The American Association for Gifted Children (AAGC) is the nation’s oldest advocacy organization for gifted children and receives numerous calls and e-mails from parents who are seeking information to help them understand the unusual abilities that their children are displaying at an early age. Parents ask most often about identification, testing, school placement, and local resources. They seek advice on having their child’s intellectual ability evaluated and want help understanding the … [Read more...] about Questions that Parents of Young Gifted Children Ask the Most
Gifted 101
Developing Personal Talent in Your Child
Have you ever wondered why some children easily manage a complex life including friends, schoolwork, and sports, while others drift through their school years confused and scattered? Or why two students can enter a math class with equivalent ability and end the semester with grades on opposite ends of the spectrum? … [Read more...] about Developing Personal Talent in Your Child
A Consistent Definition of Giftedness
What does it mean to be gifted? Experts in the field of gifted education have long debated over a universally accepted definition. The federal definition of the gifted and talented first appeared in the 1972 Marland Report to Congress and describes these students as those ...who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the … [Read more...] about A Consistent Definition of Giftedness
Parenting Strategies to Motivate Underachieving Gifted Students
The underachievement of capable children is an area of concern for many parents and educators. Although the study of student underachievement has a long educational history, it is more productive to consider what motivates students to do well. Students tend to be motivated when they find a task meaningful, believe that they have the skills to do it, and find their efforts supported by those around them. … [Read more...] about Parenting Strategies to Motivate Underachieving Gifted Students
Gifted in the Middle
Although Educating Gifted Students in Middle School: A Practical Guide, by Susan Rakow (Prufrock, 2005), is written for educators, parents can glean from it excellent information about what shapes middle school educational policy and how to bring recommendations to their child’s middle school. … [Read more...] about Gifted in the Middle
Losing Our Minds
Deborah L. Ruf, in her new book Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind (Great Potential, 2005), contends that far more intellectually advanced students exist than is commonly thought and that to educate them effectively, degrees of giftedness must be understood. Ruf defines five levels of giftedness and identifies the typical IQ score range and the age at which children typically exhibit milestone behaviors. Her book describes each level in depth and provides real-life examples. … [Read more...] about Losing Our Minds
Multipotentiality: Issues and Considerations for Career Planning
Preparing gifted children for adulthood includes career planning; however, merely finding a job match should not be the goal. Likewise, focusing narrowly on academic ability and achievement is not adequate for making career decisions. The ultimate objective should be to help children create a satisfying life for themselves. … [Read more...] about Multipotentiality: Issues and Considerations for Career Planning
Are Gifts and Talents Innate?
Are gifts and talents innate? Are geniuses born or made? Nature or nurture? These are questions that educators, psychologists, and philosophers have pondered for years. The consensus in the gifted field seems to be that while talents can be developed, some individuals are born with an unusual capacity to master certain areas. … [Read more...] about Are Gifts and Talents Innate?
Mislabeling Gifted Children
Some gifted children may be misdiagnosed as having psychological or behavioral disorders because of a lack of knowledge about characteristics commonly associated with giftedness, according to Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults, by James T. Webb et al. (Great Potential, 2005). The authors compare the traits of giftedness with those of disorders often diagnosed in the gifted and detail the important differences. … [Read more...] about Mislabeling Gifted Children
Program Delivery Models for the Gifted
Duke TIP: Which delivery models are most prevalent among gifted programs in the United States today? Joyce VanTassel-Baska: The models have not changed much in the past 25 years. At the elementary level, the pull-out model, in which gifted students are assigned to a class with a special curricular focus outside the regular classroom for two to six hours per week, is still predominant. Full-time, self-contained programs for the gifted still remain an option as center-based, … [Read more...] about Program Delivery Models for the Gifted