Gifted Education

Characteristics

Screening and Identification Procedures

Instructional Strategies

♦ Alertness in infancy

♦ Faster pace in reaching motor   development milestones

♦ Early language development

  o Advanced vocabulary

  o Complex speech patterns

 ♦ Interest in the alphabet and symbols

♦ Intense curiosity

♦ Sustained attention

♦ Abstract thinker

♦ Creative/Imaginative

♦ Excellent memory

♦ May be an early reader

♦ Early empathy development

♦ Emotional intensity/sensitivity

♦ Concern with truth and fair play

♦ Mature sense of humor

♦ Perfectionism

♦ Leader in cooperative play

♦ Assessments must be developmentally appropriate

♦ Define the purposes for assessment

♦ Use multiple measures over time

  o Observation

  o Portfolios

  o Informal testing

  o Formal testing

♦ Examine student portfolios for talent areas

♦ Interview parents, teachers, and students

♦ Keep in mind asynchronous development patterns

♦ Create balance between academic and play activities

♦ Involve children in decisions about what to learn

♦ Remember that social development is important ~ children need intellectual peers in addition to age peers

♦ Invite children to explore the world through drama, art, and movement

♦ Teach processes such as brainstorming and thinking aloud

♦ Build on prior knowledge and scaffold new experiences based on the child’s comments and current understandings

♦ Provide centers or learning spaces in the classroom and home

♦ Involve preschoolers in planning travel experiences and family outings