Learning and the gifted child

1. LEARNING AND THE
GIFTED CHILD
Lee Marsh
Indigo Assessment & Counselling

2. OVERVIEW
• THE GIFTED CHILD AND LEARNING
• CHALLENGES
• BARRIERS TO LEARNING
• EMOTIONAL OVERLAYS
• MOTIVATION
• THE WAY FORWARD - SUPPORTING THEM APPROPRIATELY
• SELF-REGULATED LEARNERS
• MEDIATED LEARNING EXPERIENCES
• SHIFTING TOWARDS DEEP LEARNING
Lee Marsh (Cayzer)
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3. SOME DEFINITIONS
• “Giftedness is a complex constellation of behaviours that can be
expressed in various ways, and there are honest differences of opinion
concerning how much of which behaviours are needed for a child or
an adult to be considered gifted”. Olenchak, F. Richard; Goerss, Jean; Beljan, Paul; Webb, James T.; Webb, Nadia E.; Amend,
Edward R. (2005-01-15). Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger's, Depression, and Other Disorders (Kindle Locations 233-235). Great
Potential Press. Kindle Edition.
• Giftedness is more than intellect - has an emotional depth
• Definitions that consider giftedness as potential to be developed
make a distinction between what a child is capable of achieving and
what the child will achieve. The fact that a child has exceptional
potential is part of what makes him or her gifted. The child’s
environment determines whether potential leads to achievement.
Carol Bainbridge
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4. CHALLENGES
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5. The Average Student
• Limited motivation
• Limited volition
• Limited engagement
More engaged students
• Students who are owning their learning journey
• Deeper learning and meaning making
• Critical thinking
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6. EMOTIONAL OVERLAYS
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7. UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF SOCIAL &
EMOTIONAL DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING
Two schools of thought on whether gifted children are particularly at risk for social and
emotional difficulties.
1. Gifted and talented children as being prone to problems and in need of special
interventions to prevent or overcome their unique difficulties
• ‘high potential children …not identified as gifted … often not in special school
programs … because of social and emotional difficulties that may develop in first
few years of formal schooling, when there are few attempts made to search out and
provide assistance to these children’ (Ballering & Koch, 1984; Webb, 1993).
2. Gifted children as generally being able to fare quite well on their own, and gifted
children with problems needing special interventions are seen as a relative
minority.
• ‘research on students from academic programs specifically designed for gifted
children. Such children, by the very nature of the selection process, are usually
functioning well in school, and are not experiencing major social or emotional
problems’ (Webb, 1993; Whitmore, 1980).
• Bottom line: social and emotional difficulties can mask giftedness and also influence
school performance
• Gifted children – ‘risk factors such as perfectionism or asynchronous development’
(Olenchak, F. Richard; Goerss, Jean; Beljan, Paul; Webb, James T.; Webb, Nadia E.; Amend, Edward R, 2005)
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8. BARRIERS TO LEARNING
• Generally, twice-exceptional students are those who meet the eligibility
criteria for both giftedness and learning disabilities.
• Giftedness usually pertains to high intellectual abilities or potential rather
than students' specific accomplishments. Gifted students are commonly
depicted as having exceptional abilities or potential for learning and
problem solving. It is important to understand factors that hamper this
potential.
• Learning disabilities are defined as problems in learning due to a cognitive-
processing difficulty in which the dysfunction affects one or more cognitive
processes instead of obstructing overall intellectual ability.
Dawn Beckley
University of Connecticut
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9. UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF
SENSORY AND PERCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT
LEVEL 1
PRIMARY SENSORY SYSTEMS
Touch, Balance & Movement, Body & Position, Other Senses
including visual and auditory
LEVEL 2
SENSORY-MOTOR
SKILLS
Body Awareness, Hand Preference, Motor Planning
LEVEL 3
PERCEPTUAL MOTOR SKILLS
Auditory Discrimination, Speech & Language, Visual Discrimination,
Eye-Hand Coordination, Purposeful Activity
LEVEL 4
ACADEMIC READINESS
Academic Skills, Complex, Motor Skills, Regulation of Attention,
Organised Behaviour, Self-Esteem & Self-Control.
