The 21st Century Gifted and Talented Learner

What to Expect From Students and Schools

Morgan P. Appel Director, Education Department

http://extension.ucsd.edu/index.cfm

Moving Toward the Conceptual Age in the 21st Century

To survive in the Conceptual Age/Knowledge Economy requires creativity; empathy; happiness; meaning; critical thinking; problem solving; effective communication; metacognitive abilities (sound habits of mind) and collaboration – all driven by smart use of technologies. The college experience is more than coursework grades—it is about learning to work with others in cooperative, holistic and reciprocal ways. It is about taking risks and cultivating networks of support. Big fish do fine in small ponds but can easily become lost in the vast expanse of the open ocean.

Giftedness is for Life!

Although we tend to lump together high achievers, creatives and traditional gifted into one definitive category, each has distinct cognitive and socioemotional characteristics that become magnified exponentially in the postsecondary setting. We will talk about the most relevant here, but do remember that giftedness does not begin at the end of second grade and end at high school graduation. Thus, it is important to attend to these matters in an ongoing and progressively more sophisticated manner.

One Word Says it All: INTENSITY

Giftedness has both intellectual and emotional elements that are complex, multifaceted and layered. Intensity impacts every aspect of the lives of gifted and talented individuals. They tend to ‘go all out’ in just about everything. It is not that they feel more than the non-gifted, but experience these feelings rather vividly and deeply. This is an experience that can prove alarming and warrants our attentions. Source (in part): SENG, 2015

Emotional extremes that may change frequently

Body mirrors (headache, nausea, rapid heartbeat)

Inhibition, timidity, shyness Feeling of being ‘out of control’ Concerns about death and depressive moods Feelings of inadequacy, inferiority Obsessive attachments

Remembers answers and needs about 6-8 repetitions to master

Alert and observant; attentive and interested

Pleased with own learning and gets high marks

Works hard to achieve, learns with ease

Is a technician with expertise in his/her field, responds with interest and opinions

Perf0rms at the top of the group and absorbs information

Is accurate and complete, memorizes well

Understands complex humor

Enjoys company of age peers

Completes assignments on time, answers questions in detail

Source: B. Kingore, 2003. High Achiever, Gifted Learner, Creative Learner. Understanding Our Gifted

Poses unforeseen questions and is curious

Knows without working hard and is beyond the group

Needs 1-3 repetitions for mastery

Prefers company of intellectual peers

Ponders with depth and multiple perspectives

Is intellectual and anticipates/relates observations

Infers and connects concepts

Creates complex/abstract humor and is intense

Initiates projects and extensions of assignments

Enjoys self-directed learning and is original/continually developing

Is an expert who abstracts beyond the field; guesses and infers well

Is self critical and may not be motivated by grades


Sees exceptions and wonders

Plays with ideas and concepts

Relishes wild, off-the-wall humor

Comprehends in-depth and complex ideas

Enjoys improvisation and creating

Is his/her own group

Questions the need for mastery

Brainstorms Intuitive Inventor Enjoys working alone,

but the company of creative peers

Shares bizarre and often conflicting opinions


The ongoing development of the brain (particularly the prefrontal lobes and the limbic system) during childhood and early adolescence tends to surface social and emotional issues

This may be especially prevalent/noticeable in gifted and talented pupils

This is your brain on adolescence.

Emotional extremes that may change frequently

Body mirrors (headache, nausea, rapid heartbeat)

Inhibition, timidity, shyness Feeling of being ‘out of control’ Concerns about death and depressive moods Feelings of inadequacy, inferiority Obsessive attachments

The gifted brain is much like a volcano on the verge of eruption. Chaotic, swirling, yet somehow controlled unconsciously seeking order and release

Functional Magnetic Resonance

Imaging (fMRIs) show ‘brain on fire’ in gifted individuals

Gifted individuals are multimodal thinkers

Great integrators and organizers of multiple senses and modalities

“Hypersensitive” brains

Source: newhorizons.org

Enhanced sensory awareness that can be further cultivated through experience and training

Both initial impressions and later recollections are unusually vivid

Increased memory efficiency and capacity

Multimodality: making connections that others do not


Associational thinking; organizational skills; analytical thinking

However: Sensory, emotional and

memory overload Personal disorganization Distractibility Mental fatigue “Analysis Paralysis” Burnout


Dinner is ready!

Gifted pupils learn with less repetition and fewer explanations (may be modality specific)

Enhanced sensitivity may lead to distractibility and to incorrect assumptions about ADHD and ADD

Distractibility should be balanced with a degree of task persistence (otherwise evaluate and diagnose)


Incidental learning “Cognitive Flypaper” Information wealthy—

need resources to facilitate thinking processes (the brain thrives on process) – not an abundance of information

Metacognitive training, rumination and reflection

Practical application


The ongoing development of the brain (particularly the prefrontal lobes and the limbic system) during childhood and early adolescence tends to surface social and emotional issues

This may be especially prevalent/noticeable in gifted and talented pupils

This is your brain on adolescence.

