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Heather Ross-Crawford: 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Heather Ross-Crawford: 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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I Learned:
1) Parents and teachers can sometimes misunderstand the label of "gifted" as a get-out-of-work free card. It is easy to think that gifted students do not put in effort to receive their grades, but it is important to teach gifted students the value of hard work and that things wont always come easy for them, and that's okay.
2) Being gifted is not the same as simply being smarter. This was a misconception I can admit I had at one point. Gifted students' brains work in complex ways, and more work is not synonymous with challenging them.

I Still Have a Question About:
1) If some parents disagree with the concept of labeling their child as "gifted," do any of them turn down the opportunity for their child? Has there been a time in which referring students as gifted was a somewhat challenging task when talking to parents?

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Kaysie PattonHow To Identify a Gifted Student 

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Kaysie PattonHow To Identify a Gifted Student 

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Many gifted students are mislabeled as ADHD, autistic or other disorders.
Giftedness is not always a valued trait, as some kids are bullied.
only 10 percent of teachers report that advanced students are likely to be taught with curriculum and instruction specially designed for their abilities.

Question I still have:

Is any trait of gifted students “valued” more than another? Does any particular trait stand out more than another for a student being considered for gifted services?

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Bre Wardlow - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Bre Wardlow - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Reason 1: It allows them to receive academic support and services.

Reason 2: Saying you don’t want a child “labeled” is like saying you don’t want a child to have a hair color.
-i know it's like "hair color" but some parents are still unwilling and they absolutely refuse. then what?

Reason 3: The kids didn’t choose the name.

Reason 4: Giftedness is no guarantee. It’s potential; not promise.

Reason 5: Gifted kids have social and emotional needs as well as cognitive needs.

Reason 6: Gifted doesn’t just mean thinking better; it means thinking differently.

Reason 7: Gifted kids deserve all of the information about themselves.

Reason 8: It allows parents to get support, too.

Question: does "gifted" follow a student through higher educations and why doesn't it follow you from school to school if it is all tested using  TPSP?

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Becky Spasic - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Becky Spasic - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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1.  Students tend to feel singled out.
2.  Students need to have extra support given.
3.  I did not realize GT students had a lot more emotional needs than other students.

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Jennifer Vargas-8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Jennifer Vargas-8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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1. I learned that there is a difference in the label of gifted and providing services to a child and their parents,  in a school system. That "gifted" is a model and not an identity.
2. I learned that gifted children not only think differently, but feel differently as well. That we must provide differentiated instruction as well as social understandings.

Question- What are some practical tools we can use to foster the social emotional differences in gifted children in the classroom?

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Autumn Mills- How to Identify a Gifted Student

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Autumn Mills- How to Identify a Gifted Student

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1. Highly gifted children are a particular diagnostic challenge … when pediatric diagnoses are carelessly applied, gifted children are frequently mislabeled with ADHD, autistic, depressive, or bipolar disorders.
2. Many gifted kids are bullied, others underachieve to hide their abilities, and some experience anxiety and depression with increased risk for self-harm. As many as 20 percent may drop out of school.

Question - Once a student is identified as G/T, how can we best support the students and the parents, especially with the behavior side?

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Brandi Romero- The on-going dilemma of effective identification practices in gifted education

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Brandi Romero- The on-going dilemma of effective identification practices in gifted education

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1.      "disadvantaged learners perform better on tasks that emphasize fluid over crystallized intelligence (Mills & Tissot, 1995), and spatial reasoning over verbal and mathematical (Naglieri, 1999)"
Relevance: my son was adopted from foster care so I wonder if his own childhood trauma from that experience lends to any of this. After his tests, his spatial reasoning was his highest score. He knew his cardinal directions at 4 and has an uncanny capability to build things.

2.     "ability alone may be insufficient to predict success in gifted programs, let alone life endeavors. Non-intellectual factors like motivation, personality, persistence, and concentration impact greatly on creative productivity at particular stages of development but also over the lifespan." Often we see the high achiever and assume giftedness when really it is just hard work, whereas we see the underachiever as a behavior case and not understand they actual have a beautiful mind... (Yeah, I went there...) :-)

1 question you still have

What can the school district offer to an ADHD, Autistic kid that shows superior intelligence on IQ test but has no stamina due to ADHD/Autism to perform at intellectual capability? Asking for a friend… :-)

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Daneene Adinolfi-8 Reasons you should label kids as gifted.1. Having a student not get accepted into a GT program I agree does affect confidence for some. 2. I'm unsure why there is no continuity between states as far as having clearly defined assessments.Question- How do we support parents of GT students? This can be very demanding and confusing at the same time.

