Gifted and Talented

Definition
"Children and youth with outstanding talent who perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience, or environment."
- US Department of Education, 1993.


Causes
Genetics and experience are thought to play a role in making someone gifted or talented.


Incidence

NAGC estimates that there are approximately 3 million academically gifted children in grades K-12 in the U.S - approximately 6% of the student population.  No federal agency or organization collects these student statistics; the number is generated based on an estimate that dates back to the 1972 Marland Report to Congress, which estimated that 5-7% of school children are "capable of high performance" and in need of "services or activities not normally provided by the school."

Although we are not aware of national studies of the incidence of artistic talent in the student population, the number of gifted and talented students increases, depending on the number of categories of giftedness used in the estimate.*

Resources
http://www.nsgt.org/
*http://www.nagc.org/
http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt.html
http://www.world-gifted.org/
http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10114.aspx
http://www.giftedtalented.org/
**http://legacy.teachersfirst.com/gifted/strategies.html

Teaching Strategies

Create an Independent Project activity. You will find that many gifted and talented students tend to have a lot of extra time on their hands in your classroom because they finish their work rather quickly. Use this time to help them develop their creativity by allowing them to explore a special area of interest related to the topic being studied.

Involve gifted and high achieving students in an academic competition. These highly motivating events can be held right at your school and have relatively inexpensive registration fees. They are computer driven and test students' knowledge in a variety of academic disciplines. Not only do they challenge students academically, they provide an opportunity to develop skills in leadership and group dynamics. Here are two organizations that can provide competitions and more information.

The Knowledge Master Open (Elementary, Middle School, and High School)
Academic Hallmarks
P.O. BOX 998, Durango, CO 81302
1-800-321-9218 or 970-247-8738
Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl (Elementary and Middle School)
4220 Park Hill Circle, Urbandale, IA 50322
515-278-5097

Plan "vertical enrichment" activities with gifted students. Design assignments or projects that go above and beyond what is covered in the regular classroom. Don't just give gifted students "more of the same." There are a number of educational products designed for gifted and talented students that can be easily adapted into regular classroom activities. Here is a list of vendors offering affordable materials that can be used to challenge students in a range of academic disciplines while developing their higher level thinking skills and problem-solving abilities.

Prufrock Press
PO Box 8813, Waco, TX 76714-8813
1-800-998-2208

Critical and Creative Thinking for the Gifted
PO Box 448, Pacific Grove, CA 93950-0448
1-800-458-4849

MindWare
Dept V1837X
121 5th Ave NW, New Brighton, MN 55112
1-800-999-0398

Zephyr
3316 N. Chapel Ave., Tucson, AZ 85716-1416
1-800-232-2187

Don't turn your gifted student into a tutor or teacher's aide! Instead, find a mentor who is willing to work with him/her in an area of interest. Start with the parents of students at your school. Ask other teachers. Contact local organizations. The bottom line is that you want to help the gifted student reach his/her potential and tapping outside expertise is sometimes necessary. Gifted children need "tutors," too!

Change your approach when working with gifted and talented students. Instead of being "the expert," become "the facilitator." Rather than just "giving" them information, help them to discover it!

Let Bloom's Taxonomy become your guide in working with gifted students. This web site explains clearly and simply each level of Bloom's Taxonomy - a model of critical thinking that progresses from the most basic level to the most complex. Examples of appropriate questions are given as well as illustrations for use in the classroom. Gifted students should be asked to utilize the upper three levels - analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Below are some examples of lesson planning "actions" that should be incorporated when planning activities for gifted students.

Level	Ask students to:	Suggested end results:
Analysis	Compare/Contrast Solve Investigate Examine Classify Inspect	Report, conclusion, plan, survey, solution to mystery or mock crime scene, questionnaire
Synthesis	Create Develop Design Compose Invent	Original story, game, musical composition, poem, invention, piece of artwork, hypothesis, experiment, script
Evaluation	Choose Rank Assess Grade Critique Judge	Book review, self-assessment, current events debate, court trial, editorial

Incorporate Multiple Intelligences into your lessons! Developed by Harvard Professor of Education Howard Gardner, this Theory of Multiple Intelligences states that all people possess at least seven different kinds of intelligences - linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, body-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. These intelligences exist in varying degrees within each individual. Applying this theory to your classroom activities ensures that every student will be individually challenged in one or more specific area. The multiple intelligences web site provides many practical ideas for using Multiple Intelligences across the curriculum.

Set up learning centers in your room so that students can work at their own speed. The following source provides a variety of learning centers based on Bloom's Taxonomy.

Thinking Caps for the Gifted
PO Box 26239
Phoenix, AZ 85068
(602) 279-0513

Try leveling class assignments and learning outcomes. In this way, you can explore the same material with all of your students, but require different outcomes depending on the students' individual abilities. This strategy can also be applied to testing. Again, refer to Bloom's Taxonomy and include higher level questions on exams for gifted students.**