Week Three : Under Represented Populations by Susan

Susan

sgoodman_online — 2013-05-14 01:05:50 UTC

Can you see my post? TESTING

Yes, now I can write on here! Yeah!

naomi_province — 2013-05-14 01:30:37 UTC

Gina Province

naomi_province — 2013-05-14 01:31:59 UTC

We sometimes miss serving some students who may be talented and or gifted by keeping them in the general ed setting. While differentiation is definitely the key in the classroom and you want to ensure that you meet the needs of all learners, the focus often falls on the needs of students that need additional support. I was quite disturbed to hear from the video that gifted students often don't learn anything new until January of the school year in a general ed classroom. This cannot be exciting or engaging at all. I understand how we would like to have role models for the other students, but the gifted and talented students could get bored rather easily and loose interest in school all together as they grow older. In early childhood, we are quite lucky that students still have a great desire to please and will continue to do a good job with the work presented to them, even if it is 'easy' for them. We also miss students who are 'special ed' or have an IEP. This doesn't mean they cannot be gifted in another area of study.

mellanese_knock — 2013-05-14 02:48:00 UTC

Mellanese Knockett

Educators sometimes miss serving some gifted students because there are preconceived ideas or notions as to what gifted students should act like or look like while learning. According to the article Giftedness and Diversity, gifted behaviors and dispositions have to be understood. In other words, educators have to be trained to know what to look for in gifted students. Educators also have to be trained to provide challenging educational experiences for gifted students so they will not become bored or turned off from learning. In some cases, gifted students are overlooked because a lot of attention is given to students with behavior problems or students who struggle academically. These students sometimes require a lot of attention so they sometimes stand out more than gifted students do. A myth from the Ten Myths video is that gifted students do not need help and that they will do fine on their own. Although gifted students are able to work independently, they still need guidance and support and they should not be made to feel like they have to learn on their own. To provide this guidance and support, educators have to be knowledgeable in identifying gifted students. Educators also have to be well equipped to provide challenging educational experiences that will take gifted students to the next level.

catherineDelaney

2013-05-14 12:14:13 UTC

I'm trying to figure out how to post

Bridget Collins/Week 3 Post

2013-05-14 12:19:41 UTC

I LOVE that video! I really like how they compared the Gifted program to athletics. "You wouldn't let a top athlete train for the olympics without a coach, so why would you let a gifted student get through school without a teacher?", as most people say that gifted students should be fine on their own.

I think we may 'miss' serving some students because we may not provide enough opportunities for student to explore different subjects and initiate their own self learning. We don't even need to invest a lot of money in order to provide these types of things for our students. Just like the video said, "we don't ask for more than our share, just that which meets our needs." Teachers need to realize that gifted students are not in schools so they can help struggling students. They are not in our schools to go complete independent research. They are in out schools so we can challenge them and provide ample stimulation so they can find their strength and begin to build on it.

I am thankful I am in a county that begins Gifted instruction in elementary school. The student in the video who said she had to wait until high school to take advanced courses really stood out to me. I am also glad that (for the most part) all of our teachers of gifted students are fully trained in gifted teaching practices. We are doing a disservice to those students who end up in a comprehensive classroom with a teacher who is not fully equipped to teach the gifted students.

We need to remember that gifted students still need instruction! That is another place I think teachers really miss when serving our gifted students!! Teachers may think that they can just copy advanced worksheets and give harder books for students to read. But this is not the case! While the teaching will be accelerated, the students still need the instruction. Just because you are gifted does not mean you know how to teach yourself.

Bonnie Allen/Week 3 Post

2013-05-14 14:27:38 UTC

I feel we may sometimes "miss" serving some students who may be talented and/or gifted because teachers aren't trained on how to identify them as well as how to teach them effectively in the regular education classroom. I remember learning a lot during my undergraduate studies about working with special education students but very little about working with and teaching the gifted/talented population. It wasn't until I got to my graduate study program and out into the field of teaching that I began to learn about the identification process and how to meet their needs. I think this needs to be added to the undergraduate program and a requirement for all teachers to complete so they can fully meet the needs of these students in their classroom. This might mean more schooling and a longer time needed to finish. I feel we also need to look at having a resource teacher dedicated to servicing this population in every school and a plan of action needs to be written and followed for every gifted/talented child that is identified. Maybe it would be best that they have an INDIVIDUAL EDUCATIONAL PLAN like special education students do. This would mean more staffing and more money with budgets that are being reduced each and every school year. However, we can not leave any school behind!!!!!