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Daneene Adinolfi-8 Reasons you should label kids as gifted.1. Having a student not get accepted into a GT program I agree does affect confidence for some. 2. I'm unsure why there is no continuity between states as far as having clearly defined assessments.Question- How do we support parents of GT students? This can be very demanding and confusing at the same time.

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Sierra Hanson- How to Identify Gifted Students

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Sierra Hanson- How to Identify Gifted Students

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1. I learned about some of the negative affects there can be on gifted kids if their needs are not met like: Easily going off task or off topic, being impatient when not called upon in class, getting bored easily, Resistisng repetitive work, Taking on too much work, not working well in groups, being critical of others and themselves.

2. I also learned gifted kids are at an increased likelihood of depression, anxiety and self harm and almost 20% drop out of school.

Question- What can we do to keep gifted kids engaged all the way to graduation, so that they don't drop out?

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Adam Anderson-8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Adam Anderson-8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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1. I learned that some parents believe that their child being "gifted" somehow means that their child is destined for greatness. It's silly and ridiculous. Nothing is destined except death and taxes.

2. I also learned that labeling a child as gifted means parents also receive support in helping their child.

Question- How can different districts label "gifted" differently? To me this implies that there is no standard so kids are getting mis-identified and possibly not receiving the help that they truly need.

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Pam Molin- 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Pam Molin- 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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1. If you don't identify or label the child then he/she will not receive the benefits that certain programs the schools have to offer them.  I agree that it is the same as denying a student with special education needs because of a "label"...there must be appropriate labels for the appropriate circumstances.

2. Parents do have a misconception about their child being labeled gifted..."You misunderstood, and in your misunderstanding, you harmed your child. I know you didn’t mean to, but you did."   The child may have the potential for greatness but still needs guidance and support from the teachers and the parents.

Question: Why do we as professionals focus so much on our struggling learners and not our gifted learners? We often give praise for any amount of growth to lower level kids but just expect it from our higher level kids...

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8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

1. After reading this article, I realized that some parents viewed being labeled gifted as a "bad" thing. I did not realize that everyone's perception of gifted students was so different.
2. Students should carry the information of being gifted with them. After talking to multiple teachers this week, I did not realize that there is no way to tell if a student is gifted or not before they enter your class. I feel like just as we get information about our sped kids, ESLs, and low ses students, we should be given information about our GT students. If teachers do not have a way to identify students unless a student shares the information, are we truly giving the student a fair learning experience. Just as Sped students have information for their teachers, gifted students should get this same accommodation!
3. Why does each state not have specific qualifications for gates? I believe that if a students is identified as gifted in one district, they will be confused and possibly offended if they enter a new district that does not say that they are gifted. It would be better to have an alignment between districts in the qualifications of gifted students.

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Erin Hicks - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Erin Hicks - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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1.  Being a student myself that was tested for GT and not accepted into the program  while taking AP classes with GT students I felt a certain stigma and was teased as "the dumb kid" in those classes.  It affected my ability to have confidence in my intelligence in certain circles and I still struggle with it today. Imagine if we taught all students as though they were gifted and told them yes more than no what their true potential would be?

2. I was shocked to see that district to district and state to state that there isn't a clearly defined GT assessment. I understand the complexity of such implementation since it is addressing the inner workings of a growing mind (an organ we have yet to fully understand its own complexity). Yet, why does moving zip codes take away such a needed and well deserved program for these students if all classes can't be modeled in this way?

Question: How can we in an AP curriculum make room for GT extensions when the College Board requires us to cover so much in such detail so fast? During times when we are able to fit in projects and "divergent" lessons we have to shrink down the amount of time spent on other time periods leaving those students who need that time lost in the cracks of divergent and advanced.

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Victoria Mengden - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Victoria Mengden - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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1. Parents of gifted children can feel isolated and even attacked. When we label a child as gifted, we actually identify an entire family as needing support, encouragement, understanding, and resources.
2. In schools, “gifted” is a service model, not an identity. You can be “gifted” in one district and not another because of the criteria for receiving that service varies.
Question: I didn't realize that someone can be "gifted" in one district and not in another. I understand there might be different resources and services that are offered in different districts but why does the label just disappear when moving districts? It makes it seem like anyone can be "gifted" if they're in that specific district that offers something specifically for their needs (not sure if this makes sense). Also, how do we, in NISD, identify gifted students?

