). Playing Favorites: Gifted Education and the Disruption of Community. Albany: State University of New York.
  2. ^ Purdue University study
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