Successful Online Learning with Gifted Students

This week we welcomed Dr. Vicki Phelps to chat about teaching GT students online. Dr. 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. With over 20 years of experience in gifted education, Dr. Phelps is passionate about equitable practice and keenly focused on meeting the unique learning needs of gifted and high potential students. She applies her specialization in gifted motivation by focusing on deep levels of student engagement through innovative, research-based instructional strategies and personalized learning. Dr. Phelps regularly presents at state, national, and international gifted conferences and enjoys leading professional development addressing differentiation and collaborative practice for school districts and special groups (via Amazon.com).

The advent of universal online learning for all students during the early days of the Pandemic has fundamentally changed how it’s perceived, but also how it can be improved. For GT students, motivation and passion are key. For many GT and advanced learners, differentiation and faster pace may be all that is needed. However, for others, there is a need for opportunities to delve deeper into the content by experiencing greater depth and complexity. GT students are motivated when they are passionate not only by what they are learning, but by how they learn through critical thinking and creative problem-solving. It becomes incumbent on educators to seek out best practices in gifted pedagogy.

Educators can motivate students learning online by presenting them with consistent challenge and accelerated pace when warranted. GT students need the opportunity to work independently, but also with intellectual peers to improve social skills in groups settings. When successfully implemented in online environments, they can re-ignite motivation and a passion for learning. When teachers and parents support each other during online learning, students benefit from this partnership which can be a motivating factor in better learning.

Educators play a pivotal role in successful online learning. Teachers should have a robust understanding of how giftedness affects GT students’ academic performance, achievement, and their mental health. Successful engagement in online learning is predicated on student behaviors involving attendance, participation, and presence as well as how enjoyable and interesting they find the content presented (Ronksley-Pavia & Neumann, 2020). Communication is a key factor in the success of online learning. Progress monitoring, facilitation of building relationships with other students, and one-on-one communication are all important (Luna, 2022). Teachers can provide flexibility in online learning taking into consideration when and where learning takes place, student choice and voice, openness to self-directed learning, and personalization of content and instruction.

The past few years have been an intensive experiment on what works best in online learning due to the Pandemic. For far too many, it was like showing up at the School Science Fair having done your whole project the night before. What distinguishes great learning models online is how well they integrate tech; the availability of tech; and the competency of educators’ use of tech to facilitate learning. Online learning is a great place to provide enrichment, the blending of online with in-person instruction, and distance learning when appropriate.

An enrichment model is well-suited to online learning as it provides access to an expansive reservoir of information and resources. It can be used alone or in the classroom to supplement traditional learning or even during RTI sessions. Distance learning as an alternative to in-person instruction can be a great online learning model when students cannot be in class due to geographic location (of the student or place of learning) or physical limitations.

How can tech integration help GT & advanced learners to shine? Tech integration when done right can enhance, enrich, and differentiate learning for GT and advanced learners. It can showcase ability not always revealed in a traditional classroom setting. When GT and advanced students engage in online learning, they should have an opportunity to shine. It does little good to upload lessons normally taught in the classroom which aren’t enhanced through technology to improve learning. Educators need to constantly review their use of tech in online settings and insure that what they are doing for their GT students is providing opportunities to enhance critical thinking skills and ways to think more deeply about the content. Online learning needs to be engaging and make use of innovative approaches to tech which promotes higher order thinking and is purposeful in the lives of students.

Underachievement for GT and advanced learners in an online environment can be a real concern. This often happens when learning needs are not being met; followed by disengagement and ultimately, underachievement. Educators should look at a student’s behavioral, affective, social, and cognitive engagement which encompasses participation, attitude towards learning, involvement with peers & teachers, and self-regulation. Designing successful online learning experiences for GT and advanced learners which minimizes underachievement should consider the work of Betts & Neihart’s six gifted learner profiles and their guiding principles for each one.

Some key criteria which support GT students online include advanced content, depth & complexity, autonomous learning, active involvement, and creativity. A successful online learning experience will provide real-world connections for individual students, provide ample opportunities for feedback, and consider a student’s psychosocial skills (time management, reflection, collaboration). It allows GT students to learn at their own pace, have individual attention, prepare for college, gain time management skills, and become more independent.