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Michael Connelly- Assessing Gifted Children

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Michael Connelly- Assessing Gifted Children

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1. I really felt like after reading this article that the spectrum of how we label gifted children must be pretty extreme in American education. The other talks about various testing methods that he himself likes and compares them to others.  I really felt like it's not a uniform process.  It's probably because most of the people in charge of these methods are gifted themselves and lack the social ability to come to a understanding and have a uniform way of testing.
2. I came back to thinking about the first day of our training and an article I read about poverty and GT. This article that I read tonight makes a big deal about involving the parents and making sure that they understand.  That's really the big issue at hand.  While schools might offer these programs throughout the country, we really have a problem with the nonrepresentational of lower income and minority groups in gt studies and ones of the issues is having these parents understand what it is that their kids are apart of.
My Question- How can we expand GT services to kids from low economic backgrounds so we can spread the educational wealth in this country

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Reasons You Should Label Kids Gifted- Latonya Johnson

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Reasons You Should Label Kids Gifted- Latonya Johnson

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1. People have a difficult time giving children a label of being gifted not realizing the label ensures that they receive the services available to them.
2.  The gifted label has many emotions behind it by both the student and parents and teacher should be considerate on how they address students who are gifted.
Question: Why are there not better methods in place to help parents and students transition from district to district where they no longer meet the GT qualifications?

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How to Identify a Gifted Student- Cori Harris

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How to Identify a Gifted Student- Cori Harris

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1.  Many of the "negative" gifted traits are the same traits on the ADHD screening papers teachers are asked to fill out.
2.  The 20% dropout rate is concerning, where did that statistic come from(what was the size of thes survey?)
?= With so much subjectiveness is the autism diagnosis, ADD/ADHD diagnosis and G/T evaluation, how can we be sure? SPED has trained diags, will that ever be in place for G/t kids? (Also, I have taught students with multiple diagnoses: apsergers/g/t and ADD/GT.)

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Candis Feazell- 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Candis Feazell- 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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1. A student can be gifted in one district and not another.
2. Gifted students need a challenge.

?- At what age should a child be told that they are gifted?

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Allison Singleton - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Allison Singleton - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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1 Learned - Gifted qualifications differ from district to district.
2 Learned - Parents of gifted children can feel isolated and even attacked. It is not uncommon to find defensive parents of GT kids.  When we label a child as gifted, we actually identify an entire family as needing support, encouragement, understanding, and resources.  I had no clue that parents of gifted children would feel this way.  The statements above shocked me.
Question - Why isn’t there a standard assessment for all districts to use for identifying a child as gifted? This past year, I had a student who was extremely bright. She missed one question on both her math and reading STAAR Test in 4th grade. She fit many of the general characteristics of the gifted learners. She came to NISD at the beginning of the year in 5th grade from another district where she was identified gifted, and was tested in NISD and did not qualify.

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Miriam Hatten - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Miriam Hatten - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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1. Giftedness is not a guartantee of greatness and achievement. It is a sign potential, but not a promise. These students are like everyone else and will still have to study and work.
2. Gifted children think differently and understand differently. They need a different tool box and resources to understand their cognition, social development, and emotional development. And, plenty of support.
Question:
In reading the Texas State Plan for gifted learners, the plan is mostly academic and has a narrow focus on achievement. How does the state plan to address the needs of gifted students who have large social and emotional needs and are at risk of  dropping out of school and academic class failures?

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Riane Frasher--8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Riane Frasher--8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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1. Qualifications for giftedness vary between districts. A kid is not simply "gifted" or "not gifted"
2. Gifted does not mean everything comes easily and is not a guarantee for success.
Question:
Gifted kids need different challenges, not more work. So, what can I do in my classroom to avoid giving gifted kids MORE work instead of work that is differentiated and fits their abilities?

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Lynette Llewellyn- Assessing Gifted Children

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Lynette Llewellyn- Assessing Gifted Children

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1. It is difficult to assess gifted students and even the experts don't agree on the assessment methods. The child's developmental growth and experience must be taken into account.

2. Gifted students may have advanced skills in traditionally non-academic areas and they need to be assessed in these areas as well in order to support and encourage their growth.

