GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS

CURRICULUM FOR TALENTED AND GIFTED STUDENTS

The purpose of any curriculum is to provide educators with the knowledge and skills
students are expected to learn. This can include learning objectives and standards that will allow
educators opportunities to determine student mastery of various skills. However, for students
identified as talented and gifted the curriculum needs to include more than opportunities for the
demonstration of general student mastery.

The National Association for Gifted Students provides strategies and techniques that
educators who teach gifted and talented students can implement to help this population of
students succeed when they have mastered the general content. One technique is known as
curriculum compacting. With this technique, educators differentiate content, provide enrichment
activities, and allow students other opportunities to further develop their talents.

Supporting the gifted and talented usually involves a mixture of acceleration and
enrichment of the usual curriculum (Schiever & Maker, 2003). Acceleration involves either a
child’s skipping a grade, or else the teacher’s redesigning the curriculum within a particular
grade or classroom so that more material is covered faster. Either strategy works, but only up to
a point: children who have skipped a grade usually function well in the higher grade, both
academically and socially. Unfortunately skipping grades cannot happen repeatedly unless
teacher, parents, and the students themselves are prepared to live with large age and maturity
differences within single classrooms. In itself, too, there is no guarantee that instruction in the
new, higher-grade classroom will be any more stimulating than it was in the former, lower-grade
classroom. Redesigning the curriculum is also beneficial to the student, but impractical to do on
a widespread basis; even if teachers had the time to redesign their programs, many non-gifted
students would be left behind as a result.

Enrichment involves providing additional or different instruction added on to the usual

curriculum goals and activities. Instead of books at more advanced reading levels, for example, a
student might read a wider variety of types of literature at the student’s current reading level, or
try writing additional types of literature himself. Instead of moving ahead to more difficult kinds
of math programs, the student might work on unusual logic problems not assigned to the rest of
the class. Like acceleration, enrichment works well up to a point. Enrichment curricula exist to
help classroom teachers working with gifted students (and save teachers the time and work of
creating enrichment materials themselves). Since enrichment is not part of the normal, officially
sanctioned curriculum, however, there is a risk that it will be perceived as busywork rather than
as intellectual stimulation, particularly if the teacher herself is not familiar with the enrichment
material or is otherwise unable to involve herself in the material fully.

Obviously acceleration and enrichment can sometimes be combined. A student can skip
a grade and also be introduced to interesting “extra” material at the new grade level. A teacher
can move a student to the next unit of study faster than she moves the rest of the class, while at
the same time offering additional activities not related to the unit of study directly. For a teacher
with a student who is gifted or talented, however, the real challenge is not simply to choose
between acceleration and enrichment, but to observe the student, get to know him or her as a
unique individual, and offer activities and supports based on that knowledge. This is essentially
the challenge of differentiating instruction, something needed not just by the gifted and talented,
but by students of all sorts. As you might suspect, differentiating instruction poses challenges
about managing instruction.
Designing instructional opportunities for gifted students in regular classrooms finds its
inspiration at the source of the concern--the students. The characteristics of these students lead
to the instructional accommodations that are appropriate (The Association for Gifted, 1989). The
accelerated pace at which gifted and talented students learn information requires that flexible
pacing strategies (Daniel & Cox, 1988) such as skill grouping, curricular compacting,
contracting, and credit by examination be integrated into classroom management formats. The
need to explore topics in depth leads program planners to include provisions such as original
research, independent studies or investigations, mentorships, or classes at another school or
institution of higher learning. When addressing the unique or advanced interests of these
students, planners might be inspired to include opportunities such as mini-courses, interest
groups, clubs, science or art fairs, or internships. The teachers' challenge is to identify student
needs, develop and gain access to appropriate programs and curricula that correspond to those
needs, and monitor student progress throughout the course of study. The students' challenge is to
make the best possible use of the resources available while becoming fully responsible for their
own learning.

