Giftedness

1. Giftedness Week 9 NJ Kang Special Needs

2. Gifted and Talented

3. Gifted and talented learners • Are not a homogeneous group; to the contrary, they are varied and unique • Despite this diversity, research suggests that there are a handful of traits that may occur with greater frequency in gifted learners than in the general population. • It may vary based on a variety of factors, including gender, sociocultural group, the presence of a hidden or overt disability, age, and whether a student is achieving or underachieving.

4. Melinda • Shy and quiet • An avid reader and introvert. • Verbal skills were hard to identify • Her teachers had not seen any indications of problem solving, humor, or other commonly acknowledged characteristics of academic giftedness. • But has an enthusiasm for helping a boy in needs. • Carry out solution creatively and enthusiastically with helps from other people. • She analyses the problem and solves it creatively using her own talents and others.

5. Andrew • He had been identified as gifted in third grade. • Required an IQ of 130 or above with hish achievement. • Social student who enjoyed discussing his ideas with others and was highly verbal, but had poor work habits in work required out of his areas of interest, which were technology and math. • In high school he got low scores in the subjects that he did not like teachers and contents. • He got good score in the subjects that he liked both teachers and contents. • He liked to read science fiction not others • His teachers and parents failed to see the traits associated with his gifts and talents.

6. Sandra • Was a cheerful, energetic, and outspoken high school student who had been identified as gifted in elementary school, and who showed a fluctuating pattern of achievement and underachievenet through her school career. • In elementary school she got all As and Bs • In junior high she got B’s and C’s. (when she was living with lower class people and wondered of her identity) • In high school she got B’s and A’s. She got a 2D’s and a C. (when she was living in a white people village) • Very creative writer and original thinker, a good speaker, and one of the best, if not the best student in her speech class. • Her dream of the future was affected by her circumstances.

7. Analyse similarities and differences of these three people. • Have a discussion shortly.

8. Similarities and differences

9. Giftedness ?

10. Giftedness as a construct • Gifted education, in its drive to serve diverse groups of learners, has embraced diverse definitions of its central constructs. Giftedness, talent, intellect, and intelligence are not easily defined.

11. Some people tried • Lewis Terman • Sternberg and Davidson (1986, 2005) • Cross and Coleman (2005) • Heller, Perleth, & lim, (2005) • Reis (2005) • Joseph Renzulli (1978)

12. Lewis Terman • Equated giftedness with high IQ • Many assumed psychometric intelligence is equivalent to giftedness.

13. Sternberg and Davidson (1986, 2005) • Conceptions of Giftedness • Giftedness is a multidinensional construct incorporating a variety of traits, skills, and abilities, and manifesting in manifold ways. • It’s beyond IQ

14. Cross and Coleman (2005) • Rapid learning as compared to others in the population

15. Heller, Perleth, & lim, (2005) • Attention control, memory efficiency, and characteristics of perception

16. Reis, (2005) • Desire to develop one’s gifts

17. Joseph Renzulli (1978) • Gifted behavior consists of behaviors that reflect an interaction among three basic clusters of human traits • Above average ability, high levels of task commitment, and high levels of creativity. --- (p. 8 ~ 9)

18. Taxonomy of Behavioral Manifestations of Giftedness According to Joseph Renzulli’s Three Ring Definition of Gifted Behaviors. • Above Average Ability (General) • Above-Average Ability (Specific) • Task Commitment.

19. The US’s current federal definitions of giftedness • ---children and youth with outstanding talents perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment ---- These children and youth exhibit high performance capability in intellectual, creative, and/or artistic areas, possess and unusual leadership capacity, or excel in specific academic fields.----

20. The 1991 Columbus Grop definition of giftedness • focuses not on achievement or production but on developmental tragectory and affective qualities: • Giftedness is “ asynchronous development” in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm.

