36 Gifted
Gifted students can take care of themselves, right?
by Candace Grantz
Introduction
| If we were TV sets, some of us would only get five channels. Others are wired for cable (the general population) and some of us (the gifted) are hooked up to a satellite dish. That makes these gifted children capable of making connections that others don’t even know exist! Teaching those types of voracious minds in a regular classroom without enhancement is like feeding an elephant one blade of grass at time. You’ll starve them. – Elizabeth Meckstroth |
When one hears the phrase “special education,” thoughts turn to students with learning disabilities or students who cannot keep up with the pace of the classroom. However, a certain group of special education students is often overlooked. These children are indeed in need of special education but not in the manner to which we are accustomed. These are the gifted students, who, since they do not show traditional signs of academic distress, can be overlooked. Although they are often thought to be relatively self-sustaining in the classroom, gifted students deserve special education to meet their individual needs.
Recognizing Gifted Students in a Classroom
Over the years, as the issue of gifted students in the classroom has earned increased attention, the definition of a gifted student has evolved. As author Sandra Manning investigates, in her article “Recognizing Gifted Students: A Practical Guide for Teachers,” in the past, the definition of a gifted student has focused on everything from a student’s high IQ test scores to a student’s exceptional performance in life situations (Manning, Sandra 2006). Now, the popular use of the title “gifted” is for students with a high academic or intellectual ability (Manning 2006). Although Manning admits that definitions of the word “gifted” carry much ambiguity, she asserts that these gifted students exhibit certain characteristics that can be identified by instructors in the classrooms (Manning 2006).
The first group of characteristics that the author examines is the set of “cognitive characteristics of intellectually gifted children,” characteristics in how the students think and learn (Manning 2006). According to Manning, gifted students often exhibit strengths in reception, processing, and retention of information (Manning 2006). They possess the ability to comprehend materials at higher levels, and their abstract thinking skills are usually more developed than those of their peers (Manning 2006). Gifted students not only possess stronger abilities to take in information, but they also have the desire to pursue studies in specific areas that interest them (Manning 2006). These students can see connections and relationships between ideas and are creative in their ideas and problem-solving techniques (Manning 2006). Gifted students tend to be high-energy learners, who can focus longer and investigate deeper into a project (Manning 2006).
Manning goes on to address