EDFD MATTER: Teaching gifted children

      Teachers of gifted students should not be just any teacher. For gifted students have special needs that are most likely unfamiliar to teachers whose scope of training and education may not have included handling gifted students.

      It is unfortunate that nearly all teacher education institutions in the world do not require its pre-service majors to take a subject that includes considerable training in and education about gifted education. It may be said thus that most of the teachers of gifted students acquire relevant teaching competence for gifted education on the job rather than in teacher education institution as pre-service students. In addition, here are some possible concerns that teachers of gifted students are facing today:

·                     worrying about how they can cater for the child’s needs when they have other children with additional support needs in the group

·                     disquiet that the child already knows more than they do about specific topics

·                     concern that the child will develop socially and emotionally as well as academically

·                     anxiety over the child reaching a plateau in their learning (Sutherland, 2008, p. 4)

A teacher may of course suspect that a pupil is gifted and may need a differentiated or customized learning program. While the teacher, however, may further advise the parents of the student to bring their child to a trained evaluator, the preparation of a sound personalized learning plan is a difficult task to carry out if the teacher had not been taught to do one in college. Teachers of gifted students must be astute observers of behavior.  But then again, since the study of gifted education is a non-required component of teacher education and training in probably all countries, an inadequately trained teacher may end up misinterpreting his/her student’s character and condition. Here, for instance, are some observed, but probably unknown to very many regular teachers, excitabilities among gifted students:

1.                  Emotional

2.                  Intellectual

3.                  Imaginational

4.                  Psychomotor

5.                  Sensual (Dabrowski, 1964 & 1972, In Sutherland, 2008, p. 90)

 

These observed traits of many gifted students render the job of the teacher a bit more challenging as these patterned behaviors may also be or are often associated with various cases of learning disability or developmental disorder. Confusing a gifted student for someone with a different special need is therefore not a remote possibility. Teachers and parents should be informed that a misunderstood gifted student may end up carrying an undue baggage which may have far-reaching implications for his/her future life as an adult. In addition, misreading a gifted child, educators should be cautioned, may also have unpleasant or disastrous consequences on the family life and personal development of the gifted.

Reference

Sutherland, Margaret. (2008). Developing the Gifted and Talented Young Learner. London: Saae Publications.