Question:
This article speaks of a psychologist who assesses gifted children and he has years of clinical experience. Do we have a system where students meet with a qualified psychologist to assess students?

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Chase Darter- How to Identify a Gifted Student

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Chase Darter- How to Identify a Gifted Student

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1. Some gifted students are misdiagnosed and medicated for disorders they don't have. Some don't act out because there is something wrong with them, but because simply they are bored with the material provided and master it quickly and do not see the need to repeatedly prove they know how to do something.

2. It stated that 73% of teachers think that their brightest students are not challenged. I would be a part of this 73%. I had no idea that the number of teachers that had this belief was so high. All you hear about is how to help the struggling students and no one really discusses how to challenge the bright.

3. My question would be, if so many teachers admit that their bright students are not being challenged, should we shift some of our attention to challenging the academically strong, instead of focusing almost all of our meetings and attention to the ones that struggle?

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David McRitchie- Assessing Gifted Children

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David McRitchie- Assessing Gifted Children

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1. I found it interesting that the teacher had a harder time assessing gifted students since they "overthought" some of the questions presented. I feel like I have a very different experience in my class since I teach AP and all of the questions are built for that level of thinking; the students in my class who are classified as gifted typically get through tests faster than their peers.
2. I like the idea of incorporating more creative realms in assessments, but I struggle to think that will benefit the majority of my students. High schoolers are big on everyone doing the same thing so that they are treated fairly when it comes to GPA and class-rank, so building individualized assessments seems less valuable and more cumbersome at this level.

Question:
The only big question I have with a majority of these ideas is this:
How does this apply specifically to a class pre-built for higher-level thinking? I can see its value especially at the primary level of education, but once you get to secondary, and even more so with 11th and 12th graders, the expectation should be that a majority of my students can handle this rigor.

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Courtney Sparks- 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids Gifted

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Courtney Sparks- 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids Gifted

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I learned a lot from this article, but here are two things that I found very interesting.

1.       I found it interesting that a child can be gifted in one district, but not gifted in another district based on assessments.

2.       Reason number 4 is “Giftedness is no guarantee. It’s potential, not promise.” This refers to how we think great things will come from the students labeled “gifted”. The term “gifted” refers to the student’s ability. We have to nourish children to help them grow to their full potential.

Questions:
Why isn’t there a standard assessment for all districts to use for identifying a child as gifted?

Why aren’t all states required to have a gifted program? (Not a question about the article. Just a wondering.)

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Chris Martin - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Chris Martin - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Learned:
1.  Never really gave it a thought to the support the parents would need.  But, given some thought, they need the resources and support as well.

2. The section on "Giftedness is no guarantee,..." was an interesting read.  It got me thinking about my responsibility as a teacher to teach the social and emotional survival skills needed to be successful in more challenging classes.

Question:
1. How can we best support parents of gifted students.

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Tanya Dahlin-Valenti: 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Tanya Dahlin-Valenti: 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Learned - (loved this quote) Giftedness means that you have ability. Like a seed, it is a potential, but it must be nourished, cared for, fertilized, and have sun in order to grow.
Learned - That children need to be labeled as "Gifted."  The reasoning is for them to receive the services needed for them to reach their potential.

Question - Shouldn't we be nurturing all our students as if they are "Gifted"?

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Jennifer Lopez: How to Identify and Gifted Student

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Jennifer Lopez: How to Identify and Gifted Student

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Learned- The attributes a gifted learner will show in the classroom.
Gifted learners drop out of school.
Question- As a high school teacher, how often are kids identified at the junior and senior level?

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Jennifer Thielemans: "How To Identify a Gifted Student"

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Jennifer Thielemans: "How To Identify a Gifted Student"

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Learned: 1. students can be misdiagnosed with autism who are actually gifted students, not autistic. 2. as many as 20 percent of gifted students drop out of school.

Question: If 73 percent of teachers believe they have students who are bored or underchallenged, why don't they do anything about it?

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Hannah Garcia: "8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted" by Lisa Van Gemert

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Hannah Garcia: "8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted" by Lisa Van Gemert

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Takeaways:
When considering a “gifted student” and their learning needs, I have not thought from the perspective of it being a service model and not an identity.  This perspective helps parents understand the reasoning behind their child meeting the criteria in one district and not in a different district.  Their child did not become “less gifted” but the criteria changed.