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:

Teaching Gifted Students Online: 5 Strategies to Enhance Remote Learning

Successful Online Learning with Gifted Students Designing Online and Blended Lessons for Gifted and Advanced Learners in Grades 5–8

Virtual Instruction for Gifted Students | UCONN Neag School of Education

Differentiating Technology for Gifted Learners | NAGC

The Benefits of Online Learning for Gifted Students | The Davidson Academy

Profoundly Gifted Students’ Perceptions of Virtual Classrooms | Gifted Child Quarterly

Helping Gifted Students Learn Online During COVID 19 (pdf)

Do Gifted and Accelerated Learners Flourish in an Online High School?

Impact of Internet Connection on Gifted Students’ Perceptions of Course Quality at an Online High School (pdf) | Boise State University (dissertation)

The Perceived Appeal, Challenge, and Learning Choice for Gifted and Talented Students in Advanced Placement Mathematics Courses (pdf) | Pepperdine University (dissertation)

Distance Learning for Gifted Kids During the Quarantine

E-Learning Opens Doors for Gifted Students | Education Week

Gifted and Talented – Remote Learning Resources | NJ Department of Education

Distance Learning Programs | Hoagies Gifted

How Gifted Students Benefit From Online Learning

UK: Why Online School is Perfect for Gifted Students

Remote Learning through a Mobile Application in Gifted Education | Gifted Education International

5 Ways Gifted Students Can Benefit From Online High School

Teaching Gifted Learners During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cybraryman’s Evaluating Information Page

Photo courtesy of Dr. Vicki Phelps.

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad.

Gifted Education Program Options

Often overlooked, teacher training can affect the availability and quality of gifted program options. Lack of knowledge about special populations in the classroom often leads to lack of understanding of their needs. When teachers and administrators become aware of their gifted and 2e students, they often are their greatest advocates. Teacher training in gifted education needs to begin at the undergraduate level and continue throughout their careers. State mandated PD can go a long way in making this a reality. This can lead to the availability of high quality programs. Extending PD to all faculty and staff can increase the number of options available as well as educate the wider community of the benefits of meeting the needs of GT and 2E students. This can result in increased funding and opportunities.

COVID-19 and the Pandemic had a profound effect on gifted education – both positive and negative. Already existing anti-intellectualism gained ground as education in general was affected by uneven school closures & political influences. Far too often, the Pandemic was used as an excuse to shut down gifted programs in schools where districts had a negative view of providing it at all. However, when parents and supportive educators pushed back, it was a different scenario. Positive implications include the availability of tech, increased distance learning opportunities and a vision of what is possible. Also, greater awareness of educational needs of GT and 2E by parents and caregivers thrusted into homeschooling.

What are the best delivery options available in gifted education? Delivery options have evolved over the past several decades. Pull-out elementary programs are still the most common. Self-contained gifted classrooms offer exceptional opportunities for GT students to learn with intellectual peers. Out of school options include after-school programs, academic competitions, weekend programs, summer classes, and distance learning. Delivery options differ at the secondary level and involve accelerated options such as dual enrollment, early out options, magnet schools, AP/IB, and credit by examination. Alternatives to public education include private schools, micro schools, and homeschooling. Each family needs to determine which is best for their student and family finances.

What curriculum and instructional modifications best benefit gifted students? Curriculum and instruction involve content, process, product & learning environment. The NAGC’s Pre-K to 12 Programming Standards provide a comprehensive outline of evidence-based options. Differentiation is a widely used option when servicing GT students in the regular classroom. Curriculum compacting and tiered assignments have historically also been used. More recent options include Genius Hour, design thinking, VR and experiential learning opportunities.

Online learning is a program option which can be used in gifted education. It can be used in a variety of ways for GT students including in-class enrichment, extensions to outside opportunities (mentoring, linking to experts) or for distance learning (rural ed, dual enrollment). Issues which need to be addressed in online learning for gifted students include student accountability, etiquette, collaboration, and communicating with parents (Phelps, 2020).

Homeschooling has long been a viable option for students whose needs aren’t being at their local school due to lack of programs or for #2ekids or PG students whose needs may be better met in a home setting. It requires dedication, financial resources, provision of appropriate educational resources and learning environment, and someone to teach (parent/caregiver/other).

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 1PM NZDT/11 AM AEDT/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.