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

What are some of the strategies you can utilize to design differentiated curriculum? So, what are
some of the strategies you can use to begin designing differentiated curriculum? Maker (1982)
describes curriculum modifications for gifted students as encompassing four areas:

Content modifications for gifted students should:

• be abstract, complex, varied
• involve issues of organization, study of people, methods of inquiry.
Process modifications for gifted students should:
• involve higher order thinking processes
• promote creative and critical thinking
• require problem solving
• involve group interaction
• have variable levels of pacing— Gifted ant Package for Teachers
• allow for debriefing of the process
• involve open-endedness
• allow for freedom of choice.
Product modifications for gifted students should:
• involve real world problems
• be for real world audiences
• require real deadlines
• require transformation of learning
• involve appropriate assessment and evaluation
• involve extended or accelerated outcomes.
Learning environment modifications for gifted students should:
• be flexible and open
• encourage independent and intrinsic learning
• be accepting and non-judgmental
• encourage complex and abstract thought.
ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE FOR GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS

The two main categories for gifted identification are achievement tests and abilities tests.

Achievement Tests

Achievement tests look for a child’s knowledge in a subject area. They may be
groupadministered, like the SAT and ACT, or they might be administered individually by a
trained professional, like the Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement. Group-administered
achievement tests are often standardized and the results provide a numerical score. Individually
administered achievement tests done by a professional are often part of a larger gifted
assessment whose results cover the child’s learning profile in more depth. Achievement tests can
be used as gifted testing to screen students for particular areas of academic strength.

Abilities Tests

Abilities tests evaluate a child’s cognitive abilities or intelligence quotient (IQ). These are
delivered individually by a trained professional, often someone with an advanced degree in
education, psychology, or social work. The results are numerical and descriptive since it often
includes the professional’s observations of the child, interpretation of the results, and
recommendations. Abilities tests can be used for gifted assessment, which provides a more
indepth learning profile of the child. Commonly used abilities tests include:

Individual Tests:

1. Comprehensive Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (CTONI-2)

2. Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Scale (UNIT-2)
3. Stanford-Binet 5th edition (SB-5)
4. Wechsler Preschool Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-IV)
5. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V)
6. Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-IV Cog)

Nonverbal Tests:

1. Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT-3)

2. Comprehensive Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (CTONI-2)
3. Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Scale (UNIT-2)
4. Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT 8)
Group Tests

1. Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)

2. Differential Ability Scales (DAS-2)

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS OF TALENTED AND GIFTED STUDENTS

The social and emotional needs of talented and gifted students are in many ways the
same as those of their general education peers. However, there are some needs that this
population of students may experience that is significantly different than those of their peers.
Educators at every level must understand the differences in those social and emotional needs and
possess strategies that will help them meet the student needs.
UNDERACHIEVERS IN TALENTED AND GIFTED EDUCATION

Academic success for some students comes from dedication and a determination to
succeed in school. For students who are classified as talented and gifted, academic success can
come much easier. However, there are many students identified as talented and gifted who do
not perform at their levels. There are many reasons that some talented and gifted students do not
perform such as wanting to fit in with their peers, not being seen as smart, and in some instances
for fear of bullying. Educators should possess strategies that will help them to support those
gifted underachievers and encourage them to do their best work.

SCHOOLS FOR THE GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS

Headway School for the Giftedness - Headway School for Giftedness (HSG) was established
in 2002 as a quality learning institution that is committed to providing an environment that
nurtures the innate endowment of young learners through its inclusionary and progressive
programs.

The Philippine Highschool for the Arts - The Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) is a
government-run secondary school for artistically gifted and talented children and adolescents. It
implements a special secondary education program committed to the conservation and
promotion of the Filipino artistic and cultural traditions.

The Philippine Center for Gifted Education- The Philippine Center for Gifted Education is a
private non-stock, nonprofit organization committed to actively search for Filipino gifted
children and individuals and to provide ways of nurturing them.

STEAM Education for the Gifted in Rural Settings in the Philippines - STEAM is offered
primarily for Filipino students who are gifted. The Department of Education has established
Special Science Elementary School Project and Science High Schools to respond to the needs of
students who are gifted in the field of science, mathematics, technology, and engineering
science.

While STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, agriculture, and

mathematics, in the Philippines, though it is relatively an agricultural country, many schools
place more emphasis on art education as component of STEAM. This is in recognition of the
fact that many Filipino learners are artistically gifted. Many educators believed that putting
emphasis on art in STEAM education would develop the artistic talent of the Filipino gifted
learners.