I loved the text in the article stating “giftedness is potential, not a guarantee.”  It is my job as an educator to help grow and nurture my gifted learners, understanding they need specific support and strategies to be successful.

I know parents often push their child to be tested for the gifted program because it “looks good” or seems like an accomplishment, when in reality, it’s simply providing services for a specific skill set a child already possesses.  I wonder how we, as educators, can shed light on this assumption to enlighten parents and students that it’s simply a service, not an identity.

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Angela Elliott - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Angela Elliott - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Takeaways from the article-
1. The label "Gifted" applies to cognition and is a reminder that it is a "gift" and was not earned.
2. "Giftedness" is not a guarantee, it is potential not a promise. It is not a "get out of working hard" card. Smart does not equal never studying or that it will always come easy.
3. Gifted does not mean thinking "better;" it means thinking "differently."

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Mikaela Hostin - How to Identify a Gifted Student

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Mikaela Hostin - How to Identify a Gifted Student

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2 things I learned from the article:
1. How to better identify a gifted learner.
2. How to tell if a gifted learner is bored or not engaged.

1 question I still have:
1. What more can we do in our curriculum to better help teachers teach the GT students?

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Brian Goins / 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids As Gifted

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Brian Goins / 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids As Gifted

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2 things I learned:
1.  A student can be labeled gifted in one district and not gifted in another.

2.  A gifted student’s brain is not more efficient, it is more divergent.

Question:  How do you get gifted students to understand that just because they are labeled gifted does not mean they do not have to work for success?

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Eva Goins / How to Identify a Gifted Student

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Eva Goins / How to Identify a Gifted Student

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Comments:
1.  "Thirty-two percent of teachers say that advanced students are a low priority in their schools, according to a survey conducted by the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC)."
2.  According to NAGC, "seventy-three percent of teachers believe that their brightest students are bored and under-challenged and are not given the opportunity to thrive."

Question:
At what cost are we as a society willing to short change our gifted/talented learners?

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Assessing Gifted Children
What I learned:
1. Intelligence tests gain necessary but not sufficient information on Gifted students. Parents should be interviewed for child's history to get their input  before there is any formal assessments.
2. Teachers and parents are appreciative of straight forward information on practices ...and information on a variety of successful techniques.
Question: The author mentions a variety of test that can be used to test GT kids and I'm curious if we use just a quantitative or qualitative approach to our testing. She mentions that parents should be involved in the process and asking questions . How does this work when parents are not supportive or unaware of the abilities their child may have?

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8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

What I learned:
1. Giftedness is an ability.  In the article she said "Like a seed, it is a potential, but it must be nourished, cared for, fertilized, and have sun in order to grow". This made me think about all the students who aren't identified and who are kept from reaching their potential.
2. We should inform students on the information about their giftedness. In some situations this may help students feel that they aren't different in a bad way and that someone understands them.

Question: It was interesting to hear about the perspective of a gifted learner past schooling. Is there more studies or articles that have been conducted about gifted learners as adults?

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Kate Macaulay 8 Reasons ou Should label Kids as Gifted

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Kate Macaulay 8 Reasons ou Should label Kids as Gifted

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Question: Why is there not a universal test given to all districts so when there is a transfer taking place children are not told they can or cannot be in the program because it is different from the district they are coming from?

What I learned:
- Being labeled helps not only the student but the parents learn that their child learning in a different way.
- Being gifted doesn't mean they will be straight A students and the most popular. These students are gifted in their own unique way and identify among each other with likenesses.

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arowell@nisdtx.org 2d
Meredith, unfortunately, I think this does happen, especially as kids move into middle and high school. :(


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Gary Cooper--How to Identify a Gifted Student
Gary Cooper--How to Identify a Gifted Student
1. A large percentage of students that are labeled gifted end up dropping out of school. It's believed as many as 20% fall into this category.
2. Students that are labeled gifted and talented sometimes experience anxiety and depression with the risk of inflicting harm on themselves.
Question:
The article talked about the link between ADHD and gifted students...I personally feel that not all students labeled gifted are ADHD. My question is when dealing with gifted students that are believed to be ADHD, what other treatment options are available besides medication? (i.e. diet)
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Elaine West -8 Reasons you should label kids as gifted
Elaine West -8 Reasons you should label kids as gifted
1. "Giftedness means that you have ability. Like a seed, it is a potential, but it must be nourished, cared for, fertilized, and have sun in order to grow"
2. Being gifted is just part of who a person is.
Question: What would a student do if he feels he was incorrectly identified as gifted? How can a teacher help a student own the gifted label?
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Anonymous 12d
I really like the first quote you listed. It's very true! -Meredith Stalets

arowell@nisdtx.org 2d
Elaine, you ask a great question. Gifted learners often experience Imposter Syndrome. They can't understand why they have the gifted label; they fear that their imperfections will lead to them being "found out."


