According to Marland report (1972), “the gifted are those who possess outstanding abilities or potential in the areas of general ' intellectual capacity, specific academic aptitude, creative or productive thinking, leadership ability, visual or performing arts and psycho-motor activity”.
Gifted Identification
L.A. Unified identifies students as gifted/talented in seven ability categories: Intellectual, High Achievement, Specific Academic, Leadership, Creative, Visual Arts and Performing Arts.
Giftedness falls into one or more of the following areas: intellectual, academic, creative, artistic and leadership.
Signs of Giftedness in Children Include:
an ability to learn and process complex information rapidly. a need to explore subjects in surprising depth. an insatiable curiosity, as demonstrated by endless questions and inquiries. ability to comprehend material several grade levels above their age peers.
Genetics do play a large part in being gifted, definitely. It has been thought that the brain of a gifted person can actually process information faster. However, one's surroundings are equally important. Nature and nurture are at work as some traits are genetic and others are learned.
One of the most common characteristics of gifted students is their ability to learn things early and rapidly. Many gifted students have excellent memorization skills, which aids in their ability to connect previous knowledge with new information, thus accelerating their acquisition of new concepts.
Research reflects that giftedness does “run in families”: for a gifted child, their genetically-related relatives — siblings and/or parents — are likely to also be gifted, though there are plenty of exceptions.
Ideally, gifted students require three components to maximize their potential: a safe and flexible learning environment, proper academic rigor, and dual focus on social-emotional learning.
Gifted students are those whose potential significantly exceeds that of students of the same age in one or more domains: intellectual, creative, social-emotional, and physical.
Social development and skills: gifted and talented children
Gifted children can think faster and/or more deeply than other children their age. So they're often good at imagining what it's like to be in somebody else's situation. Sometimes these qualities mean your gifted and talented child gets along well with others.
Most people use terms like “bright,” “gifted,” “exceptional,” “remarkable,” and “talented” interchangeably, but when a psychologist uses the term “gifted,” we're usually talking about something that is statistically quite rare. About 3 to 5 out of every 100 children could be considered gifted.
When do signs of giftedness appear? Signs of giftedness can appear as early as infancy and continue during the toddler and preschool years. Testing for giftedness and high IQ, however, usually takes place around age 5.
Gifted children are born with natural abilities well above the average for their age. If your child is gifted, you might notice these natural abilities in the way they're learning and developing. Children can be gifted in any area of ability, and they can also be gifted in more than one area.
Giftedness can create problems and conflicts; being a gifted child can also mean difficulty socializing with age peers, thinking styles that don't always mesh well with the demands from the environment, even children who see themselves as little adults, challenging teachers and parents.
Some gifted kids like to talk a lot. They love to share their knowledge with others. They are highly verbal, and may possess an advanced vocabulary for their age. When talking to students, pay attention to not only how much they talk but also to the vocabulary used in daily conversation.
In general, gifted children and adults tend to: Stand-out intellectually, with sophisticated thinking styles that integrate generalizations and complexity. Learn quickly and deeply (and do not need as much practice) Be independent thinkers, who do not automatically accept decisions.
In many cases, parents are the first to notice if their child is performing a little ahead of schedule in their development. Maybe the child learns to read or write faster than the kids around them, or maybe they just have an exceptional ability to learn new tasks.
Social Skills
The problems gifted children sometimes face with socializing often stem from their asynchrony and educational setting. Asynchronous development, or uneven development, is often considered a core trait of giftedness.
Yes, it can be. Some gifted children are mistakenly suspected of having ADHD, autism, or another condition with behavioral elements. Along with other gifted characteristics, many gifted children have sensory sensitivities.
They often are aware of their own impulsiveness and irrationality, and they show emotional sensitivity. They are extremely curious about objects, ideas, situations, or events. They often display intellectual playfulness and like to fantasize and imagine.