Monthly Archives: June 2014

Who Should Teach Gifted Children?

Although often a concern for parents of gifted children, this week’s chat saw an influx of teachers interested in how this question would be answered. During the course of the discussion of who should teach gifted children, many aspects of today’s educational system came into question. Do personal attributes of a teacher affect their ability to teach a distinct population? How important is certification in a specific area of instruction? Can education be delivered outside the traditional school house? What role does teacher-training play in the delivery of specialized education? And finally … is it okay to use gifted students as teaching assistants in the classroom?

Our first question explored whether or not a teacher had to be gifted themselves to teach gifted children. A vast majority of checklists found in academic journals suggest that this is indeed a recommended if not essential requirement for teachers interacting with gifted students. However, most (but not all) of those voicing an opinion in this chat did not believe it should be required as simply being gifted did not necessarily make one a good teacher; although it was desirable trait. Other qualities such as empathy for gifted students (see “Can Empathy for Gifted Students Be Nurtured in Teachers?” in the links below), a desire to teach in a gifted classroom, acceptance that their students might well be more intelligent than the teacher and adequate professional development were mentioned as more important.

Certification was a different matter. Clearly, most felt it was essential that teachers be certified in gifted education if they were teaching in a traditional classroom. Celeste, a homeschooling mother in Australia, expressed it this way ~ “YES – what vocation allows professionals to serve without relevant qualifications?” It was pointed out that the certification process should be meaningful with extensive review of the nature of giftedness including issues such as twice-exceptional (gifted and LD), asynchronous development and social-emotional needs. Certification was also seen as a pathway to better understanding gifted children.

Celeste, a homeschooling mother in Australia, expressed it this way ~ “YES – what vocation allows professionals to serve without relevant qualifications?”

Many of those who regularly attend #gtchat homeschool their gifted children so we believed that it was important to recognize this growing segment of the homeschooling community. Gifted homeschoolers told us that for most it was a necessity as regular educational settings simply could not meet the needs of their children. Parents felt they knew their children better, were qualified to teach or had access to resources in their communities or online (see link to Gifted Homeschoolers Forum). They also told us how much work they put into educating their children and the sacrifices that had been made to have a parent available to homeschool.

An edited (we don’t think you care to see all the retweets!) transcript of the full chat may be found at Storify. Check out the beautiful new interface that Storify has provided us making our transcripts much easier to read!

Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Fridays at 7/6 C & 4 PT in the U.S., midnight in the UK and Saturdays 1 PM NZ/11 AM AEDT to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Storify. Our Facebook Pageprovides information on the chat and news & information regarding the gifted community.

About the author: Lisa Conrad is the Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered byTAGT and Social Media Manager of the Global #gtchat Community. She is a longtime advocate for gifted children and also blogs at Gifted Parenting Support. Lisa can be contacted at: gtchatmod@gmail.com

Links:

Can Empathy for Gifted Students Be Nurtured in Teachers?

Teaching Gifted Children: National Guidelines & State Requirements from Duke TIP

Ohio: Teaching Gifted Students

Professional Training for Teachers of the Gifted & Talented

Maryland: Criteria for Excellence Gifted & Talented Program Guidelines

NM: Gifted Education Licensure Endorsement Guide (pdf)

Knowledge & Skill Standards in Gifted Education for All Teachers the NAGC

NAGC-CEC Teacher Preparation Standards in Gifted

NAGC – CEC Teacher Preparation Standards in Gifted & Talented Education Guidelines (pdf)

Using NAGC-CEC Teacher Preparation Standards in CAEP Accreditation Process

Advice for New Gifted Education Specialists

Gifted Education Professional Development Package from the Australian Government Department of Education *Excellent resource for teachers

How Are Gifted Teachers Different from Other Teachers? (pdf) by Dr. Linda Silverman

What Are the Characteristics of Effective Teachers of the Gifted? by Carol Fertig

What Are the Most Effective Characteristics of Teachers of the Gifted? (pdf) 1997

Characteristics & Competencies of Teachers of Gifted Learners: The Hong Kong Teacher Perspective (pdf)