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How To Identify A Gifted Student

New/Interesting Learning
1. Gifted students are being misdiagnosed with ADHD, Autism, depression or bipolar disorders.
2. GT students can have certain positive and negative behaviors, but identifying is considered more of an "art" than a science.

Question
Does the district have it's own checklist or materials for identifying a gifted child for staff?

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"8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted"...

As I was reading, one questions I immediately had was:
-District to district, why don't we have the same criteria for receiving service? I'm sure a conversation can go very sour very fast when a parent coming from another ISD hears that their child isn't going to be in NISD's GT program.

What I learned:
-Being gifted doesn't mean life is easy, it's up to the parents and educators to nourish that child so that they can reach their potential.
-Gifted kids think divergently and their brains are efficient, therefore what they need isn't "busywork" or "more work" they need to be challenged!

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What I learned:
1. You can informally assess students based on their behaviors.
2. Scores on one intelligence test does not convert to a score on another intelligence test.

Something I am still wondering:
1. Can the other abilities for gifted students be related to sports? If so, what sort of services can be applied for those students?

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Jenna Winter - How to Identify a Gifted Student

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Jenna Winter - How to Identify a Gifted Student

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What I learned:
1. Many pediatricians are quick to misdiagnose a gifted child as a child with ADHD.
2. When a gifted student is in an inappropriate classroom, they are more likely to under achieve or act out.
Question:
I am wondering what would make a parent question their pediatrician's diagnosis of their child. Is it just parent intuition? Is it the parent not wanting to medicate their child? As an educator, I am hoping that I will be able to read my child well enough to ask for a GT referral as opposed to going to her pediatrician to find out what is wrong.

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Mary Smith - The on-going dilemma of effective identification practices in gifted education

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Mary Smith - The on-going dilemma of effective identification practices in gifted education

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1. Giftedness does not guarantee entitlement to educational privilege
(my nephew feels like the GT students in his grade are privileged that makes me sad as an educator that it isn't explained better to students)
2. Identification of gifted students will continue to be a challenge to educators
My Question:
Do high school campuses assess students to identify them as gifted?

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Amanda Smith - The on-going dilemma of effective identification practices in gifted education

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Amanda Smith - The on-going dilemma of effective identification practices in gifted education

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1. I learned that while some students demonstrate being gifted across multipledomains, many do not.
2. There is a large discrepancy in ability among the gifted community that needs to be addressed in order to service students appropriately.
3. "Establishing numerical cutoffs on relevant criteria may be less useful than gaining a holistic assessment of students being considered and matching program to strengths of a particular population."
Question: What instrument is being used currently in NISD to determine whether a student is identified as gifted?

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Jennifer Sumirat - How to Identify a Gifted Student

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Jennifer Sumirat - How to Identify a Gifted Student

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1. I learned that many gifted kids are bullied, some underachieve to hide their abilities, and 20% end up dropping out of school.
2. I learned that many teachers are required to focus on underachievers and the needs of advanced students take a back seat.
Question: Where can teachers find resources to use in the classroom for gifted students that match/extend the current curriculum?

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Kim Spring-How To Identify A Gifted Student

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Kim Spring-How To Identify A Gifted Student

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1. A teacher must be able to recognize certain behavioral traits to identify a gifted student.
2. I learned that 32% of teachers say that advanced students are a low priority in their schools. :-(
One question I still have-Is there a way to weave the GATES curriculum into our regular curriculum so those advanced students become a higher priority?

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Madison Ezell-How To Identify A Gifted Student

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Madison Ezell-How To Identify A Gifted Student

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1. I learned that many children are being misdiagnosed and given medication for disorders they don't have.
2. I learned that many gifted children are never identified.

One question I still have- What resources can we provide to the parents of a gifted child?

