Connecting the Gifted Community on Social Media

What are some positive ways to connect with the gifted community on social media? Take time to help new members on a platform – recommend people to follow on Twitter and welcome new group members on Facebook. Be sure you understand the intent of a tweet before responding. When you respond to tweets, be thoughtful, meaningful, and respectful. Share and retweet good news about the GT community, your students, and your child’s school/GT program.

Social networking has an effect on the way children are educated both at school and outside of it. There are both negative and positive effects to social media use by GT students. Although a way of life for most, some of these students are more at ease with face-to-face interaction. Adults need to be cognizant of individual needs. Isolation due to geography or contact with intellectual peers is a real concern for many GT students and social media can bridge the gap by bringing students together online.

How do we leverage social media as a pedagogical tool in the GT classroom? Teachers and admins can share information/success stories quickly on platforms like Twitter. Twitter is a great way to stay in touch with busy parents by using a dedicated hashtag. Twitter is a great platform for providing global feedback to students on their projects/assignments, for students to ask questions of experts, and to showcase student work on a broader stage. Facebook is constantly updating tools for student use including dedicated class pages, ways to post about upcoming events, and Facebook Live for broadcasting. Class blogs provide students a platform on which to share and archive for future use writing assignments with the ability to receive assessment and feedback through a comment section.

Integrating social media into school culture can become a powerful tool for connecting with faculty, parents, and the local community in real time in ways that were not available in the past. School admins can share school news on social networks, hold online meetings with parents, and provide professional development on gifted education for faculty and staff.

Social media platforms can provide useful networking for students seeking jobs/internships; finding mentors; collaborating on international projects; promoting personal/school success stories. They are already an intricate part of students’ lives outside of school. Connecting students with intellectual peers beyond their local schools is a logical step in creating community.

Meeting in real life can act as a validation of friendships and professional relationships begun online. It can enable further collaboration on community building by extending existing personal and professional networks. Within the gifted community, conferences are an important way of connecting with people you meet online. Tweetups can provide social context to relationships and serve to create a sense of community. A transcript of this chat may be found at Wakelet.

Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Thursdays at 8E/7C/6M/5P in the U.S. and Fridays at Noon NZST/10 AM AEST/1 AM UK to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Wakelet. Our Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community. Also, checkout our Pinterest Page and Playlist on YouTube.

About the author: Lisa Conrad is the Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT 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

Resources:

Connecting the Gifted Community

How Social Media is Reshaping Today’s Education System

22 Ways to Use Social Media in Your Classroom

Connecting with Faraway Teachers Via Social Media

Using Social Media to Be a Better Education Leader with Top Tweeting Principal Eric Sheninger

The Ups and Downs of Social Media

Contribution of Social Media to the Students’ Academic Development

10 Examples of the Positive Impact of Social Media

10 Ways to Use Twitter in Teaching

[Social Media] Staying Connected with Educator Network Twitter Chats

SENG Conference 2019

TAGT #giftED19 Conference

Cybraryman’s Social Media and Social Networking Page

Social Media Usage Motivations of Gifted Children

How to Provide High Aptitude Learners with Social and Emotional Supports

The Hottest Chat App for Teens Is … Google Docs

NAGC: Professional Learning

Global Education Conference

Image courtesy of Pixabay Pixabay License

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad.

Accelerating GT Students

Academic acceleration is a cost-effective way to meet many of the needs of gifted students across the spectrum which is hampered only by myths debunked long ago. It is, however, only as good as its implementation. A well-researched educational plan that is responsive to individual student needs can make all the difference in success or failure for the student.

With all the research in existence, why do some educators/admins still balk at acceleration? It only takes one poorly executed attempt at acceleration for a single student to influence school administrations for decades thereafter in a school district. Unfortunately, too often decision makers do not take the time to review the research involving academic acceleration. Outdated information propagated at the undergraduate level is rarely challenged.

Pertinent information that should be included in consideration of acceleration is test scores, psychological evaluations, and teacher and parent observations. An often forgotten part of acceleration is taking into consideration how the student feels about acceleration and the possible effects on the family. If a child does not want to be accelerated, it probably won’t work.

Every school district should have a policy on acceleration. This will ensure that the process is equally applied to all students; everyone is aware of the option to accelerate; and provides guidelines for the process. Administrators should take a deep dive into all the avenues of acceleration and make the information available to their faculty and parents to aid in the decision-making process and to provide adequate resources.

For most GT students, the earlier the acceleration; the easier it is to minimize knowledge gaps. Most students being considered for acceleration are generally identified as to having above-grade level abilities. For older GT students, knowledge gaps can be addressed by such avenues as summer school, tutoring, online classes, the use of mentors, or independent study.

Parents who want to support the acceleration process need to keep open lines of communication with school administrators and those teachers who will be directly involved with their child’s program. They should take the time to talk to their GT child about all the facets of acceleration as well as other family members who may be affected by the child’s acceleration. It’s always better to work through the issues beforehand. A transcript of this chat may be found at Wakelet.

Resources:

Developing Academic Acceleration Policies: Whole Grade, Early Entrance & Single Subject (pdf)

Dual Enrollment: Participation and Characteristics (pdf 2019)

Understanding Acceleration Implementing Research-Based Practices for GATE (pdf)

Life in the Fast Lane: Effects of Early Grade Acceleration on High School and College Outcomes

Subject Acceleration: Who, What, How?

Developing Academic Acceleration Policies: Whole Grade, Early Entrance & Single Subject

Mathematically Gifted Accelerated Students Participating in an Ability Group: A Qualitative Interview Study

Acceleration or Enrichment? Which one is better for gifted kids?

A Nation Empowered Vols. 1 & 2 (Free Download)

What One Hundred Years of Research Says About Ability Grouping and Acceleration for Students K-12

Why is Academic Acceleration (Still) So Controversial?

Why Am I an Advocate for Academic Acceleration?

Possible Economic Benefits of Full-Grade Acceleration

Academic Acceleration: Is It Right for My Child?

NAGC TIP Sheet: Acceleration (pdf)

LesLinks: Acceleration (LiveBinders)

Cybraryman’s Acceleration Page

Sprite’s Site: Columbus Cheetah, Myth Buster – Myth 6

Sprite’s Site: Belonging – A Place of Sanctuary

Acceleration Institute

Hoagies: Academic Acceleration

Duke TIP: Academic Acceleration and Ability Grouping Work

Davidson Young Scholars – How We Can Help

College Versus Kindergarten and Radical Acceleration

Image courtesy of Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad

Transitioning to Adulthood ~ A Bumpy Ride for Gifted Kids

Every child is an individual and every child has needs. It’s no different for children identified as gifted or twice-exceptional. But … how do we identify social-emotional needs of gifted children without pathologizing them? Many GT kids are well-adjusted with minimal need for intervention, but others do have specific needs. Although clearly a point of contention among professionals, identifying the social-emotional needs of gifted children does not need to rise to the level of believing they are psychologically abnormal or unhealthy.

Those characteristics of giftedness that influence a child’s life do not suddenly disappear as they become adults; they grow right along with them. Childhood anxiety, asynchronous development, perfectionism, and more can manifest in adulthood. Gifted adults may have difficulty maintaining peer relationships due to a high level of internal drive (Webb), continued maturation differences well into their 20s, and existential depression.

Educators can guide gifted students as they endeavor to confront their ‘multipotentiality’ (Kerr) and bring focus into their lives regarding the direction they take in their academic careers. They can be extremely influential in the life of a gifted student by simply recognizing the nature of their needs and seeking professional development in how to meet those needs.

From the earliest years, gifted students recognize that they do not share the same concerns or abilities of their age-peers and the internal conflicts created because of this can affect their eventual transitioning into adulthood. Asynchronous development can be both positive and negative. Social-emotional needs and peer relations are most affected. Its effects are more pronounced in younger children and tend to lessen as they enter adulthood.

What challenges do twice-exceptional students face in transitioning to adulthood? Societal appreciation of what the ‘spectrum’ looks like is evolving. It is recognized as a ‘range’ of individual traits and abilities. There is growing acceptance that ability is not ‘all or nothing’; challenges exist and are variable. The biggest challenge for twice-exceptional students is recognition that they exist and the second is the willingness of adults in their lives to learn about what it means and how to best help these kids to experience fulfillment in life.

Parents can help ease their gifted child’s transition into adulthood. The best strategies start with the premise that parents are trying to do their best and most sources of advice don’t generally apply to their child. Parents today benefit from the existence of organizations such as SENG, IEA, NAGC and the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented who provide parents with strategies for meeting the needs of their gifted children. A transcript of this chat may be found at Wakelet.

Resources:

Mexico’s Youngest Psychologist, Aspiring to Ease Gifted Students’ Transition to Adulthood

Young, Gifted and Likely to Suffer for It

Gifted Lives: What Happens When Gifted Children Grow Up (book)

How Being a Gifted Kid Affects You as an Adult

Gifted Children: What Happens When They Grow Up?

Gifted Lives: What Happens When Gifted Children Grow Up? (Part Two)

Asynchronous Transitioning to Adulthood

To Be a Gifted Adolescent (pdf)

Assertive or Arrogant? Why Gifted Teens Sometimes Get a Bad Rap

Transitioning from College to Work and Young Adulthood for the Twice-Exceptional Individual

Multipotentiality: Issues and Considerations for Career Planning

Mind Matters Podcast: Transitioning to Adulthood

The Gifted Kids Workbook (book)

Gifted Grownups: Young MC

Discovering the Gifted Ex-Child (Tolan)

Understanding the Gifted Self: If Only I Had Known …

Gifted Children and Adults — Why Are They So Misunderstood?

Looking for an Adventure? Try Parenting a Gifted Kid

If Gifted = Asynchronous Development, then Gifted/Special Needs = Asynchrony Squared

Image courtesy of Pixabay Pixabay License

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad

Board Games, Video Games and Gamification For GT Students

Gamification is the “process of adding game elements or mechanics to an experience” and may include competing groups of students, rewards/points, timed activities or badges. Game-based learning adapts traditional learning experiences with a virtual game framework and provides an authentic real-world context, clear goals, feedback and a high degree of student interaction. (Mindsearch.org) True game-based learning, aside from online quiz games generally thought to be gamed-based learning, is based on a framework which defines a problem and requires a solution.

Game-based learning engages GT students giving them the opportunity to make decisions about their own learning. It empowers them to take charge and allows them to take risks in a safe environment where failure doesn’t matter.

Any downside to game-based learning rests on the misunderstanding of what it is and/or poor implementation. GT students know when they’re being ‘played’. It’s important they play a role in deciding what constitutes this type of learning. Game-based learning must be intended as a resource that challenges gifted kids; more than as a source for extrinsic rewards. Professional development is essential which clearly delineates what game-based learning is and what gamification of the current curriculum looks like.

Strategies for introducing game-based learning should consider utilizing GT students to choose the games or even design the games to be used. Gamification of the curriculum should be predicated on the belief that it will enhance learning rather than solely seek to increase classroom engagement. Gifted elementary learners can add their voice in deciding how to do this. Game-based learning should be flexible, promote higher level thinking skills, include enrichment activities that are complex, and cover a wide-ranging interdisciplinary curriculum.

Formative assessments conducted during the learning process can modify teaching and learning activities and they are appealing to GT students who often see themselves as partners in the learning process. The games themselves are the assessment and can be used to teach as well as measure 21^st century skills. As a complex problem space, the game actually collects the data and shows if the student is progressing.

Although somewhat passé with younger kids since the advent of Fortnite, Minecraft is still a good option. Familiarity with the game and its popularity outside school appeals to kids; it doesn’t seem like traditional learning. Another upcoming game, RoboCo from Filament, is another good example of a game which will appeal to gifted students. It’s a virtual robotics kit aimed at middle school and high school students that simulates building robots in virtual reality. It’s being partially funded by the NSF grants. A transcript of this chat may be found at Wakelet.