IL: Standards for Endorsement in Gifted Education

Gifted Homeschoolers Forum

“Homeschooling Gifted Children” from Hoagies Gifted

Creative Home Schooling: A Resource Guide for Smart Families (Amazon) by Lisa Rivero

Homeschooling Highly Gifted Children by Kathi Kearney

Homeschooling with Profoundly Gifted Kids by Kathryn Finn

Teaching Young Gifted Children in the Regular Classroom

One Thing We’d Like to Tell The Teachers of Our Gifted Children …

Photo of teacher courtesy of By the U.S. Census Bureau (the U.S. Census Bureau Facts for Feature Photos) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Posted in Education, gifted and talented, gifted education

Locating Age-Appropriate Books for High Ability Learners

Jun 23

Posted by gtchatmod

Young Reader*

Locating age-appropriate books for high ability learners can prove difficult for several reasons. Asynchronous development may mean that a very young child could comprehend reading material well beyond what may be considered appropriate for their age. As Lisa Van Gemert of American Mensa pointed out, interest levels and sensitivities also play important roles when finding appropriate yet challenging books for these children. Jo Freitag of Gifted Resources commented that material deemed appropriate for a child’s chronological age might be considered too simplistic and unsatisfying to the child. Leslie Graves, President of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, noted that the depth of thought embedded in the content and the pace of information offered would also make many leveled offerings inappropriate as well.

Child Reading**

Reading patterns found in gifted readers can be different than those of typical readers. These kids often start reading earlier than their age peers and demonstrate deeper comprehension of what they read. Kate B. stated they may be self taught, read faster and be voracious readers. Justin Schwamm, Latin teacher at Tres Columnae, related that many gifted learners read and enjoy multiple books at once; which can drive others crazy. Moderator, Lisa Conrad, added that it’s still important to respect the developmental process and allow a child to enjoy reading at various levels. Parents should resist the urge to ‘push’ a child to read simply because they excel in other academic areas.

Parent Reading to Child*

Reading to children was still considered an important role of both the parent and teacher even after children were reading well on their own. Jerry Blumengarten, well known content curator Cybraryman and former teacher, remembered family reading time as enjoyable and an important time to be set aside even after children were reading. When he taught Language Arts, his 9th grade students loved when he read dramatically to them. Jayne Frances reminded us that reading aloud is important for pronunciation of words and sharing more precise or alternate definitions than those gleaned from context. Many also related the importance of emotional bonding that occurs when adults read to children whether it was a parent or teacher.

The popular school reading program ‘Accelerated Reader’ did not fare well in the opinions of many at this chat. This program seemed out-of-sync with high ability learners. Justin Schwamm told us that he was not a fan because extrinsic rewards for an intrinsically-valuable task are problematic at best.

Questions for this chat are here and a full transcript of this chat can be found at Storify. Links from the chat and additional links are below. Thank you to all chat participants who shared links with us.

Links:

Search Book Titles by Conceptual/Vocabulary Difficulty Age from Armadillo Soft

67 Books Every Geek Should Read to Their Kids Before Age 10

Some of My Best Friends Are Books: Guiding Gifted Readers (Amazon)

Guiding the Gifted Reader (1990)

Reading Lists for Your Gifted Child from Hoagies Gifted

Best-Loved Books: A Unique Reading List for Gifted Students Grades 6-12 (pdf)

Book List for Very Young Precocious Readers (link on bottom right of page)

Book List for Pre-teen Gifted Readers from Suki Wessling

The Challenge of “Challenged Books” Gifted Child Today Magazine Spring, 2002

GT-World Reading Lists

Books for Young Readers from the MN Council for the Gifted & Talented

Appropriate Content for Gifted Readers from Duke TIP

13 Age-Appropriate Books for Young Gifted Readers

Gifted 101: Choosing Books for Your Young Gifted Reader

3 Reasons I Loathe Accelerated Reader from Lisa Van Gemert, The Gifted Guru

Dear Google, You Should Have Talked to Me First from Jen Marten

Reading Lists from Jo Freitag of Gifted Resources

Appropriate Expectations for the Gifted Child from SENG

Slow Down and Look at the Pictures

Early Literacy Page from Cybraryman

Mensa Foundation Excellence in Reading

What Should I Read Next

Reading List for Key Stage 1 Gifted Readers (pdf) from Potential Plus UK

Reading and Literacy Skills Page from Cybraryman

Books Page from Cybraryman

Newbery Medal Winners 1922 – Present

Caldecott Medal and Honor Books 1938 – Present

Mrs. Ripp Reads

Additional Links:

Orientation (The School for Gifted Potentials Book 1) by Allis Wade

Revelations (The School for Gifted Potentials Book 2) by Allis Wade

Gifted Readers and Young Adult Literature: A Perfect Match from Duke TIP

Book Lists from Davidson Institute for Talent Development

The Gifted Reader’s Bill of Rights (pdf) by Bertie Kingore

Mind the Gap: Engaging Gifted Readers

Resources for the Middle School Gifted Reader

Books for Gifted Readers (Middle School)

Reading Projects for Gifted and Talented Students

Just Because They Can Doesn’t Mean They Should: Choosing Age-Appropriate Books for Literature Circles

*Photos: Courtesy of morgueFile

** Photo: Courtesy of Pixabay

Posted in Advocacy, Education, gifted, gifted education, parenting

4 Comments

Tags: Age appropriate, American Mensa, Bertie Kingore, Caldecott Medal, chat, Cybraryman, Davidson Institute for Talent Development, Duke TIP, gifted, gifted and talented, gifted readers, Gifted Resources, global, gtchat, high ability learner, Jo Freitag, Justin Schwamm, Leslie Graves, Lisa Van Gemert, middle school, Newbery Awards, TAGT, Twitter, WCGTC

The Gifted Family – Transforming Chaos into Calm

Jun 17

Posted by gtchatmod

When I asked Jen Merrill, author of If This is a Gift, Can I Send it Back? and the popular blog Laughing at Chaos, to co-moderate this chat; she seemed to think that we might be attempting to discuss the impossible. Her exact words were “And then we’ll be discussing the Loch Ness Monster and Sasquatch!”

If you’ve raised gifted kids, family life can often seem chaotic and not just because of the kids! The parents’ intensity plays a greater role than many of us like to admit. The term ‘multiple personalities’ takes on a whole new meaning when applied to the members of a gifted family. Attempting to bring calm to a world of chaos when you aren’t sure who is in charge can prove difficult.

Undaunted … we went ahead with the chat and were pleasantly surprised not only to see many new faces, but several folks we had not seen in years. It seems that chaos rules in many households where ‘apples haven’t fallen far from the tree’ and now reside under one roof! And participants had a lot to say … nearly 600 tweets in one hour … about a tweet every 6 seconds! A list of the questions posed at this week’s chat may be found here. A full transcript is at Storify.

Our first question addressed the issue of how asynchrony, when developmental levels of gifted children collide, affects family life in terms of sibling relationships and extended family. One of the first responses, “How does it NOT affect all of life?” from Mona Chicks, set the tone for most of the chat.

Life is indeed chaotic in the gifted family and most participants agreed, ‘calm’ is a refuge rarely achieved. As Jen noted, “It’s hard to plan when you don’t know what age/behavior will appear. Extended family may only see one ‘age’ or only see the kid outside his comfort zone. I think asynchrony causes the most pain with extended family that doesn’t ‘get it.’ Sometimes [you get] judgement when you most need acceptance.” Amy Harrington added, “Asynchrony is pervasive with no off switch. It is all consuming and mixed in with Overexcitabilities [OEs] can be entirely overwhelming at times.”

We next considered, “What strategies can parents use to calm their own emotional intensities while dealing with their child’s OEs?” Pamela Price of Red, White and Grew, recommended that “Honestly? They need to IDENTIFY their own intensities and seek separate support for them, including their own counselor.” Angie French from TeachaGiftedKid added, “You must take care of yourself so you can be the best caretaker of the ones you love.” Susanne Thomas, new Online Education Director at Gifted Homeschoolers Forum, had some sage advice for the group, “Finding your tribe. Hands down. Anyone that ‘gets’ it even in concept needs to be cultivated and cherished.”