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Stacy Hildebrandt-How To Identify A Gifted Student

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Stacy Hildebrandt-How To Identify A Gifted Student

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1. I learned that gifted students often act out. This can be from lack of challenge in class or out of boredom.
2. I also learned that gifted children are frequently mislabeled with ADHD or autism.
One question I still have: Could blanket gifted testing in early grades help solve the misdiagnosis problem for gifted children?

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Paige Herr "How to Identify A Gifted Learner"

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Paige Herr "How to Identify A Gifted Learner"

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Learnings:

1. I learned that children of often being diagnosed with ADHD, autistic, depressive, or bipolar disorderswhen really they are gifted. Children start acting out and having multiple outburst, but not because of behavior, more so from boredom. They need higher-level thinking and more challenging activities.

2.
I learned that gifted students can often get off task easily, can be impatient, works better independently rather than with a group and is very hard on themselves. We need to be aware of all the traits of a gifted learner, that way we can support those learners to the best of our ability to challenge their thinking.

Question:

How can we better support teachers and parents with resources to better understand what it means to be a gifted learner?

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1. I learned that assessing a gifted student is similar and different than other types of students.

2. I learned that gifted children will accomplish a variety of things earlier than other children or will accomplish them at a higher level than their age peers will.

?. How can we provide our teachers with a better understanding of assessing and testing gifted students, as well as, provide them with resources and tools to make this process more meaningful?

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Kristina Faulkner " How to Identify a Gifted Student"

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Kristina Faulkner " How to Identify a Gifted Student"

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1. I learned that a lot of students are being misdiagnosed or mislabeled with ADHD, autism, depression or bipolar disorders because they demonstrate symptoms of these disorders when in reality they are acting out due to boredom and acting out in unusual ways.

2. I learned that  77% of teachers focus more on helping low students make a years worth of progress and the gifted students are not challenged enough. I also learned that 20% of gifted students drop out of school because they are bullied for being different or may have anxiety or depression based on their needs and social/emotional issues ( perfectionist, highly sensitive, stimulus learners).

I know there are many behavioral traits and social emotional issues of gifted learners. I wonder how can I best support my students behavioral traits so they do not end up in the 20% that drop out of school due. I strive to build positive relationships with all of my students but I realized that the social/emotional piece plays a big role in ensuring that Gifted and Talented students are being provided the assistance they need from me in order to be successful and challenged.

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Allyson Povkovich "Assessing Gifted Children"

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Allyson Povkovich "Assessing Gifted Children"

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There is a difference between testing and assessment and they are both important and necessary.

Parent input is critical in the process.

How can we better equip teachers and especially parents to better understand our gifted learners?

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Marisa Polichetti "How to Identify a Gifted Student"

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Marisa Polichetti "How to Identify a Gifted Student"

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1. I learned that many gifted students are being misdiagnosed with other disorders that they don't have due to common "behaviors" between the two or more disorders.

2. I also learned that 32% of teachers believe that gifted students are a low priority in their school. That makes me think about how often we are so focused on putting students in a tier and RTI system to catch them up but rarely think about  how to better educate our GATES students that are on or above grade level. This goes back to the misdiagnoses fact I learned...

3. The question I still have after reading this is how can we better implement GATES curriculum into our current core curriculum? I know that it is already hard as is to have all of our students with so many needs be working on the same content and finding ways to keep them engaged when it is difficult or boring (depending on student capability). Is there a way that "GT hints" could be placed in our scope and sequences to allow for teachers to get ideas on how to better influence our gifted students and their learning? Extensions, etc

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Abby Lunning "How to Identify a Gifted Student" 

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Abby Lunning "How to Identify a Gifted Student" 

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1. In this article, I learned that 77% of educators note that their gifted students are taking a back seat to the underachieving students that need help reaching proficiency.

2. I also learned that many gifted students are often misdiagnosed and go through life unaware of their own abilities.

Wondering:
What are the best ways to support a gifted student after they have been identified as gifted/talented? What strategies/tools are best to expand student thinking and engagement?

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Shandalyn McKinley "8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Shandalyn McKinley "8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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New Learning:
1. In reading the authors words "Being labeled "gifted" could be humility inducing and not arrogance producing" made me really think.
2. I found it very interesting to learn that as GT students get older being "smart" becomes a burden. Being GT, students create a definition to being smart and place this unsaid burden upon themselves. Using the word "Smart" may not be a good thing.
Wonder:
I wonder why some parents don't mind at all that their child be labeled GT while other parents don't want their child with any label. I also wonder if this has anything to do with the lack of knowledge about what Gifted and Talented means for both types of parents. As a teacher what are some good resources to help parents?