21. Characteristics of giftedness • Academically gifted • Creative Giftedness • Developmental Aspects of Giftedness • Special Populations of Gifted Learners

22. Look at page 162-163 • Try to categorize these traits into five characteristics of giftedness. • Try to assume possible traits these three people might have had and why? • Think about how we can apply these traits in ELT? • Think about teaching reading skill

23. General characteristics

24. General characteristics (Clark, 2002) Cognitive (thinking) characteristics: Affective (feeling) characteristics Physical (sensation) characteristics Intuitive characteristics Societal characteristics

25. Susan Weinbrenner (1991, 2001) Learns new material faster, and at an earlier age, than age peers Remembers what has been learned forever, making review unnecessary. Is able to deal with concepts that are too complex and abstract for age peers. Has a passionate interest in one or more topics, and would spend all available time learning more about that topic if he or she could Does not need to watch the teacher to hear what is being said; can operate on multiple brain channels simultaneously and process more than one task at a time

26. General characteristics (Clark, 2002) Cognitive (thinking) characteristics Has an advanced vocabulary and verbal ability Has an outstanding memory Learn easily with less help. Operates higher levels of thinking Ability to work with abstract ideas. Perceives subtle cause and effect relationships. Sees patterns, relationships, and connections that others don’t. Comes up with better ways for doing things. Prefers complex and challenging tasks to basic work. Sees connections between apparently unconnected ideas and activities. Is curious about many things and asks endless questions.  retention of large quantity of information, advanced comprehension, varied interests and high curiosity, and a high level of language development and verbal ability Weinbrenner

27. Affective (feeling) characteristics Is very intense. May be extremely emotional and excitable. Has a sophisticated sense of humor Has an advanced sense of justice, morality, an fairness. Such as unusual sensitivity to the feelings of others, keen sense of humor, heightened self-awareness, feelings of being different, and idealism and sense of justice.

28. Physical (sensation) characteristics Such as heightened sensory awareness, unusual discrepancy between physical and intellectual development, and low tolerance for lag between their standards and their athletic skills Intuitive characteristics: being open to intuitive experiences and creativity apparent in all areas of endeavor Societal characteristics: strongly motivated by self actualization needs, advanced capacity for conceptualizing and solving societal problems, leadership, and involvement with the meta-needs of society.

29. Traits associated with Gifted Readers The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (Reis et al.m 2004) Not all gifted students are talented readers and not all talented readers are academically gifted, Enjoyment in the reading process Read Early and Above Level Advanced Processing Advanced Language Skills. (see table 1.2 p. 12)

30. Enjoyment in Reading Read avidly and with enjoyment Use reading differently for different reading purposes Demonstrate thirst for insight and knowledge satisfied through reading Pursue varied interests in and curiosity about texts View books and reading as a way to explore the richness of life Seek and enjoy depth and complexity in reading Develop a deeper understanding of particular topics through reading Demonstrate preferences for nonfiction Pursue interest based reading opportunities

31. Read Early and Above level Read at least two grade levels above chronological grade placement Begin reading early and may be self taught

32. Advanced processing Retain a large quantity of information for retrieval Automatically integrate prior knowledge and experience in reading Utilize higher order thinking skills such as analysis and synthesis Process information and thoughts at an accelerated pace Perceive unusual relationships and integrate ideas Grasp complex ideas and nuances

33. Advanced language skills Enjoy the subtleties and complexities of language Demonstrate advanced understanding of language Use expansive vocabulary Use reading to acquire a large repertoire of language skills Use language for humor Display verbal ability in self expression Use colorful and descriptive phrasing Demonstrate ease in use of language.

34. Personality and Giftedness

35. Personality and Giftedness • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) (Cross et al., 2007)  Extroversion/Introversion (E/I) • Intuition (focusing on abstract ideas)/Sensing (attending to concrete information gathered through senses (I/S) • Judging (prefer order, structure, and deadlines)/Perceiving (prefer to be spontaneous, open, and free to change course as they see fit) (J/P) • Thinking (logic based decisions)/Feeling(take others’ feelings and personal values) (T/F)

36. MBTI in Gifted learners Prefer abstract thinking (Intuition) to focusing on the concrete (thinking) 70% preferred intuition to sensing. Perceiving was preferred to Judging by 57% 40% combined preference for Intuition and perceiving.

