https://padlet.com/erinweate/fzwr2wjyhiiva66o by Erin Weate en-us 2023-09-03 20:15:32 UTC 2023-09-03 20:52:26 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4a1.png erinweate https://padlet.com/erinweate/fzwr2wjyhiiva66o/wish/2682522557

Gifted students are sometimes referred to as being socially immature, but our typical classroom model sets them up for struggle from the get go because they are “commonly grouped with children who match their chronological age, rather than their mental age, for most activities.” (Neilart 1) This causes some students to step up and be like a leader/manager (potentially being seen as bossy). Some fade into the background to avoid any confrontation (thus being seen as withdrawn or isolated). A small amount might even react by acting out and venting their frustrations. (Neilart 1). For some gifted students, the frustration with being surrounded by peers who don’t meet or challenge them can cause peer relations to be strained with the overwhelming desire to organize people and things (Webb 2).

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Children develop friendships in stages and, due to the faster development of the gifted students, they tend to move through the stages faster than their nongifted peers. “The more gifted a child is, the more quickly he or she passes through these stages” (Katz 2). This causes gifted students to feel emotionally distant from their peers and potentially distance themselves and feel “othered.” This brings up two popular decisions for gifted students. They either seek friendships and relationships from older peers or they attempt to hide their gifted ability to fit in better with their peers of the same age. Both of these are not acceptable. An additional layer is added because of the developmental differences between males and females. Females typically develop faster than males however so they are even more likely to, “ minimize their abilities in order to improve their sense of belonging” (Katz 3). 

]]> 2023-09-03 20:46:46 UTC https://padlet.com/erinweate/fzwr2wjyhiiva66o/wish/2682522798 erinweate https://padlet.com/erinweate/fzwr2wjyhiiva66o/wish/2682523099 Gifted students should have access to either other gifted students of their same age or should strive to join mixed aged activities that could help them to access older peers in a safe and controlled environment. 
Additionally, in the general classroom, there should be a push for cluster grouping that fills the general classroom with like-minded peers. “Research to date indicates that gifted students who have ready access to true peers have better adjustment than do those who must often work with others unlike themselves” (Neilart 3).]]> 2023-09-03 20:47:40 UTC https://padlet.com/erinweate/fzwr2wjyhiiva66o/wish/2682523099 erinweate https://padlet.com/erinweate/fzwr2wjyhiiva66o/wish/2682524400 I am a firm believer in clustering and tracking in the classrooms. I feel like it makes the most sense for our gifted students to be placed in a learning environment that gives them the most opportunity and it also makes the most sense for the teacher making the plans. If we have clustered classrooms then the teacher, in theory, doesn't have to differentiate every single lesson for all of the ability ranges. 

My current county is a big supporter of the inclusive classroom where I end up having ELL students mixed with GATE, mixed with IEP/504s, and with general population. This requires a three-four layered lesson plan for EVERY SINGLE DAY in order to appropriately support all of the students. We then also have an uneven distribution of my attentions, as the only adult in the room for most of the day. My lower level students require a lot more teacher attention which leaves my gifted students to operate on a very independent basis and to even occasionally assist with helping their peers. Although I think teaching their peers has value, their time in class should be spent asking questions and challenging their thinking instead. ]]> 2023-09-03 20:51:58 UTC https://padlet.com/erinweate/fzwr2wjyhiiva66o/wish/2682524400