Myths about Gifted and Talented Individuals and Their Social and Emotional Needs - Annotated Bibliography Example

Reading Responses Name Course Instructor Date Reading Responses Reading: Peterson, J. S. (2009). Myth 17: Gifted and Talented Individuals Do Not Have Unique Social and Emotional Needs, Gifted Child Quarterly, 53(4): 280-282. Review There are assumptions among educators and researchers on how gifted students deal with developmental challenges. The root of these myths about gifted children emanated from the deeply engrained societal attitudes, early scholars, democratic and egalitarian political views. Research findings however conclude that gifted children are more or less likely than others to have mental health concerns. These individuals face some challenges such as depression, anxiety, ideation, suicidal, learning disability, bullying, underachievement, poor coping and career development impasse hence, require much earlier attention to enhance their career development compared to other students. Gifted students have as well social and emotional concerns that require address as they potentially contribute to their vulnerability. Educators, coaches, parents and counselors have a duty to look out on these aspects and engage these students to help them deal with them to avoid distress. Terminologies used in the articles include, myths and giftedness among others. Reflect Some of the myths about gifted students have impacted negatively on the social and emotional development of the students. Society has tended to ignore the needs of these gifted students because they have a perception that they are perfect and does not require any support. These gifted students like the other peers have similar needs and require attention and motivation from their educators and counselors as well as their parents. Programs geared at affirming and supporting gifts and talents even though are limited they are required to provide support for development of the talents among these students. Most of gifted students may not express their emotional and needs believing that they are aberrant. Furthermore, the programs are essential to support some of the gifted students that may not be in a position to handle the attention and power that their level of abilities generates. Therefore, these myths must be demystified to ensure that the counselors and educators equip themselves with appropriate resources such as books and skills to address the social and emotional as well as career development needs of the gifted students using strategies such as differential approaches. Requestion The reading raises a number of questions. What strategies to use to demystify the myths The myths can be overcome through research and cooperation of various stakeholders such as educators, counselors and parents. How can the social and emotional needs of gifted students be met? Gifted students should receive support from the educators. They require guidance and encouragement to work hard and stick to their goals. They should understand that they are like other people and therefore should not be under pressure to lead stress free lives. How attitudes of teachers and educators be changed to help gifted students achieve their social and emotional needs? Teachers, and educators are vital and they require enough training on dealing with gifted children. They as well must understand how to appreciate and motivate these children to ensure that they achieve their goals. Response From the reading, various actions are identified to help support affective needs of gifted students and their talent development. Educators, parents, and counselors need to give students opportunities to discuss their needs. This enables them to voice their concerns openly. Educators and parents should also provide support by guiding and counseling them on how to carry themselves. Appropriate training is also required among teachers to adapt to differential approaches that will help meet their social and emotional needs. Reading: Hay, P.K., Gross, M.U., Hoekman, K., & Rogers, K.B. (2007). Prosocial reasoning and empathy in gifted children. Australasian Journal of Gifted Education, 16(2): 4-14. Review Gifted children exemplify differences with their peers when it comes to their levels of prosocial reasoning and empathy. Gifted students use higher level of prosocial reasoning compared to their age peers. Furthermore, gifted children have higher affective ability when compared to their peers. This therefore, means that gifted children have ability to process information related to their moral reasoning compared to their age peers. They have well developed cognitive-intellectual functioning that enables them to make appropriate judgment pertaining to moral aspects. Terminologies such as cognitive and affective empathy are used. Cognitive empathy is the cognitive awareness of other people internal states such as feelings, thoughts, intentions and perceptions. While affective empathy is how a person responds to another. It may involve feeling of what one imagines another is feeling such as sympathy. The aspect of prosocial reasoning and empathy is important for parents and teachers in helping them improve the way they perceive and live with other people. Reflect Gifted students need not to be intellectually fit but they also need to understand how to live with other people in the society. They have a responsibility to make appropriate decisions that reflect on their morals. Therefore, this paper is very important as it helps to indicate the capabilities of gifted students in their moral reasoning and empathy. Being able to express or exemplify attributes of empathy and moral reasoning enables positive perception by others. Furthermore, such individuals are able to make decisive decisions that enable them to lead a satisfactory live with the rest members of the society. Requestion This reading triggers an interest to understand various aspects relating to prosocial reasoning and empathy captured in the following questions; Does empathy have some relationship with prosocial reasoning? These are related in the sense that empathy leads to high prosocial reasoning. A person that feels for others is able to perceive and to show compassion through thinking and reflecting. How can gifted children improve their prosocial reasoning and empathy? Gifted children can improve their reasoning and empathy through experiences and socializing. Walking with people of similar interests and ambitions contributes to change of behaviors and ones perception on certain aspects in life. How does parents, teachers contribute to prosocial reasoning and empathy among gifted children? Parents, teachers and coaches can contribute to development of prosocial reasoning and empathy among gifted children through examples. They can inculcate in them values that enables them to understand various