37. How do we help these learners in ELT? Read the story and try to think about questions and activities that may help these Gifted learners.

38. Social and Emotional Traits

39. Social and Emotional Traits • Are gifted learners have more psychological problems than normal ones? • no! but when they have poor fit between the individual and his or her academic or social environment (Gross, 2002; Neihart, 2002) • When they are supported, many enhance their resilience to negative life events and enable them to use their talents to achieve productive and satisfying lives.

40. Emotional traits (p. 341 ~ 343) • Sudden changes in personality or behavior • Severe depression that lasts a week or longer • Concealed or direct suicide threats • Talking about suicide, either jokingly or seriously • Giving away prized possessions

41. Five OverExcitabilities(OE)(Mandaglio and Tillier, 2006) Psychomotor (OE): surplus of energy or a translation of nervous energy into a variety of psychomotor behaviours such as tics, nail biting, broad gestures, or impulsive behaviors. Sensual (OE): sensitivity to sensory input and a tendency to use sensory outlets to release tension. Shopping, plastic surgery? Intellectual (OE): an intense focus on understanding, pursuit of the truth, academic interests, and intellectual achievement. Imaginational (OE): an affinity and talent for imagery, fantasy, invention, and other facets of the imagination Emotional (OE): intense feeling, and may include heightened sensitivity to others’ emotions, inhibition, or shyness; heightened ability to recall emotional experiences; anxiety; and fear of unknown

42. Gifted adolescents Csikszentmihalyi, Rathunde, and Whalen (1993) Characteristics of male gifted teens. Intellectual curiosity, active reception of information from the world, strong desire to achieve, perseverance to attain their goals, preference for leading and controlling, desire to display accomplishments and gain others’ attention, and little questioning of their own worth. Female gifted teens: an autotellic (self directed or self –rewarding) personality.

43. Karnes and McGinnis (1996) Had a more internal locus of control than average students Assouline and Colangelo (2006) Both male and female gifted teens may have low estimations of their social abilities and suffer from lowered self-satisfaction. On the positive side, they tend to report high opinions for their intellectual and academic status.

44. Characteristics of gifted children Not suitable for school life (Weinbrenner) Resist doing the work, or work in a sloppy, careless manner. Get frustrated with the pace of the class and what he perceives as inactivity of lack of noticeable progress. Rebel against routine and predictability. Ask embarrassing questions, demand good reasons for why things are done a certain way. Resist taking direction or orders. Daydream Monopolize class discussion

45. Become bossy with his peers and teachers. Become intolerant or imperfection in himself and in others. Become super-sensitive to any form of criticism; cry easily Refuse to conform. Resist cooperative learning Act out or disturb others. Become the class clown. Become impatient when he’s not called on to recite or respond; blurt out answers without raising his hand.

46. Learning disability 10-30% of gifted kids may have some form of learning disability. They are not recognized for their gifts and my have negative school experiences. Traditional remediation techniques offer little challenges Need support to understand and effectively use their strengths. (Reis, Neu, and McGuire)

47. Identifying underachievers Have observable discrepancies between ability and achievement over a substantial period of time (Mandel & Marcus, 1995). Have at least one major subject area is at least one year below graded level. Have discrepancies between IQ test scores and percentile scores, or grades that have decliend for three years in a row. (Rimm et al., 1989) (in Sally et al., 2002)

48. Twice exceptional children On test of ability, their scores may show significant discrepancies of 12 points or more between verbal and nonverbal subtest. Have large vocabs, which may be deficient in word meanings and the subtleties of language. Read below grade level but have a large storehouse of information on some topics. Excel at abstract reasoning but seem unable to remember small details. Difficulty with traditional school tasks. Their slow reaction speed may result in incomplete work and low test scores on timed tests.

49. Why?

50. Winebrenner: Cognitive & learning style Perfectionism. Too easy or too difficult work. Learning does not have any meaningful, relevant, or useful real-life application. The lack of opportunity to learn about areas of passionate interest to them. The lack of opportunity to demonstrate what they know in their learning style strength.