Teaching a Gifted Child in a Mainstream Classroom - Case Study Example

Teaching A Gifted Child in a Mainstream room As a teacher, I come across children with various personalities and characteristics. Sometimes, Ijust have to draw from my knowledge about developmental characteristics to understand why a particular student is behaving a certain way. However, there is one particular student that has captured my interest not because she is a favored one, but because she exhibits characteristics that are not typical of what I expect from her. Outwardly, Jane seems like a regular, healthy and smart little girl. However, I have observed that she is more comfortable being by herself, as I have not seen her hanging around with other children. At times, she may seem to be uncooperative in class as she easily gets bored and resorts to doodling during lectures. She complains when urged to finish her tasks and distracts other children by talking to them. Jane possesses an incredible imagination and an unusual but interesting creativity in her art work. I believe this is where she expresses herself well and does a mighty beautiful job in it. When a topic catches her interest, Jane becomes so involved that her intelligence comes to fore. She enjoys engaging in deep and profound discussions, and uses a wide vocabulary not typical of year 2 children. Jane is an enigma. One moment, she is your usual little girl, and in another minute, she is transformed to an intellectual pondering on life’s deep questions. These qualities have led me to suspect that Jane is a gifted student and have committed to do further research for her benefit (and mine). The definition of giftedness has undergone evolution over the years. In the past, the label belonged to children who possessed exceptional skills that everyone could see such as reading and writing skills, or ability to solve difficult mathematical problems. This usually meant children who scored well on standardized tests. Since it was realized eventually that standardized tests do not accommodate children’s different learning styles, new definitions of intelligence have stretched the definition of giftedness and talent. Now, there are many ways of assessing how children perform, interact with their learning and problem-solve, beyond just reading and writing, to find out who is gifted (Murray, 1994). The definition of giftedness in the Marland report was stated as follows: "Gifted and talented are those ... with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in ... (a) general intellectual ability, (b) specific academic aptitude, (c) creative or productive thinking, (d) leadership ability, (e) visual and performing arts, and (f) psychomotor ability." (Cooper, 1995). This definition now included skills which are not easily manifest, and to successfully and credibly label someone as “gifted” many processes are necessary than mere parental observation. Research indicates that the gifted are a diverse group when it comes to social competence. It is suggested that the psychological well-being of a gifted child is related to the type of giftedness, the educational fit, and the childs personal characteristics such as self-perceptions, temperament and life circumstances (Niehart, 1999). Gifted children may employ various strategies to cope with feeling different. Swiatek (1995) examined five coping strategies: denial of giftedness, fear of failure, extracurricular involvement; denying concern about possible social rejection, and minimizing the visibility of giftedness in academically talented children. These coping mechanisms help ease them into various social circles. In assessing giftedness, a suspected gifted child undergoes a battery of individual tests administered by a team of professionals as well as an extensive series of interviews, observations, case histories and subjective evaluation about his abstract thought processes, intensity, complexity, sensitivity and awareness. These are all considered for a comprehensive assessment. (Silverman, 1998). Since I did not have the luxury nor the authority to let Jane undergo such a procedure for now, I have decided to assess Jane’s giftedness by interviewing her other teachers and consulting the school counselor. I also made an appointment with her parents for a parent-teacher conference to gain more information of Jane’ personality, and generally how she is at home. I am careful not to give them hints of my suspicion about Jane’s giftedness as I have yet to confirm it with my research. Also, I would not want them to expect something if I do not have enough evidence to show for. My goal is for them to freely give their honest opinions and observations about their daughter so I could better design my curriculum around her special needs, if any. Last to be interviewed would be Jane herself. Spending time with her outside class (like in the library, cafeteria or playground) to get to know her better by drawing out the “real Jane”, if possible would definitely help in my investigation. As a teacher, my only access to testing materials for