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Erin Smaligo "How To Identify a Gifted Student"

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Erin Smaligo "How To Identify a Gifted Student"

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New Learning:
1. Gifted students act out because they are bored in class and often misdiagnosed with ADHD.  I had a misconception about G/T students not acting out.
2. The blog gave a list of positive and negative general behavior traits that are helpful in pinpointing a gifted learner.
Wondering:
My question is do students need to meet most of those general behavior traits before being recommended. What if they only meet a couple?

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New Learning:
* I never thought of it as the way that Osborn explains that  assessing children is part science and part art. I loved this example!
*Osborn also talks about the fact that it is our job is to select test materials that will permit a young child to demonstrate high level skills in a variety of areas. It made me realize that as teachers what we do in all subject areas we also must do when working with assessments, be creative.
Wondering:
* I am wondering what exact things I should know about each GT students assessments, that I as a classroom teacher relay to the parents?

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Jennifer Kobler  8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Jennifer Kobler  8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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New Learning:

I learned “when you are gifted, it’s not just that your brain is efficient. Your brain is divergent.”  This would explain why it is so difficult for gifted students to show their work.

I learned gifted kids have social and emotional needs as well as cognitive needs.  “These kids feel differently, as well as think differently. If they don’t get labeled as gifted, they may not get the understanding they need.”  I always focused on gifted students’ academic needs, but never took into account their emotional needs.

Wonderings:

I wonder how I can support a gifted student with social emotional needs, besides identification.  Are there specific strategies?

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Rachel Pruitt--8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Rachel Pruitt--8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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New Learnings:
1. I learned that gifted students not only have different cognitive needs, but they also have different social and emotional needs.
2. Gifted students find it hard to show their work.  I found this interesting because it shows how quickly their brains can work.  They aren't so focused on the process, but want to get to the solution.

Wonderings:

I am curious as to how I can support a GT student in my class as far as showing work. As a teacher, I want to see my student's thinking on their paper so I can see their misconceptions. However, if the GT brain is not always geared this way, I am wondering how can I as the teacher and the student both have our needs met?

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Mackenzie Davidson- 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Mackenzie Davidson- 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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New Learnings:
1) You can be "gifted" in one district and not in another. Each district develops its own criteria for students to receive GT services.
2) There has been a myth generated that being labeled as "gifted" means that you are designated for greater successes. Giftedness is not a guarantee for greatness.

Wonderings:
1) As we focus on developing the whole child and supporting the various needs of gifted students, I wonder how we could educate and empower parents of gifted learners to do the same at home?

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Meredith Stalets - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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Meredith Stalets - 8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted

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1. "To me, this is the number one biggest misconception about gifted kids. People as a whole seem to think that gifted just means “smart” – like you think better than other people."
2. "Gifted kids think qualitatively different from the norm. They tend to be divergent thinkers, finding the showing of work to be nearly impossible, the explaining of reasoning overly burdensome, and the working within a group virtually unbearable. All of these dynamics can (and should) be addressed, yet at their heart lies this truth: when you are gifted, it’s not just that your brain is efficient. Your brain is divergent."
3. Question/Wonder: I wonder if the label "gifted" steers kids away from showing their full potential because they don't want to be considered as "different" or "nerdy"?

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Gary Cooper--How to Identify a Gifted Student

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Gary Cooper--How to Identify a Gifted Student

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1. A large percentage of students that are labeled gifted end up dropping out of school. It's believed as many as 20% fall into this category.
2. Students that are labeled gifted and talented sometimes experience anxiety and depression with the risk of inflicting harm on themselves.
Question:
The article talked about the link between ADHD and gifted students...I personally feel that not all students labeled gifted are ADHD. My question is when dealing with gifted students that are believed to be ADHD, what other treatment options are available besides medication? (i.e. diet)

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Elaine West -8 Reasons you should label kids as gifted

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Elaine West -8 Reasons you should label kids as gifted

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1. "Giftedness means that you have ability. Like a seed, it is a potential, but it must be nourished, cared for, fertilized, and have sun in order to grow"
2. Being gifted is just part of who a person is.
Question: What would a student do if he feels he was incorrectly identified as gifted? How can a teacher help a student own the gifted label?