Mature, highly developed sense of humor (dry wit, satire)—prefers verbal over visual humor

Enjoys spending time with older children (even young adults) Different conceptions and expectations of friendships than

their peers Strong attachments to a few friends (versus having many

friends and acquaintances) Social pressures to moderate achievements in front of peers Perfectionism Isolationism

Source: Australian Government, Department of Education, Science and Training, 2008

Individual versus group identity Less interested in physical competition (but not always

true) Depression Questions authority Overexcitability Underachievement Anxiety Boredom Withdrawal Hypersensitivity Source: Australian Government, Department of Education, Science and Training, 2008

Enjoy complexity Can be flexible thinkers Creative and original thinkers Can see relationships easily Enjoy hypotheses, what ifs, etc. Enjoy problem solving Are keen on aesthetics Engage in fantasy, role playing Intellectual curiosity


Have a keen understanding of synthesis of ideas

Skeptical, critical, evaluative Quick to understand underlying principles Have a readily accessible mental database of

facts and ideas Can think abstractly


Emotional intensity/deep emotional reactions Well developed senses of justice and fairness Strong sense of empathy, with both children and

adults Interest in advanced subject matter/materials (can’t

seem to understand why age peers are not interested)


Brain Bits: In Praise of the Tortured Adolescent

In most adolescents, the part of the brain that processes emotions (the limbic system) is fully operational, whereas the regions responsible for thinking, reflecting and controlling emotional response (located in the prefrontal cortex) are still developing. This is why many middle school students overtly display emotions inappropriately in the classroom (through pained sighs, rolling eyes and blank looks). A fully developed prefrontal cortex enables most adults to consciously dampen their emotions. Source: ascd.org

Perfectionists= own worst enemies

Exaggerated expectations of self and others

Cannot forgive themselves or others/mismatched efforts

Anxiety, fear of failure and underachievement

Risk burnout and indecision (professional student/college dropout/changing majors)

Must pursue personal fulfillment (versus expectations of others)

Certainty in career choices ahead of other students

May actually limit pupils by forestalling exploration of interests and careers

Asked to choose careers and postsecondary institutions without sufficient information

Asynchrony: choices made with cognitive maturation, but perhaps not affective or social-emotional maturity

Is Giftedness Genetic?

Inheritance of intelligence is still somewhat fuzzy as far as the research is concerned. However, there is general agreement among researchers and scientists that giftedness does have genetic components.

Our Current Environment: The Mixed-Ability Classroom

“Learning is more effective when it is an active rather than a passive process.” – Euripides In each of your classes, you will find a diverse range of skills, abilities and attitudes based on prior expertise and experience. To enhance learning and metacognitive skills requires the application of pedagogical (modified), andragogical and heutagogical strategies to differentiate content and instruction. Smart use of strategies and tools can facilitate transitions and create an environment characterized by creativity, engagement and commitment (FLOW). Move from more to less structure and from concrete/manipulation to application to abstraction

Brain Bits: More Art Than Science

Teaching is an art form—not a delivery system. Teaching is an arts practice. It’s about connoisseurship and judgment and intuition. We all remember the great teachers in our lives. The ones who kind of woke us up and that we’re still thinking about because they said something to us or they gave us an angle on something that we’ve never forgotten. --Sir Ken Robinson First, it is an art in the sense that teaching can be performed with such skill and grace that, for the student as for the teacher, the experience can be justifiably characterized as aesthetic. Second, teaching is an art in the sense that teachers, like painters, composers, actresses, and dancers, make judgments based on qualities that unfold during the course of action. Third, teaching is an art in the sense that the teacher's activity is not dominated by prescriptions or routines but is influenced by qualities and contingencies that are unpredicted. Fourth, teaching is an art in the sense that the ends it achieves are often created in process. -- Elliot Eisner

The blank canvas makes a statement but requires guidance, structure and foundation (pedagogy)

The work in progress scaffolds upon an existing foundation --good or bad (andragogy)

The restoration requires a more delicate and complex touch in which the work guides the process (heutagogy)

Every learner and every topic requires diverse approaches to and tools for creating a masterwork

Boundaries are porous and contextually situated: knowing WHEN to use a particular strategy

How Many Ways From New York to LA?

Diverse Routes to the

Same Destination

What it is (core beliefs): Learning styles and profiles for

every student are different Active versus passive learning

(problem solving, etc) Making meaning versus

‘covering’ Where you see it: Content (multiple intake

avenues) Process (multiple sensemaking

opportunities) Product (multiple ways to

showcase knowledge)

Broadly Integrated and Deep

(Cross-Disciplinary)

Attends to Unique

Learning Styles and

Profiles

Engaging Creativity and ‘Flow’

Depth (broadening understanding by venturing more deeply into a given area of study)

Complexity (broadening understanding by building bridges across areas of study, associations, etc)

Novelty (constructing meaning/knowledge in a highly personalized manner)

Pacing (altering the speed of learning and providing more sophisticated resources to accelerate learning)

Combines whole-class, small group and individual instruction

…is a teacher’s response to learners’ needs guided by principles of differentiation

Respectful tasks Flexible grouping Ongoing assessment/adjustment

CONTENT PROCESS PRODUCT

Teachers can differentiate

According to a learner’s

LEARNING STYLES INTERESTS READINESS

Using the following strategies

Multiple Intelligences/Jigsaw/Taped Material/Anchor Activities /Iconic Teaching Tiered Lessons/Tiered Centers/Varied Texts/Varied Organizers/Learning Contracts/Compacting Small-Group Instruction/Interest Centers/Interest Groups – among many, many, many others

How Parents can Help

• Keep children challenged and engaged with learning—but not everything is an academic exercise

• Discover interests—and help pursue them in a variety of ways • Help mitigate perfectionist tendencies • Help with organizational skills (model personal organization and

time management) • Model “downtime” and strive to mitigate perfectionist and “non-

stop processing” tendencies • Participate in advisory councils • Keep in touch with teachers • LOVE them—unique quirks and all!

Morgan Appel, Director Education Department UC San Diego Extension 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0170-N La Jolla, California 92093-0170 [email protected] 858-534-9273 extension.ucsd.edu/education

mailto:[email protected]