How Teachers Can Identify Talented Students - Term Paper Example

How Teachers can Identify Talented Students Introduction a. Hook: All children have a right to learn in an environment that enables them to reflect their enthusiasm, distinctive characteristics and fascinations. b. Background: Children all require adequate opportunities to grow, learn, and be inspired to endeavor for brilliance. This is especially the case for students that wield exceptional learning potential and talent, since they require specific attention. c. Thesis statement: This paper seeks to explore ways through which teachers can identify talented students. Careful observation of children’s behavior and habits, coupled with listening to them will provide insights into their interests and learning potential, hence identification of talent. I. Body a) Teachers must first understand what giftedness or talent is, in order to determine whether a student is talented or not. i. A person is said to be talented if he or she is unique in one or more aspects, when compared to other individuals within the same age bracket. ii. Teachers should note that talented children that have high performance capacity usually demonstrate potential ability or overachievement in one or more of these areas. b) Teachers must commit themselves to playing the crucial role of scouting for student talent. i. Instructors must remain alert to potential talent signs in four principal areas including, intellectual/academic, technical/vocational, social/interpersonal and artistic matters. ii. Instructors should know that talent identification is not a one-time occurrence. Rather, it is a continuing process. c) The other primary strategy that teachers can use to identify talented students involves structuring certain learning activities. i. Such activities would give learners unique opportunities to showcase their strengths and interests, which would further enable instructors to identify talent potential. iii. Teachers would effectively create an opening where learners can demonstrate their exact talents, making the giftedness identification job easier, II. Conclusion a. Teachers are responsible for this crucial role, which they can achieve through careful observation of children’s behavior and habits, keenly listening to them and interacting with the children’s parents or caregivers. b. Closing: After identifying different students’ gifts, teachers should go the extra mile to recognize the talented learners and to help them maximize their potential through inspiration and different hard work strategies. How Teachers can Identify Talented Students Introduction All children have a right to learn in an environment that enables them to reflect their enthusiasm, distinctive characteristics and fascinations. Further, they all require adequate opportunities to grow, learn, and be inspired to endeavor for brilliance. This is especially the case for students that wield exceptional learning potential and talent, since they require specific attention. With proper education strategies and tentative nurturing, talented students are capable of making exceptional contribution to their respective communities and to the world at large. It is, therefore, highly important for teachers to identify children’s interests and strengths at all phases of their development, in order to ensure that gifted children fully maximize their potential. Talent screening should begin in the early stages of children’s lives to avoid missing crucial identifiers. This paper seeks to explore ways through which teachers can identify talented students. Careful observation of children’s behavior and habits, coupled with listening to them will provide insights into their interests and learning potential, hence identification of talent. Giftedness and its Attributes It is imperative for teachers to first understand what giftedness or talent is, in order to determine whether a student is talented or not. According to Goodhew (2009), a person is said to be talented if he or she is unique in one or more aspects, when compared to other individuals within the same age bracket. Talented students have specific learning attributes that enable them to attain excellent performance in comparison to those around them. Such talented learners often require distinctive education services or programs, which supersede those conventionally provided by regular education programs. Without such perks, talented students may fail to develop their identity and ability to contribute optimally to society. Teachers should note that talented children that have high performance capacity usually demonstrate potential ability or overachievement in one or more of several areas. These areas include particular academic aptitude, general intellectual capacity, productive or creative thinking, leadership capacity, and proficiency in visual or performance arts. For effective talent identification, teachers must work closely with parents, so as to take note of information and observations made both at home and at school. Talent Scouting With the preceding giftedness attributes in mind, teachers must commit themselves to playing the crucial role of scouting for student talent. This implies that instructors must remain alert to potential talent signs in four principal areas including, intellectual/academic, technical/vocational, social/interpersonal and artistic matters. Chuska (2005) is emphatic that this process of identifying talent must be started at an early age and progress, as the student continues to grow and develop. Such continuity would serve to facilitate better development and delineation of the students’ interests and strengths. Therefore, instructors should know that talent identification is not a one-time occurrence that enables them declare children talented solely at a particular time. Rather, it is a continuing process that combines students’ learning behavior, diverse tests and observations or feedback from parents and other teachers. Most importantly, teachers should make an effort to develop growing knowledge of students’ learning styles, interests and strengths. This is because some talents develop over time. For instance, reading proficiency, poetry writing, painting skills, and solving complex mathematical problems, could take place over a given duration of time and not instantaneously. An excellent example is exemplified by UK’s reverse graffiti artist Paul Curtis, also referred to as Moose. The artist gradually evolved from painting graffiti using spray paint, to using water on dirty walls. Such revolutionary or distinctive thinking represents immense talent that has developed over time and not at a single point in time (Dummett, Hughes and Stephenson, 2013). Therefore, teachers must strive to monitor students’ emerging aptitude over time, for effective talent identification. Structuring Learning Activities The other primary strategy that teachers can use to identify talented students involves structuring certain learning activities. Such activities would give learners unique opportunities to showcase their strengths and interests, which would further enable instructors to identify talent potential. For example, students that have exceptional literary skills may demonstrate this talent by composing poetry or writing short stories. Students with a knack for science and mathematics may showcase their talent by solving complex problems or formulating formulae. Contrastingly, talented leaders may not necessarily attain good grades, but may demonstrate excellent interpersonal and social skills. By structuring learning activities to facilitate students’ participation, teachers would effectively create an opening where learners can demonstrate their exact talents, making the giftedness identification job easier. This strategy would also serve to enhance students’ confidence in their different abilities, thus enabling them to take initiative in fostering growth and development of their individual talents (Davis and Rimm, 2004). Conclusion Talent in students serves as a sign or indicator of their potential of growing up to become exceptional contributors to society. Talented children are capable of transforming society through their distinctive social, physical, aesthetic, intellectual or even ethical abilities. However, this would only be possible if such children’s talents are identified and developed from an early age. Teachers are responsible for this crucial role, which they can achieve through careful observation of children’s behavior and habits, keenly listening to them and interacting with the children’s parents or caregivers. After identifying different students’ gifts, teachers should go the extra mile to recognize the talented learners and to help them maximize their potential through inspiration and different hard work strategies. References Chuska, K. (2005). Gifted learners K-12: A practical guide to effective curriculum and teaching. (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service. Davis, G., & Rimm, S. (2004). Education of the Gifted and Talented (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education. Dummett, P., Hughes, J., & Stephenson, H. (2013). Life Upper intermediate. Hampshire, UK: National Geographic Learning. Goodhew, G. (2009). Meeting the Needs of Gifted and Talented Students. New York: Network Continuum. Read More