giftedness would be the internet or the library. I shall be using checklists for giftedness that I found on the internet (see Appendix 1 & 2). Her teachers and the school counselor all agree that they observe some peculiar characteristics in Jane that likewise point to a suspicion of giftedness. Her displayed intelligence may sometimes be accompanied by difficult behavior which most gifted children may exhibit because of the incompatibility of their cognitive function and emotional maturity. Jane may think far beyond her age but her behavior may be developmentally expected from a Year 2 child. From both checklists (Characteristics Checklist for Gifted Children & Checklist of Characteristics for Areas of Giftedness (CCAG)), I surmised my suspicions were gaining credibility. I assessed Jane on five major areas: General Intellectual ability; Specific Academic Aptitude; Creative Thinking; Leadership and Visual and Performing Arts. In the General Intellectual Ability, it was confirmed that Jane’s observed characteristics were exhibited by gifted children. She enjoys reading books on a wide variety of subjects and would prefer to read in the library during her lunch hour than to socialize with friends. Her reasoning skills were very good and her penchant for deep, penetrating queries that lead to profound discussions was salient. Her aptitude for understanding complex subject matter is beyond the normal level of her age-mates. In the Specific Academic Aptitude, Jane’s selective interest in some subject areas comes to mind. When she finds it interesting, she gives her full attention and participation, but if not, she gets bored and sullen. I realized that in the times when she seemed uncooperative to finish her tasks, she was just not interested in the task at hand and might even be bored because it was not challenging enough for her. I do not have enough observations on her Leadership abilities, as she is not very sociable. However, she is unafraid to express herself regardless of what others may think. In the Creative Thinking and Visual Arts areas, Jane definitely performs well as evidenced by her exceptional art works and proclivity for engaging in discussions of complex associations. Upon further investigation, I have determined that Jane’s IQ is in the moderately gifted range. As an effective teacher, I know it is my responsibility to adjust the curriculum to her needs to ensure that she moves towards the development of her optimum potentials. In my research, I found that there are interventions available for gifted children like Jane. Basically, there are three types of programs or interventions currently used with gifted students in the mainstream classroom: Enrichment: extending classroom work either by using more in-depth material or by adding topics/ areas of study not typically found in schools. Acceleration: offering content at an earlier age so a child can complete schooling in less time. Affective programs – address gifted students social and emotional needs focusing on concerns such as career choices, values and coping strategies. (Shalaway, 1997) With Jane’s giftedness, I choose to implement the intervention of Enrichment, as she is considered to be a gifted child in a mainstream class. For the unit lesson I have intended for the whole class (Refer to Appendix 3 for details) on Reading, Speaking and Listening (taken from Year 2 Term 3 Report Unit of the National Literacy Strategy, pp. 20-21), I wanted Jane to take part in the whole sequence with the rest of her classmates and then give her an enrichment assignment related to the lesson, but based on her own interests since I have learned that when she is interested in a topic, she ups her engagement in it, causing her to perform at her optimum level. At the outset, this unit lesson is all about reading and books, so at first blush, I know that Jane’s interest would already be reeled in. The game-like structure of some of the activities (e.g. doing Animal movements) generally delights children. However, for more gifted ones like Jane, level of difficulty should be added to challenge her learning skills. The more academic part of the lesson is the application of the lesson on the report texts of the book (title, heading, introduction, paragraph, etc.). Working together as a group in filling out the jigsaw puzzle activity would encourage Jane to develop her social skills more. (See Appendix 4 Resource Sheet 1). Oral work will entail discussing some points from the book along with some practical questions to answer to engage the children’s thinking skills. I may direct more complicated questions to Jane- more of ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions more that the usual ‘what’, ‘where’ or ‘when’. The independent work part of the lesson is sure to stimulate Jane’s interest. She is to work with a partner and together they decide on a book they are both interested in. The skills involved in this task – negotiating, decision-making, compromising, etc. benefit the pairs working together in terms of social and personal skills. They are to label