Teaching TIPs for Parents of Gifted Students
Recently, we shared a list of TIP resources for parents to draw upon as we try to navigate this uncertain time during the spread of COVID-19 and find activities to motivate, occupy, and enrich our children’s learning. Today, we focus on practical tips for parents of gifted students to keep them learning and engaged as they study from home:
Minimize Distractions: One common cognitive characteristic of gifted students is a tendency to focus for great lengths of time once they find an engaging topic. Twice-exceptional students, however (as well as those who find themselves distracted by a new learning environment) may struggle at first with finding their focus. Selecting a comfortable place to work may help. But you should also consider the following, and be patient, as you try out a few options:
- Engage your child in selecting the study location. Should the location change a few times throughout the day or should s/he set up in one room? Make sure the location is well-lit, and as distraction-free as possible.
- Use a headset to help minimize background noise. (These are especially helpful if you are taking part in live/synchronous classes.)
- Does my child prefer to work in quiet or with ambient music?
- Keeping the need for social distancing in mind and your online connecting options, consider whether your child will work best in a group setting (with siblings or parents who are also working) or solo.
Know How Much to Help: At Duke TIP, when we offer online programming for gifted elementary and middle school students, we encourage students to self-advocate and problem-solve before we step in to help. That’s a good policy for parents to follow as well:
- In a Live Session, only students should be seen on camera (no pets, siblings, or parents if at all possible).
- Encourage students to stretch their independence. Can they try troubleshooting, wrestle independently with a task, or craft an email to their teacher asking for help and articulating what is wrong?
- Parents may need to assist more in the early days, to avoid frustration as children set up online accounts or log into a live session for the first time. However, continue to encourage students to develop self-representation as they move forward.
- Help your child gather passwords for online learning and store them in an easy to access (but secure) location. This will minimize frustration when switching between platforms or subjects.
Goals and Motivation: The American Psychological Association states that short-term, specific, and moderately challenging goals best enhance gifted student motivation.
Education and goals will need to be a flexible combination of ensuring continuity of learning, exploring new content, peaking interests, and developing strengths. Since many gifted students may complete assigned school work in a shortened time period, parents may use this opportunity to encourage their children to seek enrichment. A few examples might include the following:
- creating a stop-motion video using the elements of story-writing or explaining a historical event;
- an older child teaching music or art to a younger neighbor or friend via video;
- diving deeper into a science topic (read articles from the Smithsonian, watch NASA footage, or explore some of the animal links in our previous post), then discuss with an adult; and
- seeking out a virtual class in architecture, coding, cooking, art, world history, language, or another area of interest.
The National Association for Gifted Children recommends linking interests to academics to increase motivation. The key is to seek out opportunities that both challenge and instill or build upon an interest. Find ways for students to put their knowledge into play while also encouraging academic passions.
Promote Academic, Social, and Emotional Health: This applies to students as well as their parents/guardians. In this new time, many parents/guardians attempt to juggle working from home while helping their children to learn from home. These tips may help:
- Gifted students have a strong sense of task commitment and focus. While they may worry about their studies and academic goals now more than ever, it is important to take breaks when possible. Try a quick breath of fresh air (a short activity or walk outside, if advisable/allowed), a glass of water, a few jumping jacks, or a lap around the house.
- Fostering and maintaining social connections can be challenging. Think outside of or in addition to social media to find ways for students to connect with friends and classmates. Video chat, watch a movie together online, video teach a younger friend, take part in a virtual book club, or join a live online class.
- Maintain and model calm for your children. When we teach online classes at TIP, one of the first lessons we work with our instructors to instill is modeling calm when encountering technical difficulties. Take care of yourselves as parents/guardians, lean on other parents, be flexible while working out a schedule, and know that you are doing your best.
Good luck and please feel free to share your own advice or any questions you may have in the Comments section!
Sandi Sinclair is a Virginia-based parent of two gifted children, a teacher of gifted students, and an academic coordinator for Duke TIP’s eInvestigators online program.
Scott T. says
Parents looking for good science homeschooling learning materials can visit https://bestedlessons.org/science/. This non-profit site offers freely accessible home learning resources, educational lessons, worksheets, activities and textbooks for easy viewing and downloading.