aspects in the society and ways of responding to the same. Response Moral reasoning and empathy plays a key role in the lives of the intellectual gifted students. These students even though have higher level of prosocial reasoning compared to their age peers; it allows them to make appropriate judgment in their decisions. Such children are responsive to others needs and problems something that shows maturity and high level of understanding. Therefore, it ensures achievement of their objectives and goals because they are able to think and approach issues in a mature way. Reading: Siegle, D., & McCoach, D. (2013). Underachieving gifted students. In C.M Callahan & H.L. Hertberg-Davis, Fundamentals of gifted education: Considering multiple perspectives (Chap. 37, pp. 377-387). New York: Routledge. Review On many occasions, gifted student underachieve in their performance raising concerns among the parents and teachers. Underachieving gifted students are those that fail to meet expected performance that resonates with their potential or abilities. Such students may just see their performance as fine but to parents and teachers it is a waste of their talents and gifts as well as a negative impact to the society as well as a personal loss. Research indicates that male gifted children underachieve. Different reasons contribute to this underachievement such as home environment, parental styles, family structure, divorce, move to other school and peer influence among others. Reflect It is imperative that underachiever-gifted students are affected by various factors. These students have potentials and abilities to perform exemplary. However, they are deterred from performing well because of various factors that can be avoided. Some of the factors are peer pressure, family structures that does not provide conducive learning environment, parenting styles as some parents are so lenient while others are overly strict. These however, as some factors that can be addressed to ensure that these students perform as expected. Requestion The reading raises various questions that require answers. What are the measures the teachers can use to determine under achievement among gifted student? Teachers will determine underachiever gifted students from their academic performance. The continuous assessment and end of the year exams provides an assessment of their performance index. Likewise, behaviors they exhibit may also be used to assess and measure the level of achievement. What is the role of parents in motivating underachieve gifted students Parents have a role in motivating their underachiever-gifted students. They must talk to them and provide good environment to ensure that the students study well. Instances of divorce, harshness, and leniency and family conflicts require address as well. How should underachieve students respond on realizing that they are underperforming? Once they realize they are underperforming they should get composed and set clear goals. They must work hard and adopt appropriate strategies that will enable them perform as previously. Response Indeed, underachiever’s gifted students do to themselves, parents and teachers a disfavor. They must come to realization that something has gone amiss and work hard to regain their former positions. They require to adopt various strategies such as ensure that they set goals, manage their time well, select good peers and seek appropriate advice from their parents and teachers. They also need counseling and instructional interventions to help them wake up again. Reading: Bailey, C. L (2010). Overexcitabilities and Sensitivities: Implications of Dabrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration for Counseling the Gifted. Retrieved from http://counselingoutfitters.com/vistas/vistas10/Article_10.pdf Review Most of the gifted individuals tend to have higher intellectual, emotional and imaginational overexcitabilities compared to average population that impacts on counseling. Gifted individuals have qualitative differences such as sensitivities, intensities, idealism, complexity, asynchrony, introversion, overexcitabilities, perceptiveness, moral concern and perfectionism as they experience the world from different perspective. It therefore becomes important to understand unique experiences of gifted people as they experience high levels of sensitivity and intensity in comparison with their peers. These overexcitabilities may lead to initial phase of psychoneuroses and neuroses increasing developmental dynamics. On the other hand, they may bring dangers of tensions unmanageable as well as unhealthy negative disintegration. Therefore, counselors should come up with empirically based interventions strategies that suits gifted individuals to enable them overcome the challenges they face. Various terms are used such as dynamism meaning mental forces of different scope, intensity that pertains to behavior, personal growth and activity. Positive disintegration is process when the previous personality structure is replaced with higher-level personality structures. While overexcitabilities refer to higher, more than average responsiveness to stimuli manifested through emotional, psychomotor and sensual. Reflect The issues in the reading are very essential to address some of the challenges that gifted individuals face. Understanding the emotional aspects, personal experiences of an individual as well as the development of experiences allows gifted individual to reach appropriate decisions pertaining the problems they encounter. Counselors can apply relevant strategies to enable them work with their students that experience different overexcitabilities. For instance, they need to find appropriate outlets to release their energies and learn to implement different techniques in their daily routines, sensory integration, and physical therapy to mediate excess psychomotor tendencies. Requestion The reading raises a number of questions How the theory fit with our understanding of other developmental theories The theories relates to developmental theories since people develop through learning and experiences. They tend to replace their memory with new information and things they learn How can counselors adopt the theory of positive integration to support gifted individuals? Counselors must take time to understand the needs of the gifted individuals before taking the imitative to provide counseling. What strategies can counselors use to mange overexcitabilities among gifted students? They should adopt various strategies such as development of programs that promote self-awareness, acceptance and self-understanding. They should also assist the students to build self-control and encourage reflection. Response Gifted students faced with a challenge of overexcitabilities require appropriate counseling. The counselor must be equipped with skills and knowledge; techniques