How Teachers’ Perceptions Affect Gifted Students

Systemic resistance to acknowledging and educating gifted students is deep-rooted in human history. It is not the sole province of teachers by any means. It is, however, problematic when it affects those students. When school districts, school boards, school administrators, and/or community members resist gifted education, it makes it nearly impossible for educators of gifted and talented students to advocate in a meaningful way. Societal views on intelligence can translate into open hostility towards the education of gifted students (Gross, 2004). It also leads to stereotyping these students as arrogant, over-confidant, self-centered (Gross, 1997), and socially non-compliant.

Resistance to educating students seen as highly able begins in undergraduate teacher preparation programs where emphasis is given to providing services and accommodations to less abled students. With little to no coursework devoted to gifted education, lack of familiarity with gifted students’ needs impacts instruction and leads to misconceptions about these students (McCoach & Siegle, 2007). Gifted students interact with all teachers, not just GT specialists. With little training or PD, teachers are ill-prepared to understand and meet the needs of these students.

Across cultures and societies, research shows that even when gifted education is opposed, the same educators have no difficulty supporting sport and musical talent (Bégin & Gagné; Gross; Eyre & Geake). Athletic and musical talent are seen as, at times, beneficial to society as a whole rather than to the individual. Intellectual talent may be seen as an unfair advantage which affects social cohesion. This is sometimes referred to as ‘tall poppy syndrome’.

How can teachers’ perception of the nature of giftedness inform professional development? Without a robust, universal definition of giftedness, professional development is regarded as a significant way to educate teachers on the nature of giftedness resulting in better identification and instruction. How a teacher views, interacts with, and instructs gifted students is significantly improved with continuing professional development. Both reduced negative perceptions and increased positive attitudes resulted from CPD. Teachers who completed PD programs reported strong attitudinal shifts, were less likely to believe misinformation, and had less suspicion of intellectual precocity (Geake & Gross, 2008).

A teacher’s perception of gifted students is often influenced by their philosophical beliefs concerning giftedness, inclusive education, and how they view the student as learner. Implementation of differentiated instruction should not be solely dependent on the teacher’s schedule but take into consideration the individual needs of the student and should include collaboration with the student. Immersion of a differentiated curriculum and pedagogy for GT students should include justifying it as “an integral feature of classroom practices and not an activity that is ancillary to the core or basic curriculum” (Kaplan, 2022).

How can prioritizing social-emotional needs over academic needs affect implementation of acceleration or ability grouping? Unfortunately, too often concern for unsubstantiated claims of adverse effects from grade-skipping or charges of elitism from ability grouping result in no acceleration taking place and this can ultimately compound social-emotional issues. The seeming lack of social skills by GT students when interacting with age-peers can be dissipated when they are given the opportunity to be with intellectual peers (Davis& Rimm, 2004; Valpied, 2005).

A transcript of this chat can 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/1AM 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 Meta Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community.

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:

The Impact of Teacher Perception of Gifted Individuals on the Instruction of Gifted Students (pdf – thesis) | WKU

Factors Affecting the Perceptions and Practices of Differentiated Curricula and Pedagogies for Gifted and Talented Students (pdf) | Education Sciences

Teachers’ Negative Affect Toward Academically Gifted Students (pdf) | Gifted Child Quarterly

Teacher Perceptions Regarding the Teaching of Gifted Students in the Traditional Classroom Setting (pdf – dissertation) | Texas Tech University

Teacher Perspectives Regarding Gifted Diverse Students (pdf) | Gifted Children

Teachers’ Attitude Its Importance in Nurturing and Educating Gifted Children

Teachers’ Attitudes towards the Gifted: The Importance of Professional Development and School Culture (pdf)

Teachers’ Perceptions of the Socioemotional Development of Intellectually Gifted Primary Aged Students and their Attitudes towards Ability Grouping and Acceleration (p. 11) | Gifted and Talented International

Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions of Teaching Gifted and Talented Learners in General Education Classrooms in the UAE (pdf)

Enhancing Preservice Teacher Development: Field Experiences With Gifted Students (pdf) | Journal for the Education of the Gifted

Fourth-Grade Teachers’ Perceptions of Giftedness: Implications for Identifying and Serving Diverse Gifted Students (pdf) | Journal for the Education of the Gifted

What Predicts Teachers’ Attitudes Toward the Gifted? | Gifted Child Quarterly

Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions of Giftedness: An Examination of the Relationship Between Teacher Background and Gifted Identification (pdf – dissertation) | University of Tennessee

Teachers’ Perceptions of Supporting Gifted Learners in General Education Classes (pdf – dissertation) | Carson-Newman University

Teacher and Student Perceptions of Pedagogical Practices on Gifted Student Motivation (pdf – thesis) | University of Central Florida

Teachers’ Perceptions toward Education of Gifted Children in Greek Educational Settings | Academia

Self-Efficacy and Gifted Teachers’ Perceptions of Teaching Gifted Students with High-Functioning Autism (pdf – dissertation)

Middle School Teacher Perspectives toward Classroom Practices and Groupings of Academically Gifted Students (pdf – dissertation) | Gardner-Webb University

High School Teachers’ Perceptions of Giftedness, Gifted Education, and Talent Development (pdf – dissertation) | University of North Texas

Threat or challenge? Teacher Beliefs about Gifted Students and their Relationship to Teacher Motivation (pdf) | Gifted and Talented International

Are Gifted Teens at Greater Risk of Taking Drugs? | SENG

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Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad

Counseling Gifted Students

Being a school counselor in today’s world is often a daunting task not for the faint of heart. Caring about or having the time to consider the needs of GT/2E students is far down the priority list. Hopefully this chat will offer some resources to help. According to Christine Nobbe, counseling GT learners falls into 3 buckets: identification (consultation/data analysis), advocacy (promoting understanding of issues), and counseling (individual, group, and family). School counselors are responsible for meeting the GT students’ academic, career, and social-emotional needs through specialized programming and specific, individual educational experiences designed to optimize potential (Nobbe).

According to the American School Counselor Association, school counselors should provide GT students individual and group counseling as well as to their families. They should be aware of both positive & negative factors affecting these students. School counselors need to seek to identify marginalized students, ethnically diverse students, ELLs, and 1^st generation students for inclusion in GT programs (Mitcham-Smith, 2007). Meeting the needs of culturally diverse students in imperative. It’s important that to best serve GT/2E students, counselors be up to date on the latest research on GT programming and work collaboratively with educators and school staff.

What skills should competent school counselors of GT students possess? School counselors should possess counseling and therapy skills, consultation skills, and advocacy skills (Levy & Plucker, 2008). When working with GT students, counselors should be able to teach stress management techniques and help students understand how to build peer support networks (Reis & Renzulli, 2004). Other skills which may be helpful for school counselors to possess include the ability to direct meditation, deep breathing techniques, guided imagery, or instruct on mindfulness (Fisher & Kennedy, 2016).

Competent and effective school counselors for GT students should understand that challenges are not solely the result of being identified as gifted (Levy & Plucker, 2008). However, their giftedness may impact those challenges (Cross & Cross, 2015). School counselors already have the core skills to work with students; they just need to adjust their perspective to consider the role giftedness plays in the student’s unique identity (Kennedy & Farley, 2017). They should possess the understanding that giftedness is only one part of who a student is and not any more or less important than other factors but needs to be taken into account when deciding how to best support the student (Kennedy & Farley, 2017).

It’s important school counselors know about giftedness in GT students to effectively meet their needs including knowledge of attributes and deficits of gifted children and a deep understanding of twice-exceptionality (Mahoney, A.). “Giftedness is an asset, not a risk factor” (Kenney & Farley, 2017). Understanding a student’s giftedness helps counselors understand and support students to overcome challenges, avoid underachievement, and increase academic performance. Another important aspect of counseling gifted students relates to the fact that they may experience many issues that all students face, but at a much earlier age and this may necessitate adjusting their approach and interventions. GT students risk stress, anxiety, social isolation, or depression and can affect academic performance, motivation, and socialization. Understanding this fundamentally changes counseling techniques when dealing with these students. (Fisher & Kennedy, 2016).

What do school counselors need to know to serve diverse gifted student populations? The heterogeneity – extraordinary achievement coupled with the capacity to do so – that exists in the gifted student population is one of the greatest challenges in effectively counseling this group (Peterson, 2015; Reis & Renzulli, 2009; Kennedy & Farley, 2017). This diverse group of students currently lacks any universal definition of what being ‘gifted’ means, experiences asynchronous development which is qualitatively different from the norm, and is subject to wide-ranging differences in state policies affecting them. GT students are acutely self-aware, need mental stimulation, are often impacted by perfectionism, or may experience existential depression when unable to deal with the realities of life.

What counseling strategies can be used for perfectionism, academic anxiety, & asynchronous development? When perfectionism negatively affects a GT student, counselors need to apply strategies on an individual basis. Cognitive-behavioral therapy or Solution-focused brief therapy may help, but relaxation strategies and skill building should also be considered. Academic anxiety may result from undertaking complex academic tasks, test taking, or intellectual peer pressure. Counseling strategies can include expressive writing, relaxation techniques, and teaching ways to identify and challenge negative thoughts. Asynchronous development – developmentally advanced in some areas, but not all – strategies may involve teaching coping strategies, group counseling for social challenges, bibliotherapy, or a guided study of social development.

What are the repercussions of misdiagnosis for gifted students? Misdiagnosis is a major point of discussion in the wider gifted community. It can lead to inappropriate and ineffective interventions or strategies. School counselors should be aware of psychiatric symptoms which may resemble characteristics of giftedness. Within the school setting, counselors should recognize common occurrences such as boredom or frustration displayed by GT students which could be misinterpreted as a mental health issue when they are not.

A transcript of this chat can be found at Wakelet.

Resources:

Counseling Gifted and Talented Students | The National Research Center on Gifted and Talented

Counseling Gifted Students: School-Based Considerations and Strategies (pdf) | International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education

Counseling Gifted Students: A Guide for School Counselors (book)

Exceptional Children Require An Exceptional Approach Issues in Counseling Gifted Children (pdf) | Counseling and Guidance Newsletter

Neurodiversity Podcast: School Counseling – Gifted Kids Need It Too (YouTube 37:14)

The School Counselor and the Gifted Children Education (pdf) | Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences

Addressing Counseling Needs of Gifted Students | Professional School Counseling https://bit.ly/3JORhMt

Social and Emotional Needs of Gifted Students: What School Counselors Need to Know to Most Effectively Serve This Diverse Student Population | Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference

Meeting the Guidance and Counseling Needs of Gifted Students in School Settings (pdf)

School Counseling Services for Gifted and Talented Students: A Systematic Review of Literature | Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences

School Counselors’ Perceptions and Experience With Acceleration as a Program Option for Talented Students | Gifted Child Quarterly

The School Counselor and Gifted Learners (pdf)

Handbook for Counselors Serving Students With Gifts and Talents: Development, Relationships, School (book)

Models of Counseling Gifted Children, Adolescents and Young Adults (book)

A Multicultural Competence Model for Counseling Gifted and Talented Children (pdf)

The School Counselor and Gifted and Talented Student Programs | American School Counselor Association

Preparing School Counselors To Address Concerns Related to Giftedness: A Study of Accredited Counselor Preparation Programs

Clinical and Mental Health Issues in Counseling the Gifted Individual (pdf) | W&M Scholar Works

Counseling the Gifted | Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page

Wholehearted Teaching of Gifted Young Women: Cultivating Courage, Connection, and Self-Care in Schools (book)

SSRI Antidepressants for Bipolar Disorder

Understanding Mental Health Through the Theory of Positive Disintegration: A Visual Aid

Theory of Positive Disintegration 101: On Becoming Your Authentic Self

Dabrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration: Some Implications for Teachers of Gifted Students | SENG

Image courtesy of Pixabay Pixabay License

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad

Challenges Experienced by GT Educators

Educators new to gifted education, even veteran teachers, face many unique challenges. They must build professional knowledge about giftedness, be proactive in advocacy for gifted education, and begin to enhance their role as facilitator and guide. New GT teachers need to discern best-practice teaching strategies for their students and identify resources and services which fit into what can be offered through their school’s gifted education programs. Teachers responsible for gifted services must critically examine their school’s gifted identification process, decide what constitutes meaningful curriculum choices, and be willing to challenge the status quo.

What should GT educators know about gifted education in their district? Knowing their district’s gifted education policy is the starting point for developing an effective program beginning with how the district defines ‘gifted’. Most states require a school district to have a stated policy (available to the public) concerning gifted education. GT teachers need to know and understand what’s in it to meet the needs of GT students. Finally, educators should be aware of any applicable state gifted education policies and insure that they are being followed at the local level. These policies need to be incorporated into all district policies, vision statements, and student handbooks.

Best-practices in teaching gifted learners need to address both GT learners’ skills and special needs via well-designed curriculum, differentiation, and individualized education plans. GT students should have access to multiple avenues for acceleration, an interactive curriculum when appropriate, opportunities to participate in real-world activities, and academically stimulating extracurricular activities. Best practices honor individual abilities, incorporate insights from all stakeholders (educators, parents, students), offer counseling when needed, and provide socialization with intellectual peers.

Starting a gifted program from scratch is more common than one might expect. Programs start and end for many reasons. Crafting an effective program requires extensive knowledge about gifted education theory and how to allocate available resources. New gifted programs should identify resources and develop curriculum materials to meet the needs of currently identified students in the program. Effective curriculums will align with depth and complexity principles, involve authentic experiences, and allow for any and all forms of acceleration such as early entrance, early out, dual enrollment, grade-skipping, single subject acceleration, and more.

What are some unique challenges in teaching HG/PG students? Teaching HG (highly gifted) and PG (profoundly gifted) students present unique challenges. It requires teachers to embrace the fact that the student may be more knowledgeable than the teacher and need little direct instruction. HG/PG students may have a greater need to be appropriately challenged requiring schools to look to outside providers or institutions of higher learning. Motivating HG/PG students is essential to preventing underachievement, mental health issues, and recurring social-emotional needs.

What strategies can GT educators use to engage with challenging parents? GT parent-teacher relationships can be challenging but can be improved with authentic engagement and by providing opportunities to build mutual respect. Parents will appreciate being involved in decisions about their child’s education. They are often a good resource locator and classroom volunteer. Parent Support Groups often include educators in their ranks to offer mutual support.

A transcript of this chat may be found at Wakelet.

Resources:

Problems Faced By Teachers Of Gifted/Talented Students (pdf)

Challenges in Teaching Gifted Students with Special Learning Difficulties: Using a Strategy Model of ‘Asking, Analysing and Answering Questions’ (AAA) to Improve the Learning Environment (pdf)

Methods and Materials for Teaching the Gifted (book)

What it Means to Teach Gifted Learners Well | NAGC

16 Tips for Teaching Gifted Students

Tips for Teachers: Ways to Help Students Who Struggle with Emotions or Behavior

Tips for Teachers: Successful Strategies for Teaching Gifted Learners | Davidson Gifted

Are You Up for the Challenge of a Gifted Education Teacher Career?

Dos and Don’ts of Teaching Gifted Learners | Big Spring Middle School (PA)

Your First Year Teaching Gifted Learners

What to Expect When You’re Expected to Teach Gifted Students: A Guide to the Celebrations, Surprises, Quirks, and Questions in Your First Year Teaching Gifted Learners (book)

Gifted and Talented Teacher Guidebook (pdf)

Ways to Keep Gifted Students Motivated in the Classroom

Best Advice for Teachers New to Gifted Education

7 Ways for Engaging Gifted Students in the Classroom

Competencies for a Classroom Teacher to Support Gifted Students in the Regular Classroom: A Qualitative Research

What to Expect When You’re Expected to Teach Gifted Students (Webinar 50:35)

National Challenges in Providing Services to Gifted Students (pdf)

Perceptions of Giftedness and Classroom Practice with Gifted Children – an Exploratory Study of Primary School Teachers (pdf) | Qualitative Research in Education

Supporting Elementary Gifted Learners during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of Teaching Practices

Six Strategies for Challenging Gifted Learners

It’s Good to Expose Myths about Neuroscience — But the Debunking is Getting Out of Hand (subscription) | Washington Post

Image courtesy of Pixabay Pixabay License

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad

Purposeful Empowerment in Goal Setting

Our guests this week were Dr. Vicki Phelps and Karah Lewis. Vicki Phelps is an Assistant Professor at Milligan University where she teaches undergraduate and graduate level coursework focused on teaching methods, instructional strategies, and literacy education. strategies and personalized learning. Karah Lewis is the Lead Consulting Teacher for Gifted Education and the county-wide Gifted Consultant for high school students in Sumner County, TN.

Strength-based goal setting in gifted education is an approach which leads to purposeful empowerment in goal setting (PEGS) and is based, in part, on Gagné’s DMGT Talent Development Model (2021). Self-regulation, self-reflection, and self-advocacy are strategies seen in Gagné’s work and essential in strength-based goal setting. These factors empower GT students to develop effective long-term goals with lifelong implications. Creating purposeful goals which empower GT students begins with acknowledging each student as an individual with needs specific to them and then forming a strategy to meet those needs, deflect underachievement, and promote success.

Goal setting is very much a development process facilitated by the teacher and implemented by the student based on creating measurable goals which can show growth throughout the learning process. Goals should be personalized and have a connection to the real-world. Effective goal setting for GT learners should take into consideration motivation, respect, psychosocial skills, social-emotional awareness, and a strength-based pedagogy. The stages of goal development as referenced in PEGS are know thyself (awareness), express thyself (articulation), and apply thyself (application within the learning process) (Phelps & Lewis 2022).

Student agency has long been known to empower students in their learning. It fundamentally changes the role of the teacher from content provider to facilitator; a highly sought after quality in GT educators. Active participation in goal setting promotes flexible thinking and teaches GT students to recognize obstructions as a sign to change course find an alternate route to achieve their goals (Boazman, NAGC). A key part of student ownership of their learning is utilizing higher-order thinking skills. Students begin by looking at what affects their learning, identifying most impactful factors, and then creating their own goals.

Social-emotional self-awareness and self-regulation help students identify their own needs and are critical to a student’s well-being as well as impactful regarding effective goal-setting. Self-awareness begins with purposeful student reflection on the goal setting process, desired outcomes, what to do in the face of adversity, exploring problem areas, and consideration of what’s next. Self-regulation involves setting challenging goals, taking responsibility for one’s own learning, being engaged, expending effort to meet established goals, and asking for help when necessary (Cash, 2016).

Intrapersonal awareness (know thyself), interpersonal skills (express thyself), and application to learning (apply thyself) are the basic building blocks of PEGS. They help students build confidence, be accountable, and become successful. Intrapersonal awareness impacts motivation, resilience, and insightful self-talk; and connects to student agency. Interpersonal skills involve communication and listening skills, conflict resolution, and adapting to new situations. Application to learning is focused on how goals will be attained and assessed. It involves learning activities and progress made (Phelps & Lewis, 2022).

How does metacognitive & personalized goal-setting processes lead to purposeful empowerment? Metacognition – thinking about one’s own thinking – focuses on personal choices, attention to necessary tasks related to goals, self-satisfaction, and confidence (Schunk & Zimmerman, 2008). Personalized goal-setting empowers motivation, persistence, and performance. It is fostered by positive thinking, challenging goals, internal dialogue, and team-related activities which can help students ultimately achieve their goals (Boazman, NAGC).

A transcript of this chat can be found at Wakelet.