Engaging and Challenging Gifted Students

Tips for Supporting Extraordinary Minds in Your Classroom (ASCD Arias)

Jenny Grant Rankin

• Publisher: ASCD
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781416623373
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Teaching Methods

Though nearly 5 million students can be characterized as gifted and talented in the United States, many exceptional learners "fly under the radar." Because they are not appropriately challenged in the general classroom, they never meet their full potential—in school or in life.

Author Jenny Grant Rankin equips general classroom teachers with the information and strategies they need to spot, advocate for, engage, and challenge exceptional learners in their classrooms.

Learn how to

• recognize the challenges of each child,
• identify the five unexpected traits of exceptional learners, and
• adjust your teaching to meet the needs of all learners.

Filled with useful strategies and poignant personal accounts, this book gives you the "meat" of what you need to prevent those students who need to be challenged and engaged from slipping through the cracks.

Introduction

Three million to five million students (6 to 10 percent) can be characterized as gifted and talented in the United States (National Association for Gifted Children, 2016). Each gifted child (GC) is unique, and teachers often struggle to both understand and meet the needs of each GC while juggling the needs of non-gifted students.

In this book, GCs constitute those who fit the following description, as provided in a position statement by the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) (2011):

Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer) in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity with its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensorimotor skills (e.g., painting, dance, sports). (p. 1)

This book succintly and comprehensively gives you the information you need to identify and meet the needs of each GC. It gives you the "meat" of what you need to avoid common pitfalls and offer each GC the best education possible. This includes recognizing both the signs of disability that many gifted students (known as twice-exceptional) experience and each GC's unique blend of innate intensities (or overexcitabilities) while knowing how best to work with these.

You can implement this book's strategies and tips in your classroom to ensure that each GC is engaged (and not simply compliant) and appropriately challenged. The resources provided at the end of the book will be useful in acquiring help from outside of the classroom.

This book, though focused on GCs, is not meant to imply that non-gifted children (non-GCs) should receive less attention in the classroom. In fact, if you see a strategy in this book that will work well with your non-GCs, by all means use it. In addition, by presenting ways in which you can appeal to the characteristics and interests of GCs, this book is not meant to imply that you should coddle GCs. All strategies should be selected and applied as appropriate for each individual GC to ensure that she will flourish academically, maintain a love of learning, and be armed with the skills necessary to find success and happiness in life.

Identify Gifted Students

Knowing which of your students are gifted is not as easy as it might sound, and some GCs can slip under most teachers' radar. For example:

• Female and English learners (ELs). Both are disproportionately overlooked in referrals for gifted services (Card & Giuliano, 2015).
• African American and Hispanic students. These students are significantly less likely than white students to receive gifted services, particularly when they have white teachers. Black students are half as likely as white students to be labeled gifted, even when their test scores are comparable (Grissom & Redding, 2016).
• Socioeconomically disadvantaged students. These students typically have less exposure to resources that can help them develop their talents, which can make their giftedness less obvious. Poor students are underrepresented in gifted programs even more than are African American and Hispanic students (Callahan, Moon, & Oh, 2014).
• Poor-performing students. GCs often perform poorly in school—and in life. For example, at least 5 percent of GCs fail or drop out of school (Renzulli & Park, 2002), and only 2.86 percent of the 210 highly gifted children in a 35-year study grew up to be highly successful adults (Freeman, 2010).

Thus, giftedness is not always obvious. In addition, as noted by NAGC Director of Public Education Jane Clarenbach, JD:

Large percentages of students are in districts with no Gifted and Talented program, so they are never formally identified. In these cases, teachers are on their own to spot the high ability and support it.

This section features key ways you can identify all GCs in your classroom.

Review Gifted Status

Most school districts use computerized data systems to house student data such as gifted and talented (GT), Gifted and Talented Education (GATE), or Talented and Gifted (TAG) status. Teachers generally have access to these systems, or to the demographic reports that communicate important student data. If your school does not provide you with an account of which of your students have GT/GATE/TAG status, request a list of such students from your administrators.

