From Your School Psychologist…

Information about Giftedness

What does it mean to be GIFTED?

There is no universal definition of, or set criteria to determine, giftedness! In fact, different states have different ways of defining giftedness for educational purposes (

National definitions of giftedness:

"Children and youth with outstanding talent who perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience, or environment."
- US Department of Education, 1993.

“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).”

-National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), 2010.

Common Characteristics of Gifted Children:

A gifted student may display some characteristics in one (or more) of the following areas:

Creative thinking: Able to think flexibly, can generate novel ideas and solutions—even in using everyday materials (is an “inventor”), displays originality in artistic, oral, or written expression, independent thinker, has vivid imagination and keen sense of humor, applies previous knowledge to new scenarios, and is a risk-taker.
General intellectual ability: Has varied interests, exhibits strong curiosity, demonstrates high level of verbal ability, has high capacity for processing information quickly, learns quickly and reasons well, considered a critical thinker and insightful, and is able to make logical associations quickly and accurately.
Specific academic ability: Capable of taking in and retaining a lot of advanced-level subject matter, displays quick mastery and recall of information, engages in persistent and goal-directed learning, has a long attention span, and is deeply and intrinsically motivated to master a domain in which they excel.
Leadership ability: Displays evaluative approach towards, and has high expectations of self and others, is self-critical and perfectionistic, exhibits self-confidence with same-age peers and adults, shows heightened compassion and sensitivity, and is responsible and tends to be dominant in social situations.
Psychomotor characteristics: Displays high degree of energy, has unusual discrepancy between physical and intellectual development, and exhibits heightened sense of awareness (from taking in atypical amounts of sensory input from the environment).
Affective/social-emotional characteristics: Unusually sensitive and has heightening self-awareness, engages in heightened concern of justice, morality, and idealism, displays need for consistency between personal values and actions, and develops internal locus of control earlier than peers.

Hot Topics (and mini-summaries):

  • Instructional strategies: All of the following strategies focus on meeting student needs—something that is vital for the success ofall learners.
  • Acceleration = Progressing more rapidly than typical peers through the school curriculum. Examples include Advanced Placement classes (which allow students to earn credit in college) andcurriculum compacting (which allow students to eliminate previously-mastered curriculum material from their studies).
  • Differentiation= Modifying instruction based on individual student need. This is a practice that should be used for all learners, and is what Response to Intervention (RTI) highlights. It consists of carefully planned and coordinated learning experiences that extend beyond the core curriculum. Examples include self-directed study and problem-based learning (which allow students to solve realistic problems through research and exploration).
  • Enrichment =Supplemental experiences that accompany the core curriculum. Activities are planned with students’ needs in mind, and often include academic competitions, independent study, mentoring programs, summer programs, learning centers, and field trips.
  • Dual exceptionality/twice exceptional students: Students who have gifts and talentsas well as a learning disability often display keen interests, are highly creative and exemplify advanced abstract thinking—at the same time, they display problems in reading, writing, math, memory, organization, or sustaining attention. To identify these students’ gifts, schools need to analyze individual subtest scores and patterns of strengths and weaknesses on assessment measures. These students need a dually differentiated program for nurturing their gifts and talents and accommodating for learning concerns.
  • Assessment: Assessments are used for identifying students for gifted programs andguiding instructional practices. Despite recent discussions around the use of traditional assessments in identifying students typically under-represented in gifted programs, five best practices are important to keep in mind for general identification:
  • The decision to use certain assessment tools must match the state, district, or school’s definition of giftedness.
  • Multiple assessments measuring the same construct that use a variety of formats (paper-and-pencil, performance assessments) should be used to ensure a comprehensive look at each student.
  • Assessment conditions should mimic a natural setting where students can comfortably demonstrate their knowledge and abilities.
  • Assessments must be psychometrically sound, and rely on appropriate norms.
  • Assessments must be administered and scored by appropriately trained individuals.
  • Identifying and serving culturally and linguistically diverse gifted students: This has been a growing area of discussion in gifted education. Recommendations from NAGC include critically examining policies and practices to determine where/how diverse students may be excluded from gifted programs—then using multiple criteria in assessment (e.g., formal, informal, and dynamic assessment gathered from families, teachers, and students) to highlight students’ strengths; usingassessments that are valid, reliable, and culturally and linguistically sensitive; offering support programs to help these students develop stronger academic identities and gain resiliency for responding to difficult life circumstances; and encouraging schools to initiate contact for effective home-school-community relationships to build trust, rapport, and collaboration.
  • Mental health: Gifted students may not ask for help when they have social/emotional concerns, in order to protect an image of competence. High levels of giftedness may also lead to isolation, especially in the adolescent years. In an attempt to avoid peer rejection,academically gifted students may try to hide/downplay their giftedness. Furthermore, dual exceptionality students who are not identified may experience challenges and difficulties understanding their profile. Counseling, as well as talent development and enrichment programs have been found to be helpful.

Resources:

  • Center for Gifted Education Policy (American Psychological Association):
  • Duke University Talent Identification Program (TIP) for academically talented and gifted youth:
  • International Gifted Education Teacher-Development Network:
  • National Association for Gifted Children:
  • National Society for the Gifted and Talented:
  • University of Connecticut’s Neag Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development: