Impostor Syndrome

Impostor Syndrome was originally presented as a ‘phenomenon’ (Clance & Imes, 1978) rather than a ‘syndrome’; a nuanced, but important distinction. In recent years, criticism of the concept highlights the need to understand this feeling as related to personal experience rather than as a pathology. For our discussion, Impostor Syndrome involves experiencing thoughts of intellectual phoniness, self-perceived deficiencies, or a sense of impending failure (Jamison, 2023).

Impostor Syndrome can manifest itself in perfectionists or those who see themselves as naturally ‘smart’. They find it difficult to accept what they view as mistakes. Overachievers and workaholics are affected by Impostor Syndrome as they are always seeking external validation. Another type of Impostor Syndrome is seen in individuals who consider themselves experts in a field. When failure comes at some point, they experience feeling like a fraud.

There are many causes for Impostor Syndrome both internal and external. Externally, Impostor Syndrome many be the result of unrealistic expectations by adults for children in their care or lack of systemic support from the environment in which one exists. Internally, Impostor Syndrome may be caused by personality traits such as perfectionism or possibly emotional exhaustion from dealing with situations beyond one’s control.

GT students may or may not experience Impostor Syndrome. It can be determined by academic environment, family background, or a self-perception of inadequacy vs capability. Some GT students may set such high expectations for themselves which result in diminished success and eventual burnout. When students identified as gifted receive any type of negative feedback, they may engage in self-defeating behaviors – not asking for help, avoiding team work, or questioning their self-worth.

What are some strategies to overcome Impostor Syndrome? Personal strategies to overcoming Impostor Syndrome can include practicing mindfulness and meditation, building personal and professional connections, or rehearsing acting confident. External strategies to deal with Impostor Syndrome may be to find supportive peers, locate a mentor, or seek professional help. For some, reframing Impostor Syndrome as systemic inequality rather than individual pathology may be the answer (Tulshyan & Burey, 2021).

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 1AM GMT 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.

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:

5 Types of Imposter Syndrome

You’re Not a Fraud. Here’s How to Recognize and Overcome Imposter Syndrome

What Is Imposter Syndrome? | Psycom

Imposter Syndrome | Psychology Today

Yes, Impostor Syndrome Is Real. Here’s How to Deal With It

5 Different Types of Imposter Syndrome (and 5 Ways to Battle Each One)

Impostor Syndrome Facing Fears of Inadequacy and Self-Doubt

Impostor Syndrome Infographic

The Imposter Cure: Escape the Mind-trap of Imposter Syndrome (book)

Impostor Phenomenon in the Classroom

Impostor Syndrome: What It Is and How To Overcome It | The Cleveland Clinic

Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Imposter Syndrome: A Systematic Review

5 Steps To Shake The Feeling That You’re An Impostor

Feeling like a failure? Learn to cope with imposter syndrome

The Curious Case of Impostor Syndrome

Why Everyone Feels Like They’re Faking It

The Impostor Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention (pdf, 1978) | Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice

Impostor Phenomenon (website) | Pauline Rose Clance, Ph.D.

Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome | Harvard Business Review

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad

Testing and Gifted Students

What’s the difference between gifted testing and gifted assessments? Gifted testing is generally a standardized, universal screening used to determine eligibility for gifted programs/services and administered in a way to ensure it’s given to every student in a consistent manner (Davidson Gifted). Gifted assessments are more comprehensive (and costly) and given by trained professionals such as school psychologists or outside psychologists who specialize in gifted assessment. They can be quantitative (IQ, achievement, cognitive evaluations) and qualitative (teacher/parent observations, student interviews, portfolios).

How are achievement tests and ability tests categorized? Achievement tests screen for particular areas of strength and acquired knowledge. They are usually group administered (ACT/SAT), but may also be part of a gifted assessment. Ability tests look at cognitive abilities or IQ as part of gifted assessments and are a more in-depth review of the child’s capabilities. Some common ability tests include WISC-V and Naglieri Nonverbal-3 for individual testing and CogAT for group testing.

Utilizing multiple assessments for screening can improve diversity in gifted programs as well as identify 2E students who are often missed by traditional methods. Multiple assessments can take into account a child’s linguistic background, access to extracurricular educational opportunities, and services offered by their school districts. Limitations found in traditional assessments can be addressed by considering local norms over national norms and using tools such as the Teacher Observation of Potential in Students (TOPS).

Assessment of learning is the traditional approach of viewing testing/assessments as the gateway to obtaining gifted services in a school setting. Assessments for learning involves formative assessment which is informal (generally), flexible, and ongoing. They look at strength-based data disregarding norms and focusing on personal strengths of individual students (Renzulli, 2022).

Academic growth in our students should be the hallmark driving all facets of education. Identifying GT students is of little value if their academic careers stagnate. Once testing is completed, provision for quality curricular intervention via a Differentiated Learning Plan (DLP) or GIEP with additional student input is essential. Additional tools which can assist in determining instructional services include Depth and Complexity icons and CogAT Ability Profiles (Simonds, 2023).

A transcript of this chat can be found at Wakelet.

Resources:

Gifted Testing and Assessment | Davidson Gifted

What to Consider Before Testing Your Child for Giftedness

It’s never too early — or late — to identify gifted students

The benefits of multiple screenings for student giftedness

Identifying Gifted and Talented Students: What to Consider

Why universal screening is a more equitable identifier of gifted and talented students

Considerations for Identification of Gifted and Talented Students: An Introduction to Identification (pdf)

Best Practices for Determining Eligibility for Gifted Programs (pdf) | Rutgers Center Effective School Practices

Beyond GT Identification: Are your students actually making academic gains?

