Understanding Gifted Students

Gifted students are sometimes difficult for teachers to recognize. They are not always your best behaved, quiet, easily engaged students. They do not always appear to be high achievers. There are many reasons for this. If their ability is very different than their peers, they may try to fit in or be willing to dumb-down so to speak so they don’t feel so different.They may not be willing to take risks, since often they are perfectionists.

Gifted students can behave poorly if they are bored, and they often are. They may act out and although they are gifted intellectually, they may not be gifted socially. Therefore, they may have problems getting along well with peers. One indicator of high intelligence in children is use of advanced vocabulary. If you suspect that a student may be gifted, it is important for you to receive assistance from professionals who can enlighten you about your student’s needs and how to meet them.

One way to keep gifted student engaged is to pre-test them for understanding of the subject matter you will be teaching. This is good for all students, so you may want to approach each subject this way. If a student receives 80%–90% on the pre-test, you may allow the student to choose an independent project to work on while you are teaching essential content to the rest of the class. Setting up an agreement with them ahead of time is important, so they do not interrupt the class during independent work. Also, do not grade this independent work. If the student has already received an A on the pre-test, they should receive an A in the class. They can then not be paralyzed by being further evaluated and will be free to stretch themselves while doing the independent project. For more info, if you are interested, just let me know. I have lots to share about gifted students and meeting their needs.

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