report texts of the book accordingly (See Appendix 4, Resource Sheet 3). The pair also thinks up of questions about the content of the book to pose to their classmates later. It would be another feat for Jane to adjust her complex thinking skills to her partner so they come up with simple questions the rest of the class can answer. Jane’s enrichment activity would be to come up with her own book complete with her artwork as the illustrations and original words as the text. She is to present the book to class for her classmates to study and use it as a resource to apply their learning on report texts. I believe this activity would be of great interest to Jane as it calls on her creative and artistic skills to use. It also hones her weak decision-making skills when she chooses the topic for this assignment and execute the necessary sequence, logic and details to come up with a book worthy of being used as a class resource. On her own, she would work around her interests and satisfy her craving for creative expression. When she finally presents it to her class, her moment to shine, the dynamics of relating to a group and “leading” the class takes place. This move may help boost her self-esteem as her classmates recognize her special talents. Such a recognition can likewise encourage Jane to develop her social skills more for a more-rounded personality development. Her aptitude for leadership may also be tapped. This enrichment activity will benefit everyone in class and may be a good assessment of their learning. It not only serves Jane in my attempt to feed her giftedness, but also the members of her mainstream class, as Jane shares with them her gifts to learn better. The way I would teach Jane, a gifted child, in a mainstream class would likewise be a challenge for me as a teacher. I should always be sensitive to the needs of all my students and make sure that I provide a high quality curriculum that would meet their needs. Knowing Jane has special needs, I would address them by tailoring some questions or tasks appropriately to meet her needs too. The challenge is not to make it too obvious to the rest of the class or even to Jane, so she remains to be treated “normally” while fulfilling my goals of honing her special skills. References Characteristics Checklist for Gifted Children (n.d.) Available online at: http://www.ode.state.or.us/teachlearn/specialty/tag/r4checklistcharacteristics.pdf (Accessed 14 April 2007) Cooper, C.R. (1995) Integrating Gifted Education into the Total School Curriculum. School Administrator. Volume: 52. Issue: 4 Department for Education and Skills (2003) Year 2 Term 3 Report unit of The National Literacy Strategy Ref: DfES 0398/2003 Miller, E.M. (2005) Studying the Meaning of Giftedness: Inspiration from the Field of Cognitive Psychology. Roeper Review. Volume: 27. Issue: 3. Murray, W. (1994) New ways to think about giftedness - interview with National Association for Gifted Children Pres. Carolyn Callahan. Instructor, Sept, 1994 National Association for Gifted Children (n.d.) Checklist Of Characteristics For Areas Of Giftedness (Ccag) (Available online) Neihart, M. (1999) The Impact of Giftedness on Psychological Well-Being: What Does the Empirical Literature Say?. Roeper Review. Volume: 22. Issue: 1. Shalaway, L. (1998) Learning to Teach. New York: Scholastic Professional Books Silverman, L.K. (1998) Through the Lens of Giftedness. Roeper Review. Volume: 20. Issue: 3. Swiatek, M.A. (1995) An empirical investigation of the social coping strategies used by gifted adolescents. Gifted Child Quarterly, 39(3), 154-161. Appendix 1. Characteristics Checklist for Gifted Children From: http://www.ode.state.or.us/teachlearn/specialty/tag/r4checklistcharacteristics.pdf Provides a characteristics checklist for teachers and parents looking for signs of giftedness in young children General intellectual ability is an avid reader has avid interest in science or literature provides very alert, rapid answers to questions has a wide range of interests is secure emotionally is venturesome, wanting to do new things tends to dominate peers or situations is an entrepreneur - readily makes money on various projects or activities needs little outside control - applies self discipline is resourceful - solving problems by ingenious methods is creative in new ideas, seeing associations, pursuing innovations displays a great curiosity about objects, situations or events has the capacity to look into things and be puzzled is involved with many exploratory type activities reveals originality in oral and written expression is perceptually open to his or her environment displays a willingness to accept complexity has the capacity to use knowledge and information other than to memorise shows superior judgement in evaluating things is a good guesser makes good grades in most subjects learns rapidly, easily and efficiently uses a lot of commonsense retains and uses information which has been heard or read uses a large number of words easily and accurately asks many questions of a provocative nature has a power of