Resources:

Twelve Cost Effective Educational Options for Serving Gifted Students | Davidson Gifted

Gifted Services | Hempfield School District (PA)

Gifted Education: School Work Make-Up Guidelines | North Allegheny School District (PA)

K-12 Gifted Education Handbook 2021-2022 (pdf) | Bexley City Schools (OH)

Gifted Education 5 Year Comprehensive Program Plan (CPP) (pdf) | Colorado Department of Education

What Makes for a “Gifted” Education? Exploring How Participation in Gifted Programs Affects Students’ Learning Environments (pdf) | National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research

Six Ways Schools can Serve Gifted Students after the Pandemic

Applying the Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards: Guiding Questions (pdf) | NAGC

Five Ways to Support Gifted Students in Your Classroom

Best Practices in Gifted Programming (pdf) | Arlington VA Public Schools

Standard 5: Ensuring Student Outcomes for Programming with Evidence-based Practices | NAGC

Introduction to Gifted Education (book)

Gifted Education and Support Options | Davidson Gifted

Educational Options for Gifted Learners | Davidson Gifted

Considering Homeschooling: A Guidebook for Investigating an Alternative Path to Education (pdf) | Davidson Gifted

Basic Educational Options for Gifted Students in Schools (pdf) | Center for Gifted Education College of William and Mary

Accelerated Programs and Gifted Education

4 Ways You Can Encourage Your Gifted Child’s Progress Outside of School

Successful Online Learning with Gifted Students: Designing Online and Blended Lessons for Gifted and Advanced Learners in Grades 5–8

Image courtesy of Pixabay Pixabay License

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad

Perspectives on Giftedness

For decades, educators, academics, professionals in the field, parents and even those identified as gifted have tried to define the term ‘gifted’ with few reaching consensus. Today’s chat will explore different perspectives about giftedness. The terms educationally and psychologically gifted are terms used by some to distinguish between individuals with different needs in school. Other terms frequently used include high achievers or profoundly gifted. 2Es or twice exceptional students are labeled ‘gifted’, but also experience learning challenges. It’s important to consider a student’s strengths and address those before deficits.

What does it mean to be ‘more’ regarding gifted children and why does it matter? When the idea of ‘more’ is introduced in discussing gifted children, concerns about behavior are generally the issue. The source or reason for intense behaviors is debatable in academic circles, but rarely for parents. It is important to recognize and address out of the ordinary behaviors of a child who is identified as gifted to ensure their well-being as well as their ability to achieve academically and gain important social skills to be successful in life. In recent years, the importance of SEL or social-emotional learning has gained recognition among educators and parents. For GT kids, the assumption was that they would be fine on their own. This is no longer the case.

What challenges do twice-exceptional students face at school and in life? Initially, recognition of the existence of twice-exceptional students is paramount to providing appropriate educational opportunities. Failure to do so can result in students receiving only remedial services. Twice-exceptional students are often misunderstood both in school and by society at large. Challenging behaviors or academic deficits can result in students being misplaced in special education rather than placement in gifted programs. Inappropriate placement in school can lead to life-long consequences for twice-exceptional students whose most urgent needs are never met. It can have disastrous effects on life and career outcomes.

Pathologizing a gifted child’s behavior – labeling normal behavior as abnormal – is like trying to fix a problem which does not exist. Interventions, inappropriate treatments and even drug therapy can do more harm than good. For parents, in particular, it is extremely important to engage with professionals who have qualified experience working with gifted children. Pathologizing gifted behaviors may result in misdiagnosis which can lead to unmet needs or even more serious problems for their child.

Parents may wonder if they should tell their child they have been identified as gifted. However, its important to explain giftedness before they learn about it from unqualified sources or form their own opinions based on misinformation. Gifted children need to understand that they are more than a label assigned to them in order to receive services at school. That understanding involves realizing they are not better than, but rather better at. Understanding the nature of giftedness will help a gifted child to realize it’s okay to make mistakes or even fail at times; it’s not an excuse for poor behavior; and they may view the world around them differently than their age peers.

What does giftedness look like in adulthood? Gifted adults may or may not recognize their own giftedness based on their individual life experiences. Unfortunately, there is a tendency to only view eminent or high achieving adults as ever being gifted. Psychologists’ offices are filled with gifted adults experiencing anxiety, intense emotions, perfectionism, an acute sense of loneliness due to an inability to connect with others, existential depression, and so much ‘more’.

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/10AM 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 Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community. Also, checkout our Pinterest Page and Playlist on YouTube.

