Are gifted education programs ineffective? Children were selected for the gifted program according to who were their parents. Teaching the Gifted - Professionally Speaking - March 2. BY GABRIELLE BAUER and ILLUSTRATION BY R. Peter* opens his math book and starts on an exercise. Bradley reaches for the newspaper. Scott has his head on his desk. Josh and James, meanwhile, have launched yet another discussion about the evidence for God’s existence. The discussion soon gets heated, and a couple of kids roll their eyes. Meet the Grade 8 all- gifted class of Jack Miner Senior Public School in Toronto. As this motley crew of learners exemplifies, there is no such thing as a typical gifted child (see “What is gifted, anyway?” p. Some write like university professors; others lose their bearings when stringing words together. Several have learning disabilities that mask their true capabilities – like Scott, who has Asperger syndrome, and John, who has a severe writing disability. In short, the stereotype of the calculator- toting chess champion doesn’t bear up to reality. Veterans of gifted education agree that teaching these children is both a joy and a challenge. But do the kids really need the special attention? St-Laurent Academy daycare & private school offers programs are offered for children. St-Laurent Academy Daycare & Private School offers programs in English and French.In a cash- strapped education system, it’s no surprise that media articles and reports sometimes question the need for gifted programming. Without the proper guidance and resources, however, “They’re likely to disengage from school,” says Slade. As Rosanna Del Grosso, president of the Association for Bright Children of Ontario, sees it, “Gifted ed is part of Special Ed, meaning education for a group of kids with special needs. In a recent survey conducted by the Peel DSB, only 5. Parents echoed their children’s sentiments, with 5.
The approach. What is the best way to teach gifted children? Here are some proven approaches. Acceleration: This can mean moving ahead to a higher grade level in some subjects or skipping one or more grades entirely. According to Nick Colangelo, director and co- founder of the International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development at the University of Iowa, acceleration is the best documented of any education strategy for gifted learners. Granted, it’s not for everyone, but “when students are up for it, there is nothing to be gained by holding them back,” he says. If full- grade acceleration isn’t an option, students can move ahead in their strongest subjects. Compacting: This approach begins with a pretest to gauge a student’s knowledge of a subject such as math. If the student scores high enough on the test, she can work on independent projects rather than answering questions one to 1. Yolanda Stevenson, an education counsellor with the Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre- Sud. Enrichment can also include co- curricular activities such as debating clubs, science fairs and model United Nations. Withdrawal programs and congregated classes. Pullout programs take gifted children out of their regular classrooms for part of their school week, while congregated classes consist entirely of identified gifted students. These options give gifted children an incalculable benefit: time with their intellectual peers. Take Tara and Gabrielle, two friends who met at a congregated gifted class in Toronto. Tara says the Grade 4- 8 program “saved me from social misery. I tried to connect with some kids in the regular program but had nothing in common with them.” Gabrielle, meanwhile, learned that “I don’t belong in an all- gifted classroom.” Despite having verbal skills worthy of a trial lawyer, she “didn’t like the one- upmanship and competitiveness in the program” and became much happier after transferring to a regular classroom in Grade 8. The delivery. Of course, an approach is only as good as the teacher delivering it. What’s the most important attribute? They don’t like to be moulded.”. Another thing experienced teachers agree on: Use the child’s interests as a launching pad. In his experience, hands- on science projects get the thumbs- up from virtually all of them. To inspire the more verbally oriented ones, he integrates word challenges into his science assignments. Not only did he share his research and teach everyone else in the class, but he arranged for a truck to come to the parking lot of the school. The driver explained what everything was, and the kids took turns getting into the cab. A simple research project became a whole lot more.”Of course, an approach is only as good as the teacher delivering it. What’s the most important attribute? Flexibility. In a similar spirit, Natalie L. The teacher told the group of children to write a few words about “Why you feel proud to be a Canadian.” Tara raised her hand. Tara explained that while she felt very grateful to be living in Canada, she didn’t feel proud, because “pride comes from something you accomplished, and I just happened to be born here.” The teacher did not consider this an acceptable answer and went on to complain to Tara’s mother about the child’s “attitude.”For all their surface bravura, many gifted students expect more of themselves than any teacher does. The word “perfectionism” often comes up on lists of gifted traits. When she put the question to one of her disengaged Grade 4 students, he fessed up to a passion for panda bears, an endangered species. He made posters, organized a high school bake sale, had some older kids bake cupcakes with a panda motif and raised $3. The experience turned him around.”The social network. Gifted children are often thought to be socially awkward, but Slade says this is misguided. In his all- gifted classes, he has his students role- play answers to hurtful salvos they might encounter in the schoolyard. At this point many gifted children start to hide their abilities, says Morton. Seemingly overnight, her Grade 7 classmates started sporting black eyeliner and attitude. A pretty face and friendly manner were not sufficient for Tara to bridge the gap. Though she found it easier to connect with a few of the boys, middle school remained a social wasteland for her. Many of these kids prefer the company of adults, and there’s nothing wrong with that.” What is the bestway to teach gifted children? It all depends on how each child learns best. Adds Foster: “Sometimes a trusted adult can make all the difference in a child’s self- acceptance. Why not a teacher?”. All the names of the students in this class have been changed to protect their privacy. What to avoid with gifted students. What is gifted, anyway? She goes the extra mile in all her school assignments, even in subjects that bore her mightily. What unites these very different children is that they’re both gifted. Ontario’s Ministry of Education defines giftedness as “an unusually advanced degree of general intellectual ability that requires differentiated learning experiences of a depth and breadth beyond those normally provided.” Simply put, they’re so smart that they need to be taught differently. The Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre- Sud exemplifies the process. The homeroom teacher and support team nominate certain Grade 2 students for assessment. When these students are in Grade 3, a specially trained psychologist gives them two subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC- IV). The website includes information about gifted programming in Ontario school boards.
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