Additional questions included dealt with:

the added pressures that parents face as mediators for their child when behaviors don’t match cultural norms
how discrepancies in a child’d development affect educational options
what effect gifted parenting has on marital relationships and increased financial burdens due to such things as homeschooling and/or early college entrance

Our final question of the chat was meant to allow participants to express some of the unexpected joys they had experienced with their gifted child. Jen shared a recent newspaper article, Moving Picture: Libertyville Computer Whiz Has Big Plans, about her son and his intense interest in computers. Comments shared were truly inspiring!

“It’s that moment when someone who had low expectations figures it out and is in AWE of his ability. Seeing the connections happen in his brain. Amazing!” Mona Chicks
“I get to school him here, and help him make connections, and watch his face light!!” Care M.
“Knowing that if there’s more spirited, divergent and creative thinkers out there like her, humanity might have a hope!” Celeste of Oz
“Saying ‘my kid can code in 4 languages!'” Susanne Thomas
“An off the wall sense of humour. Watching them think – the brilliant leaps from go to OMG where did that come from???” Gluten – Free Mum
“His humor and original jokes! Oh, the jokes he spontaneously makes up!” Celi Trépanier
“Beyond joy about rediscovering his “old”, happier self. Proud of us for stepping up to plate as parents. Flip side of public judgment–enormous appreciation 4 strangers who genuinely like your kid.” tedra
“Constantly impressed with their insight, creativity, kindness, seeing new patterns.” Justin Schwamm

Have you found your tribe? People who ‘get’ giftedness and how it affects your life? Consider joining us at Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented on Twitter and find your tribe! Each week we discuss timely topics related to gifted children, adults and education. Questions are posted the day before and an edited transcript is posted after each chat.

Links:

“Life in the Asynchronous Family” by Kathi Kearney

“Off the Charts: Asynchrony and the Gifted Child” Neville, Piechowski & Tolan, eds.

“Educating Exceptional Children Chap. 10 Exceptional Gifts & Talents” (Excerpt – Google Books)

“A Review of Research on Parents & Families of Gifted Children” (1983)

“How Gifted Children Impact the Family”

“Parenting Strategies for Parents of Gifted Children”

“Family Counseling with the Gifted” Linda Silverman” (pdf)

“Parenting a Gifted Child: Lessons from the Andrakas” (video)

“An Interview with Therapist for the Gifted Family, Mika Gustavson” by Suki Wessling

“The Burden of Raising a Gifted Kid”

“A Year of Small Gratitudes” from Jen Merrill

“Serving Highly & Profoundly Gifted Learners” (pdf) in the Gifted Education Communicator Winter 2009

Growing Up Gifted: Developing the Potential of Children at School and at Home (Amazon 8th Edition) by Barbara Clark

Facing the Challenges of Growing Up Gifted (audio) on NPR

‘Mellow Out’ They Say. If I Only Could Intensities and Sensitivities of the Young & Bright by Michael M. Piechowski, Ph.D. (book)

Coping When Extended Family Doesn’t Get Giftedness by Lisa Conrad

Cybraryman’s Asynchronous Development Page

Sprite’s Site Post for New Zealand Gifted Awareness Week Blog Tour

Posted in anxiety, Emotional intensity, family, gifted, Homeschooling, parenting, Parents, Social Emotional, STEM

Student Voice: Listening to Gifted Learners

Jun 10

Posted by gtchatmod

“Research shows that dropout rates, student achievement, and workforce readiness will improve by integrating student voices in the classroom and in society.” StudentVoice.org

This week at Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT, we chatted about involving students in their own learning. The Student Voice movement, founded by Zak Malamed, is an important initiative to foster student participation in the educational process and now includes a Twitter chat #stuvoice on Mondays at 8:30 PM ET.

Zak Malamed

Nikhal Goyal, an outspoken proponent of listening to students, will be a keynote speaker at this year’s TAGT 2014 Conference in Fort Worth in December. Nikhal is the author of One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student’s Assessment of School.

Nikhal Goyal

Chat participants considered what students would like educators to know. Comments included that students want to be challenged in the classroom, to be able to try it their way without being worried if the fail at first and to have their passions respected. A full transcript may be found at Storify.

Links:

Student Voice (website)

One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student’s Assessment of School by Nikhil Goyal