Underachievement in Gifted and Talented Students - Essay Example

Motivation for My Topic Motivation for My Topic Introduction In this essay, I will demonstrate both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and inspiration that drop to the choice of the topic, “Underachievement in Gifted and Talented Students”. I will accomplish this through reflecting on the research topic, showcasing how I developed an interest in the topic. Finally, I will emphasize on the significance of the topic to me and the field of education. Body The definition of Gifted Underachievement ought to be a relatively straightforward task but has persistently posed serious hurdles. There is, therefore, no universal agreement on the definition of gifted and talented students hence no conventionally agreed upon definition of gifted underachievement. The students recognized as talented, and gifted are never homogenous cohort. Various researchers who have studied talented and gifted students in are in convention of the absence of a portrait of a gifted student. There is a high degree of discrepancy in strengths and talents amongst the gifted students as shown by any sample drawn from any average population (Shmitz & Galbrait, 1985). Many researchers thus depend on the determination of the discrepancy between ability and achievement as the primary component of the definition of gifted and talented underachievement (Baum, Renziulli & Hebert, 1995). Accordingly, uncovering the reasons behind high ability students underachieving has posed bust threats because underachievement results from many distinguished factors. Nonetheless, Practitioners must reconnoiter the causes of the gifted student’s underperformance to help the students realize their strength and ability, a factor that is far from being given particular focus presently. Despite the noted causes of gifted student underachievement such as a personal characteristics (low self-efficacy, low self-regulation skills and low self-motivation), a mismatch between student and school environment as well as serious physical, cognitive or emotional concerns (Siege & McCoach, 2001). However, the studies already executed have failed to solve the Underachievement in Gifted and Talented students. Indeed, they failed to communicate to stakeholder that individual cause of the underachievement calls for a particular intervention. The ramification of mismatching the causes and interventions that result into serious implication among the gifted and talented special needs students. My motivation and interest development in this topic thus instigates from such gaps that have subsequently inspired me to conduct an in-depth study of the topic to stress to the educators that efficient mechanism through isolating the particular reasons for student’s behavior proactive to underachievement reversals. Such questions further shape my motivation as “Why do many talented and gifted students fail to realize their potential despite their high ability?” In addition, throughout the literature I reviewed in search of a problem identification, and it was common that the underachievement of gifted and talented students has persistently troubled parents and educators. The students who portray outstanding ability in academic potential fail to perform at degrees consummate with such abilities. I therefore, developed an interest in the topic to help me unearth the real cause of underachievement to help me suggest policies satisfactory to intervene and reverse the problem of such mismatch performance. I noted that such underperformance may be due to visible or hidden disabilities, response to poor educational conditions and thus inspired to uncover the exact position of this vice. In addition, my inspirations were influenced by the revelations shocking revelations from the reviewed literature on the topic that the existence efforts to reverse the underachievement have only emphasized on remediation of difficulties but no attention is driven towards the development of areas of talents and talents of the gifted and talented special needs students. Thus, I selected the topic in order to conduct a further study and showcase to the educators the significance of distinguishing between problems linked to academic motivation and special needs connected to students’ disabilities unrecognized by the classroom tutors. My choice of the topic is also firmly pegged at one of the case studies I reviewed about the Underachievement in students with Gifts and Talents. I realized that Sara, who was a fifth-grade student, had experienced a recent learning difficulties in school on the first occasion. Accordingly her teacher and reading specialist recommended assessment for her due to an obvious discrepancy between Sara’s verbal skills and reading and writing skills. Several test conducted on Sara revealed an IQ score of 129 with a greater discrepancy between verbal and performance. She had poor decoding skills, below second-grade level but able to read slightly below grade level. Subsequently, Sara’s textbook increasingly became more challenging collapsing into increased reading struggle and hence surprising her parents due sudden decline in school. Sara has always seemed smarter and hence the parent went unnoticing her disability based on the differences between Saras skills in reading and writing and verbal. The parents revealed Sara’s premature seven weeks birth with further assessment validating her brightness but constrained with fundamental learning disabilities in reading, auditory processing, and information processing areas. The realization of Sara’s learning disability problem helped the stakeholders to intervene effectively. Such revelation henceforth enabled Sara’s grades to stop slipping and reading ability progressed. I noticed the need for assessment to uncover the reasons for underachievement as Sara was identified as learning disabled otherwise she may have been tagged ‘underachiever’ and perhaps her teacher could have concluded that Sara was bright but unmotivated. Such assessments further justify the devastating consequences attached to mismatch of cause-treatment amongst the gifted and talented special needs students. The topic is thus significant as it studies about the gifted and talented students with learning disabilities have remained the area of focus during the last two decades. The problem has been tagged ’perplexing’ based on the issue of high ability/talented students who demonstrate learning disabilities. Further, studies, however, need to be executed following the failure despite the merger between fields of gifted education and special education in addressing the needs of students with gifts and talents but face learning disabilities. The current is important to me as a learner as it will endow me with satisfactory knowledge about the problem to help me assists my fellow student suffering from the same problem. In addition, the knowledge is essential as a professional to enable me carry out my duties as expected. The reason being that I will able to assess the students efficiently and uproot the problem of intervention mismatch that is quite hazardous to the gifted students. In so doing. I will be able effectively to counteract the persisting problem of identification and provision of support services and programs for the talented and gifted, special needs students. On the other hand, the field of education stands to benefit effectively from this study. The educators will benefit from such recommendation as encouraging compensation strategies, promoting awareness of strengths and weakness, focusing on developing the student’s talent and gifts as well as providing an environment that values individual differences. The practical implementation of such recommendation when dealing with the students with learning disabilities directly and positively assist such students and hence reverse the misconception about the underachievement. The result is that underachievers can realize they are potential without any discriminatory concerns. In addition, the educators will understand practical framework applicable in the identifying and serving gifted underachievers. They will, therefore, identify the students as learning disabled through identifying a critical discrepancy between ability and individual standardized achievement test scores. Conclusion The topic is feasible and needs a further thorough study in order to fill the academic gaps existing on how to reverse the underachievement amongst the gifted and talented special need students. There, is a need to match the cause of underachievement effectively to intervention to avoid the devastating implication. Reference Baum, S., Renzulli, J. S., & Hebert, T. P. (1995). The prism metaphor: A new paradigm for reversing underachievement (CRS95310). Storrs, CT: University of Connecticut. The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. McCoach, D. B. & Siegle, D. (2001). Factors that differentiate underachieving gifted students from high achieving gifted students. Gifted Child Quarterly. Schmitz, C. C., & Galbraith, J. (1985). Managing the social and emotional needs of the gifted: A teachers survival guide. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing. Read More