that will help them manage these challenges. They need to encourage them and make them to have self-control. They should as well implement various programs and techniques such as relaxation programs among many others. Reading: Garn, A., Mathews, M., & Jolly, J. (2012). Parents’ role in the academic motivation of students with gifts and talents, Psychology in the Schools, 49(7): 656-667. Review Parents play a vital role in motivating their children as they pursue their academics. Those with gifted children as well may face additional parenting challenges compared to those faced by parents of average ability learners. Social environmental climate created by the parents is important as it can either promote or impede academic motivation of the children with talents and gifts. Students can be motivated in many ways such as intrinsically and either through facilitating or inhabiting needs support. Environmental determinants of need support that contribute to experience of different types of motivation include motivation styles, level of challenge, use of external events, and social demands such as expectations among others. Reflect Parents of gifted students many times face challenges on how to influence and provide directions to their children. This problem may affect children if they are not well nurtured. Parents therefore, should always be ready to provide support and motivation to their children to ensure that they realize their potential. The environment the students live in shapes the way they perceive and approach various aspects concerning them. Therefore, in case a parent faces challenges, it is advisable to seek assistance from other experts such as teachers on the best way to guide and advice gifted children. Requestion The reading raises many questions. They include: Does style of parenting affect how parent motivates gifted children? Parents have different styles of parenting such as authoritarian. These styles affects the motivation of these students, hence parents must ensure that they up bring up their children well by showing love and appreciation. How can a parent cultivate the gift of a child at the same time maintaining a flexible approach distinct to the child? Parents understand their children and they should give their children an opportunity to pursue their interests. They should provide advice that will allow their children to take up the challenge and pursue their interests What strategies are parents required to use to stress the important of effort in learning to their gifted children? Parents must always stress to their children the important of learning. They should however do it in a positive and loving manner as a way of showing concern. They should love their children and appreciate them to motivate them. Response Indeed involvement of parents in the learning of their children motivates them. Parents involve in their learning in various ways such as overseeing homework, providing supplemental learning resources, volunteering in class and attending school related events. These are positive influences on the academic motivation of students. Parents therefore need to avoid things that hinder student motivation as family conflicts. At home, parents can motivate gifted students through supporting autonomy by allowing the children to self direct their learning experiences they also need to support relatedness and competence among the students. Reading Hebert, T. P. (2011). Friends & family: Significant relationships that influence social & emotional development. In T.P. Hebert, Understanding the social & emotional lives of gifted students (Ch. 6, pp. 181-M224). Waco, TX: Prufrock Press Inc. Review Friendship is essential for both the children and adolescents in many ways. Friendship influences the well-being of a person, enhancing happiness and self-esteem; as well provide emotional support and companionship in the lifetime of a person. Friendship creates a sense of security; a sense of belonging as well is a foundation for health adult relationship. Gifted children are above average in many respects such as emotional stability, social adjustment, and moral development but still require friends. However, they face isolation because, of their gifts and tend to leave in isolations. Parents and teachers must create an enabling environment for these children to make friends. Such children develop relationships with those they feel appreciate them and share with their emotions. As the gifted children advance in their educations, their behaviors in socializing also changes. Gifted children may form and maintain friendships through encouragement, through co-curricular activities, programs such as big brother-big sister and use of dialogue journals among many others. Teachers, educators and counselors have a responsibility to help build and create friendships among gifted students. Reflect Friendship is very important among the gifted students in making them feel loved and embraced. Most of these children are socially isolated because of their positions, status, or personalities that may be different from the other peers. Programs that bring the students fraternity together such as debates, co-curricular can help enhance socialization and friendship. Teachers and counselor are also important when it comes to impacting on these children social skills. They should find amicable ways of making gifted children to feel appreciated through encouragement. Requestion The reading raises various questions. Some of these questions include: What are the reasons that deter friendship among gifted children? Friendship among gifted children faces challenges due to many reasons such as their abilities to understand issues quickly. They have higher IQ compared to other peers. Other reasons include their determination, parents and teachers. How can parents, educators and counselors help to enhance friendship among gifted children? Friendship is important and allows children to feel happy. Parents and educators can help enhance friendship through encouragement, appreciation and creating a conducive environment for these high gifted children to interact. What strategies are available for gifted students to sustain their friendship? Gifted children are often socially isolated. One strategy to sustain their friendship is to be encouraged to discuss their experiences and share stories of great times and make friends. Response Friendship affects social and emotions of gifted children in many ways. These children have a sense of belonging. They feel loved and appreciated if they connect and interact with their peers. Therefore, it is very important for the educators, coaches and councilors to adopt these strategies such as encouraging them to make friends to enable them to achieve social fulfillment. They also need to be allowed to discuss their experiences and tell their stories. Read More