(Adapted from Dr. Jean Ayres’s ‘Four levels of Sensory Integration’ Stock-Kranowitz, 2005:67)Lee Marsh (Cayzer)
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10. SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT
‘DIAGNOSIS’
• It the situation or setting perhaps inappropriate. Behaviours that fit in
one environment may be seen as problematic in another setting.
• Unspoken assumption that everyone should function equally well in
every circumstance.
• We see many children who have been referred with
diagnoses/suspected ADD/ ADHD, OCD, Asperger’s Disorder, ODD, or
Bipolar Disorder. Assessment might reveal misdiagnosis/overlooking
asynchronous development and giftedness (behaviours inherent to
gifted children not sufficiently understand or accepted).
• Can be a combination of factors - how to help children not feel so
very different
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11. DISCREPANCIES
• Emerick (1988) suggested this discrepancy might include any of the following
combinations:
• high IQ score and low achievement test scores;
• high IQ score and low grades;
• high achievement test scores and low grades;
• high indicators of intellectual, creative potential and low creative productivity;
or
• high indicators of potential and limited presence of appropriate opportunity for
intellectual and creative development.
Siegle, Del (2012-10-01). Underachieving Gifted Child: Recognizing, Understanding, and Reversing Underachievement (Kindle Locations 167-173). Sourcebooks, Inc.. Kindle
Edition.
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12. ACKNOWLEDGING ASSETS
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13. MOTIVATION
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14. THE WAY FORWARD
SUPPORTING THEM APPROPRIATELY
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15. SELF-REGULATED LEARNING
Self-regulated learning emphasizes:
• “autonomy and control by the individual who monitors, directs, and regulates actions
toward goals of information acquisition, expanding expertise, and self-improvement”
(Paris & Paris, 2001:1)
Self-regulation refers to:
• “refers to self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions that are planned and
cyclically adapted to the attainment of personal goals” (Zimmerman, 2000:14)
Self-regulated learning - relies on learners being motivated and being able to exert
self-control in attending to tasks:
• Sustaining attention/not giving in to distractions
• Setting attainable goals – scaffolding!! TRAJECTORIES!!
• Persistence when challenged
Core principles:
• Autonomous learning
• Reflective learning & teaching … becoming engaged in their own learning process
Lee Marsh (Cayzer)
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16. MEDIATED LEARNING EXPERIENCES
http://wordplay11.wordpress.com/tag/vygotsky/Lee Marsh (Cayzer)
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17. COMING BACK FULL CIRCLE …
SHIFTING TOWARDS DEEP LEARNING
Lee Marsh (Cayzer)
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18. The Average Student
• Limited motivation
• Limited volition
• Limited
engagement
More engaged
students
• Students who are
owning their learning
journey
• Deeper learning and
meaning making
• Critical thinking
Lee Marsh (Cayzer)
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19. SOURCES
• http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/newsletter/spring98/sprng984.html
• Olenchak, F. Richard; Goerss, Jean; Beljan, Paul; Webb, James T.; Webb, Nadia E.; Amend, Edward R. (2005-01-15). Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses
of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger's, Depression, and Other Disorders (Kindle Locations 142-144). Great Potential Press.
Kindle Edition
• Kozulin 1998, Chapter 3, The Mediated Learning Experience and Psychological Tools
• Kozulin, A. 1985. Vygotsky in context. Chapter 1 In: Vygotsky, L. 1986. Thought and Language. Cambridge, MIT Press
• Van der Westhuizen, G. J. and Lewis, H. 2004. The space for emancipatory learning in outcomes-based education. Paper presented at the International
Conference on OBE, Pretoria, HSRC.
• Paris, SG & Paris, AH. 2001. Classroom Applications of Research on Self-Regulated Learning. Educational psychologist, 36(2), 89–101.
• Magano, MM, Mostert, P and van der Westhuizen G. 2010. Learning conversations. The value of interactive learning. Johannesburg, Heineman.
• Siegle, Del (2012-10-01). Underachieving Gifted Child: Recognizing, Understanding, and Reversing Underachievement (p. 20). Sourcebooks, Inc.. Kindle
Edition.
• Schunk, DH. Motivation. Chapter 14 in: Schunk, Learning theories, an Educational Perspective. New York, Pearson.
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