Resources:

The Columbus Group Conference | Gifted Parenting Support

Gifted Myths: An Easy-to-Read Guide to Myths on the Gifted and Twice-Exceptional (book)

Educating Your Gifted Child: How One Public School Teacher Embraced Homeschooling

If This is a Gift, Can I Send it Back?: Surviving in the Land of the Gifted and Twice Exceptional

Your Rainforest Mind: A Guide to the Well-Being of Gifted Adults and Youth

Behavioral Profiles of Clinically Referred Children with Intellectual Giftedness | BioMed Research International

Homeschooling Gifted Students: Considerations for Research and Practice (pdf) | IGI Global

Dwelling on the Right Side of the Curve: An Exploration of the Psychological Wellbeing of Parents of Gifted Children (pdf)

New Brain Mapping Technique Highlights Relationship Between Connectivity and IQ | Neuroscience News

“Choosing our Histories” by Kevin Gover, Baccalaureate Address 2016 | Brown University

The Boy Who Played with Fusion: Extreme Science, Extreme Parenting, and How to Make a Star (book)

Bright Adults: Uniqueness and Belonging across the Lifespan (book)

Comparison of Cognitive, Psychosocial, and Adaptive Behavior Profiles among Gifted Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Gifted … You Know What That Means, Right?

When Gifted Kids Don’t Have All the Answers: How to Meet Their Social and Emotional Needs (book)

Serving Highly & Profoundly Gifted Learners (pdf)

Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth | Vanderbilt University

Behavioral Profiles of Clinically Referred Children with Intellectual Giftedness | Biomed Research International

Images courtesy of GHF Learners, Celi Trepanier, Dr. Gail Post, Stacie Brown McCullough, and Paula Prober.

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad.

Challenging GT High School Students

What does ‘challenge’ look like in a high school classroom for GT students? Challenge takes on a new role at the high school level for GT students depending on levels of challenge offered in earlier years for the student and availability of services at the secondary level. Foundational skills – organizational skills, study skills, etc. – are a pre-requisite to meeting necessary challenges to insure forward and upward progress. Individualized academic plans beyond participation in AP/IB are a must. Challenge in high school is manifested in a student through the ability to face failure, learn from it and move on; a healthy amount of struggle; an insatiable appetite to learn more and go far beyond what’s required.

Secondary advanced classrooms are those with a higher concentration of G.T students than found in a regular general ed classroom, i.e., AP or IB classes in most high schools. This situation requires a high degree of differentiation. Strategies may include pre-assessment throughout the course with tailored instruction based on data derived from those assessments as new concepts/content are introduced or timed, performance-based tasks with options for immediate feedback (Brown, THP, August 2021) Further strategies include specific, individual feedback to encourage improvement; targeted, intentional homework with difficult concepts confronted in class; and extensive review and test practice near the end of the course (Brown, THP, August 2021).

Curiosity and creativity should be a primary goal of secondary gifted education. It can begin with providing opportunities for exploration; a four-year plan which integrates scope and sequence; and motivational strategies that inspire further exploration. Nurturing curiosity and creativity involves providing outlets for student to investigate their own creative thoughts which may begin with Socratic seminars or personal time to pursue individual interests. They can be enhanced through long-term (year-long or even multi-year) projects based on student choice. These can encourage students to ask inspiring questions; not just seek answers.

What strategies can teachers use to inspire confidence and independence in GT students? Inspiring confidence and independence in our GT students is a lofty goal for educators. It starts with passionate and compassionate teaching, high expectations, and explicit teaching of self-advocacy. Teachers can be instrumental in developing confidence and independence in GT students by relinquishing an authoritarian mindset and encouraging student voice and choice. Engaging stu dents in independent study is a great place to start. Specific strategies include instructional grouping with intellectual peers and modified grading which emphasizes self-evaluation and reflection.

How can schools implement a 4-year scaffolded experience for GT students? A vertically-aligned 4-year scaffolded program resembles those used at the college level. The first year strives to build basic skills upon which to build the remaining 3 years emphasis on executive functioning and addressing social-emotional learning. During the next 2 years, students engage with mentors and advisors, explore interests and passions, begin consideration of areas of research, and continue social-emotional learning. Finally, in their senior year, GT students create a capstone project involving research, production of a final product, and presentation of findings. (McClintock, 2021)

By the time students reach high school, parents often have the unenviable decision of how best to educate their child. Unfortunately, their choice may be dictated by financial considerations or simple geography. Parents today do have a myriad of choices: public charter, magnet, or residential schools; micro-schools; homeschooling or unschooling; cyber/online learning; dual-enrollment or early college; or private schools.

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/10AM 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 Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community. Also, checkout our Pinterest Page and Playlist on YouTube.