abstraction, conceptualisation and synthesis has an interest in cause-effect relations has a liking for structure, order and consistency has a power of concentration, an intense attention that excludes all else is persistent has a high energy level is independent is friendly and outgoing Specific academic aptitude shows similar characteristics to general intellectual ability but concentrated around one or a few fields has a long attention span in areas of interest learns rapidly, easily and with less repetition in one or a few specific areas (probably not all subject areas) likes or loves one or a few areas of knowledge likes to study some subjects more than others spends time voluntarily beyond ordinary assignments on projects of interest to him or her is able to extend learning from these key areas to various situations somewhat unrelated in orientation is able to show broad perspective on one or more subject areas is able to judge own and others relative abilities in key areas of interest seeks assistance of others beyond his or age peers in extending knowledge in areas of interest Creative thinking and production is fluent in producing and elaborating on ideas makes unusual associations between remote ideas is flexible in thinking patterns senses when problems exist acts spontaneously, intuitively tolerates ambiguity and uncertainty senses inconsistencies and discontinuities readily guesses and makes hypotheses juggles or redefines elements of a problem or task can show intense concentration on a task retains own ideas in a discussion or collaboration provides multiple solutions or responses to problems is uninhibited in expression, sometimes radical is intellectually playful, interested in fantasy, imagination always trying to adapt or improve things has a keen sense of humour, seeing humour in situations others dont doesnt mind being different doesnt accept authoritarian pronouncements without own judgement asks provocative questions, challenges parents, teachers, written and other authorities is bored with memorisation and recitation displays energy, sometimes disruptively produces unexpected, sometimes "silly" responses is considered, and perhaps resented, by some peers as "crazy" can show unusual degrees of originality, concentration and persistent hard work on projects that capture their interest and imagination Leadership can stimulate and arouse others organises others recognises skills and abilities possessed by others interacts with others easily showing social skills recognises and can articulate the goals of a group can articulate ideas clearly can listen to others empathetically understands how people feel and how groups function can give directions clearly and effectively exercises authority reliably and responsibly can adopt non-leadership roles within a group can establish the mood of a group supports others in a group when appropriate can coordinate the work of several individuals is often asked for ideas and suggestions is looked to by others when something must be decided Psychomotor ability is rhythmic is athletic likes to play physically has a suitable body build is coordinated, balanced and confident in physical activities is inventive in constructing or modifying games is energetic is able to understand the intellectual aspects of psychomotor activities demonstrates endurance, stamina and persistence in physical activities demonstrates prowess in physical activities common amongst age peers Visual and performing arts Music has good sense of rhythm is well-coordinated discriminates musical and other sounds well understands musical relationships enjoys musical activities and demonstrates musical feeling shows tonal memory responds readily to rhythm, melody and harmony uses music to express feeling or experience makes up original tunes enjoys dance and dramatic activities with musical elements Dramatics demonstrates interest and enjoyment in dramatic activities readily shifts into role of another character, animal or object uses voice to reflect changes in mood demonstrates understanding of conflict when acting out a dramatic event communicates feelings by means of facial expressions, gestures and bodily movements enjoys evoking emotional responses from listeners demonstrates ability to dramatise feelings and experiences brings a dramatic situation to a climax with a well-timed ending when telling a story Art draws a variety of objects puts depth into drawing, showing planning and good proportion treats art seriously and enjoys it shows originality in modes of undertaking art is willing to try out new materials and experiences pursues art in spare time uses art to express feelings and experiences is interested in other peoples art, both appreciating it and criticising it likes to model three dimensionally with clay, soap carving, plasticine etc 2. CHECKLIST OF CHARACTERISTICS FOR AREAS OF GIFTEDNESS (CCAG) *Adapted from the National Association for Gifted Children (202) 785-4268 **CCAG will be used throughout the document. GIFTED AREA CHARACTERISTICS General Intellectual Ability Read More