Gifted Testing: Identifying When a Child is Gifted

Guidance for IEP Teams: Alternative Methodology for Meeting Gifted Screening Requirements (pdf) | SC Department of Education Office of Assessment & Standards

Gifted Identification & Assessment

Tests & Testing | CTY Johns Hopkins

The Future of Gifted Education and The Drowning Man Analogy | NAGC

Gifted and Talented Tests

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad.

Building Executive Functioning Skills

In 2021, Ethan Kross defined executive functioning as ‘a person’s ability to align their thoughts, feelings, or behavior with their goals’. Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child states that Working Memory, Inhibitory Control, and Mental Flexibility contribute the most to competent executive functioning. Executive functioning skills may include future planning, prioritizing, time management, organization, focus, task initiation, motivation, follow-through, self-regulation, or introspection (Davidson Gifted, 2022).

Certainly not all gifted children struggle with executive functioning deficits, but many do; including those experiencing asynchrony in the HG or 2E community. One of the most significant reasons a gifted child may struggle with executive functioning is the lack of challenge in the early grades leading to never learning or having the opportunity to practice these skills. The later maturation of the prefrontal cortex – the center of many executive functioning skills – may explain why gifted kids tend to lag in executive function skills compared to neurotypical agemates.

There are signs a gifted learner is struggling with executive functioning including social-emotional regulation involving frustration, being overly emotional, an inability to self-reflect, or not asking for help. Lack of executive functioning skills can manifest as homework battles, being unable to plan or prioritize activities, lack follow-through, or resistance in the face of criticism. In the long term, gifted children’s lack of executive functioning skills can lead to risk aversion, anxiety, loss of self-esteem, lack of motivation, or apathy towards school (Davidson Gifted, 2022).

Specific EF skills that are important for GT kids to master include being about to focus and hold things in mind; controlling their thoughts and actions; and regulating emotions. GT students need to be able to initiate tasks, keep plans on track, be flexible, and persevere through task completion. Other important executive functioning skills for gifted children are metacognition (self-awareness) and time management.

There are strategies to support high-ability learners with EF deficits including time for self-reflection to reframe pressing challenges through self-talk and expressive writing. High-ability learners can improve their executive functioning skills by advising and guiding peers, connecting their learning to real-life circumstances, and engaging in rigorous project-based learning. Other strategies for improving EF skills include focusing on a single skill, identifying and reframing specific deficits, and simplifying tasks (Kaleel, Kircher-Morris).

A transcript of this chat may be found at Wakelet.

Resources:

The Amazing Teen Brain | Scientific American

8 Ways to Bolster Executive Function in Teens and Tweens | Edutopia

Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary “Executive Skills” Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential (Amazon)

Gifted Learners and Executive Functioning NAGC

How to Engage Strong Executive Skills in Gifted Learners | Grayson School

Executive Function Skills and Gifted Students

Improving Executive Function Skills in Gifted Kids (YouTube 1:05:28)

Closing the Door and Other Executive Difficulties

Executive Skills and How They Translate to Professional Strengths

Executive Functioning and Gifted Children | Davidson Gifted

Is Executive Functioning the Missing Link for Gifted Students?

UK: Giftedness and Executive Functioning

10 Essential Executive Functioning Skills for GT Kids

Improving Executive Skills

Let’s Talk Executive Function with Seth Perler (Podcast)

Get Your Act Together – Body, Mind, and Heart Action research: The next step in the expanded implementation of a whole-school executive function model | NAGC

Late, Lost, and Unprepared: A Parents’ Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning (book)

How To Cultivate Executive Functioning Skills For Students

Activities Guide: Enhancing and Practicing Executive Function Skills with Children from Infancy to Adolescence | Harvard University Center on the Developing Child

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad

Talking to Gifted Kids about Giftedness

Should gifted children be told they are gifted? Absolutely – Chances are they already know or suspect – but not always. More likely, they feel different from others, and this can have all kinds of ramifications. Gifted children are not monoliths – being HG or 2E – their unique experiences need context for them to thrive. Not being told they are gifted can lead to struggles with making friends, boredom, behavior issues, and conflicts with adults.

Dr. Jim Delisle has written about his approach to talking to children about being gifted – it’s about ‘better at’ and not ‘better than’. It’s not a matter necessarily of being different, but how they feel about being different from peers which needs to be addressed when talking about giftedness. Parents of gifted children can often talk to their children from the standpoint of being gifted themselves – sharing personal experiences is a great place to start.

At the moment a child begins to question or share feelings of being different from age-peers, a conversation about giftedness should begin. A child’s maturity and inquisitiveness should be taken into consideration about when to talk about what being identified as ‘gifted’ means. At times, outside forces – bullying, test results, required assessments, school deadlines – all contribute to the necessity of beginning the conversation.

What strategies can teachers use when talking to their students about giftedness? Teachers are in a unique position when talking to their students about giftedness. They may have to put personal prejudices on hold as well as respect the wishes of parents. Talking to students about being gifted is an area of teaching which can greatly benefit from continuing PD. It’s always good to have an evidence-based plan in place. Teachers can help students to understand the benefits of being identified, seeking appropriate academic options, and planning for the future.

What are the benefits of telling a child they are gifted? Validation – whether one likes it or not, the ‘label’ exists. Telling a child why it exists helps them understand the importance of gifted education – challenge, opportunity, and responsibility. Relief – it can help to calm feelings of not being understood, acknowledging areas of strengths (academics, the arts, etc.), and the inappropriateness of labels such as ‘nerd’ or ‘weirdo’. Success – once a child comprehends the nature of their abilities, they can work to excel in areas of strength and interests culminating in a more rewarding life.

A transcript of this chat may be found at Wakelet.