There is a multitude of reasons why it’s important to support gifted students. Contrary to the belief that they will make it on their own, these students need their needs met, talents nurtured, and potential developed. When GT students are not challenged with appropriate depth, complexity, and at a pace commensurate with their abilities, they fail to learn the skills necessary to achieve such as how to study and benefit from hard work. Support in the form of engaging curriculum and instruction is a powerful antidote to boredom which can lead to underachievement and behavioral problems.
A GT student benefits from being supported by being able to pursue individual interests and passions which leads them to build the necessary skills to reach their goals and eventually sparks intrinsic motivation. Long-term studies have revealed that gifted programs have a positive effect on academic careers beyond the K-12 years leading to success in college and beyond. GT students supported through opportunities to learn with intellectual peers via pull-out programs, cluster grouping, and/or acceleration have improved social relationships and a more positive self-image.
How does society benefit from supporting GT students? A fractious debate often occurs when GT students do not have their needs met in public schools due to short-sighted policies. Retaining and meeting their needs can reduce drop-out rates and preserve critical funding for local schools. Society benefits from the development of artists, musicians, athletes, and students interested in pursuing STEM careers. Supporting GT students is also an important factor in creating future leaders and change-agents who are insightful problem-solvers.
Gifted education can benefit all students in a variety of ways. For the regular ed teacher, removing or clustering GT students allows more time to be devoted to other students. By restricting the range of achievement levels, remaining students have greater opportunities for their growth and recognition of their talents. Many innovative teaching strategies have been developed in gifted programs and adopted in regular classrooms such as PBL, self-directed learning, and differentiated instruction.
On local campuses, educators, admins, counselors, mental health professionals, and staff can all work together to support gifted students. Parents and community members can support gifted students through modeling good behaviors when working together, mentorships, internships, and enrichment activities. Gifted organizations and universities can support gifted students through talent searches, dual-enrollment, specialized courses, early entrance programs, and scholarships.
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 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. She is a longtime advocate for gifted children and also blogs at Gifted Parenting Support.
Resources:
The Importance of Early Gifted Education
The Benefits of Gifted & Talented Education Program
How Does Gifted Education Help Everyone?
Enriching Children, Enriching the Nation
Building the Future: Investing in Discovery and Innovation (pdf) | NSF
Youth Talents Their Potential and Economic Growth
Idle Talent | Gifted Today
Unlocking Emergent Talent: Supporting High Achievement of Low-Income, High Ability Students | The Jack Kemp Cooke Foundation
Supporting Gifted Students’ Need for Choice and Challenge to Maximize Gifts, Talents, & Potential (pdf) | World Council for Gifted and Talented Children
How Can the United States Better Support Gifted Education (2022) | IEA Gifted
5 Ways Gifted Students Can Benefit From Online High School (2022) | James Madison High School
A Better Way to Support Gifted Learners | Psychology Today
Improving Gifted and Talented Education has many Benefits, Experts Say | Kentucky Teacher
How to support gifted students to reach their full potential | OECD
Improving Gifted Talent Development Can Help Solve Multiple Consequential Real-World Problems (2021) | Journal of Intelligence
Should Millions of Students Take a Gap Year? Large Numbers of Students Start the School Year Above Grade Level (Abstract Only)
Project Talent: Build a Portfolio Using Slides
Success for Students Who Never Had to Struggle (Dropbox) | WKU The Center for Gifted Studies
Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad.
Global #gtchat 