Encourage your administrators to disaggregate GT/GATE/TAG enrollment data by subgroup to ensure no race, ethnicity, gender, or other subgroup (e.g., EL or socioeconomically disadvantaged) is underrepresented (e.g., if 60 percent of a school's students are American Indian, then approximately 60 percent of the school's GT/GATE/TAG students should be American Indian). If school GT/GATE/TAG data are not regularly assessed for fair inclusion, worthy GCs can slip through the cracks and miss access to advanced learning opportunities.

Push for Universal Screening

Universal screening involves testing all students for giftedness instead of testing only some students based on the recommendations of teachers or parents. Research has shown that universal screening results in increased identification of minority, poor, female, and EL students for gifted programs without the standards for identification being lowered or altered in any way (Card & Giuliano, 2015). Universal screening also helps capture GCs who don't exhibit obvious gifted behavior in the classroom.

Personal Account: Roberto¹, a biracial (African American and Hispanic) student, struggled to sit still and focus in my class. He resisted doing schoolwork for the first few weeks but eventually flourished in my classroom. I had to argue for him to be tested for GATE because his other core subject teachers did not endorse him, and he was failing most of his classes. He also fit the profile of traditionally under-tested students. When Roberto was finally assessed, he passed our district GATE test with ease. This put him on other educators' radar as a student with special gifts that needed to be tapped. If universal screening had been in place in our district, the "close call" of Roberto's potential being overlooked would have been avoided.

You can push for universal screening by sharing the information in this section with administrators. In addition, you can nominate all of your students for gifted testing, regardless of your school's screening policies.

Push for Comprehensive Assessment

Pushing for a range of assessments helps to capture all GCs, as some giftedness will not necessarily show on all gifted assessments. This is particularly true of poor GCs, who have had reduced chances to develop their aptitudes, and of "2E" (twice-exceptional) GCs with learning disabilities like dyslexia.

In addition, push for assessments that are "culture fair" with reduced bias. For example, the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) can identify gifted and talented K–4 students regardless of language or cultural barriers, which can otherwise skew gifted students' test scores. While many schools use homegrown or long-used assessments to identify students for GT/GATE/TAG, it's hard to defend such assessments when the NNAT has had norms set based on more than 10,000 students. Work with administrators to ensure that your school's assessment plan is up to par.

Recognize Intensities for What They Are

As giftedness experts Susan Winebrenner and Dina Brulles (2012) write:

Today, overexcitability, or OE, is considered a marker of giftedness, one of the many things to look for when identifying a gifted child. (p. 11)

Overexcitabilities (OEs) can help teachers spot a GC (Winebrenner & Brulles, 2012). Each GC is likely to have at least one OE that is often misunderstood and sometimes problematic. As these intensities are far less common with non-GCs, teachers are advised to pay heightened attention to spotting OEs in each GC. In other words, non-GCs can sometimes have OEs, whereas GCs nearly always have OEs, even if an intensity is masked and thus unlikely to be spotted. Most GCs have two to five innate intensities, though they vary in dominance and one type usually stands out as the most dominant. Kazimierz Dabrowski (1902–1980) characterized these OEs in a manner still used today: emotional, imaginational, intellectual, psychomotor, and sensual.

Each of the Five OEs

Explanations of these OEs, as well as strategies for working with a GC with a given OE, can be found at http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/books/rankin2016.pdf (or click on "Online Bonus Content" on the book's Table of Contents on the ASCD website—http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/sf117019.aspx). (Note: A GC need not display every characteristic associated with an OE in order to have the OE.)

For All Types of Intensities

For all OEs, be on the lookout for chances to commend and celebrate the intensities when their impact is positive. For instance, if a science-obsessed GC is able to list all the elements on the periodic table, let her perform this feat for the class (before a related lesson) and afterward initiate a loud applause.

Also, set appropriate boundaries that will prevent the GC from disrupting his or his classmates' learning. For example, if I taught a GC with the psychomotor OE who often blurted out in class, I might:

• Set aside time to speak with the GC and his parent(s) about the matter and gather feedback on what triggers the behavior and what works best to discourage the behavior. Note that both the parent and GC can be invaluable sources for this information. Other teachers and support staff can offer additional input.
• Identify and nurture the GC's unique gifts. Colucci (2015), an award-winning teacher, describes one of his GCs who talked incessantly. When Colucci realized speaking was the child's strongest gift, rather than fight it, he channeled it into literature circles, presentations, vocabulary activities, and collaborative work.
• Establish a reward system as necessary. For example, I might say to the GC "Whenever you make it through the whole discussion without blurting out, I'll call on you as the last student to share your thoughts on the lesson." Note this is not a material reward. GCs are usually unmotivated by token rewards like candy or toys, whereas they are motivated by rewards that engage their natural interests and needs.
• Establish consequences as necessary. For example, I might say to the GC "If you blurt out during the discussion once, I won't call on you; if you blurt out more than once, you won't get to be the line leader, as leaders need to respect others' turns." Whatever the consequence, make it something that matters to the child, something related to the disturbance, and something paired with a "check in" talk. The consequence should not be one that isolates, demeans, or exacerbates the OE with which the GC is struggling.
  Personal Account: When I was a long-term 3rd grade substitute teacher, as another student led the post-discussion line across campus, I would walk with the GC. I checked on how she was feeling, ensured that she understood why she lost the privilege of being the leader of the line, and discussed what triggered the disruption and what she could do differently if she was again faced with the same trigger. I made sure to do this constructively and in a way that let her know I was trying to help her, while stressing that mistakes are normal and trying is what matters most.

If the OE is distracting or obvious to the GC's peers, view this as a chance to celebrate diversity. If students ask why a GC with the psychomotor OE plays with chair bands with his feet, explain that some people think better when they move. Point out that the GC's high energy might make him better at sports and staying healthy, or allow him to spread enthusiasm or accomplish more than the average person. Explain that all people are different and that our uniqueness helps make us interesting and able to offer different gifts to the world. Point out other students' unique, beneficial qualities, and celebrate the diversity of your classroom (always being sensitive to which students might feel uncomfortable being singled out).

Personal Account: I had a GC named Henry, whose psychomotor OE left him ever-ready to vacate his seat, whom I often asked to pass out things like papers or supplies to the class. Henry's peers took notice of the pattern and started calling him "Helpful Henry" as he was always ready to help with these tasks. While some students would have felt teased by the playful barb, Henry, who loved to joke around, grinned at the name and hammed it up for the crowd. For example, he'd bow to me upon accepting a stack of papers and say, "Happy to help, m'lady!" I'd respond, "Wow, I love how helpful Henry is!" or "We're so lucky Henry is helpful, or you'd never get your papers back!" Students would laugh, but they'd also see and hear about how this energetic GC's "being different" added joy to and benefited the class.

On occasion, GCs can qualify for Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs). Before considering these options (which should only be used in extreme cases), employ strategies for working with GCs that are within your control as a teacher, as those strategies might be all that are needed to help GCs with OEs succeed in your classroom.

Engage Each Child

As with other students, a GC's compliance in the classroom and with homework does not automatically equate to true engagement. A lack of engagement can result when a GC is not sufficiently challenged by classwork, but the issue of rigor will be addressed in the next section. This section covers assorted strategies readers can implement to make GCs excited to participate and learn within the context of the classroom.

When struggling or off-task students overtake a teacher's time, as often occurs, GCs are robbed of the teacher's attention. Thus, keeping non-GCs engaged is an important part of being "freed up" to give GCs the equivalent attention they deserve. We want GCs engaged in an inclusive classroom, and many of this section's strategies also work well with non-GCs.

Differentiation

Key to effective learning for all students is adjusting instruction to appeal to students' individual needs. Differentiation can involve making adjustments to allow for varied learning levels (covered in the next section), or to allow for varied learning preferences such as preferred learning style, topics of interest, and the like (covered in this section). Matching learning tasks to a GC's preferences enhances her engagement and motivation to learn, while bolstering feelings about school (Rogers, 2002; Stanley, 2012). Since a GC's unique qualities and preferences can be particularly intense, differentiation is especially vital to their engagement. When determining variations, keep the interests and characteristics of individual GCs in mind so you can offer alternatives that mesh well with these, and so you can point out possibilities to students.

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Identify Gifted Students
• Recognize Intensities for What They Are
• Engage Each Child
• Challenge Each Child
• Catch Hidden Challenges
• Final Thoughts
• Encore Divider
• Encore
• References
• Related Resources
• About the Author
• Copyright