Sarah Hollern/ Week

2013-05-14 14:27:48 UTC

A few of the myths from the video resonated with me- myths 7 & 8. Both of these myths stated that
students who have poor grades and struggle with disabilities must not be “gifted”. I think this is one way that we miss these students that may have strengths. As I look over the students in past years, I’d have to say that I have felt this way. How could this little boy that came to kindergarten wearing pull-ups and had such a serious speech impediment that he was embarrassed to talk have any gifted traits at all? Just like this little guy, the video (as well as talent activities) proved that all children have something to offer…it’s up to me to dive in and find it. Throughout my year with this little boy, I noticed that I was giving him P’s and I’s (from REPI) in the Persistence category. His communication and inquisitive skills were still at the R stage, but those I’s really stuck out to me. He did have some giftedness that I could pull from and use to offer encouragement and praise.

Lindsey Heil

2013-05-14 19:48:25 UTC

I think often we "miss" some students is because of behavior problems or students are ESL or Special Ed. The student may not be able to sit still and listen to a lesson or we underestimate what a student knows if they are ESL and are limited in how they can show us what they know. I couldn't believe that the one article said only 4 states require training every year. These students are our future and we are providing a disservice for them (and ourselves).

Jessica Gray

2013-05-14 19:56:25 UTC

I think teachers often miss gifted studnets because they aren't trained on how to spot them. I had a meeting today about identifying the kids in 2nd grade who might be gifted. We had a buch of scores in front of us- assessment and questionsaires mostly. It was easy to see who the "bright kids" were based on a number. But then we had a questionaire that asked us to think about the kids in our class that have "non-traditional behaviors" that might indicate giftedness. Behaviors included: notices lack of relevance, resists authority, asked chllenging questions that may be considered provocative, influences others easily, uses words to manipulate or present double meanings, sophisticated humor, ect. After I read this list I went back through my class again. I missed a few students that I would have missed because I didn't know what to look for. These "non-traditional behaviors" are sometimes seen as behavior issues and "corrected" therefore eliminating a chance to be identified as gifted. More than not being able to identify these kids, not all teachers know how to teach them. If we don't offer activities or lessons that foster these behaviors we may never see them.

Cathy Delany

catherine_dela1 — 2013-05-14 19:57:18 UTC

Before I started taking this class, reading articles and hearing from all of you, I think I had a very narrow vision of giftedness. I always thought of the students that completed their work with minimal support from me, independent, lots to offer in class discussions and high verbal skills as being the gifted children. After reading some of the articles and viewing the power points, I am learning that it is so much more than that. A child may be truly gifted, but overlooked because of being an ELL learner or being disorganized. I thought the point raised in the article about gifted education in Maryland was interesting..."think of the child that calls out answers, or even challenges you." My dilemma is reaching all the children in my classroom, in a fair and challenging way without reaching sheer exhaustion. I am a teacher that has special education students included in my classroom, along with "average" kindergartners and what I would call gifted children. I do my best to ask open ended questions, allow many opportunities for higher level thinking and working and for children to work collaboratively to support and challenge each other. My school does not have a gifted teacher position, so we rely on our SDT to help us supplement the gifted children. Although I am grateful to be learning more about the gifted child, my question is, how do I fit it all in?

Cindi Bentz

2013-05-14 20:41:30 UTC

I think we "miss" serving students who may be talented because our society looks at most gifted students through a "schoolhouse" giftedness. There are so many other areas of giftedness that many teachers may not look for such as creativity, persistence, verbal and or communicative skills. Many students may possess these skills but may not know or have opportunities to demonstrate them in the classroom. In the classroom, the focus is primarily on specific content areas, but many students can excel in personal interests and talents. Some students cannot show their talents through paper and pencil tasks. Through this constant use of assessment, many talented and gifted students can be missed and overlooked. Teachers need to give multiple opportunities for answers and for responses. Some students feel more comfortable to answer verbally or through use of manipulatives. I try to use various ways to assess such as observations and open-ended discussions. I feel that the use of multiple and varied assessments and methods can give a teacher a better picture of what a child knows. You get a sense of the "whole child."

Beth Mclachlen

2013-05-14 20:44:15 UTC

I think we miss serving many gifted students because we fail to notice some of the bright children that are struggling academically. Just because a child is not preforming well in school, we need to remember that "school house learning" is not the right fit for all our students. I think that children that have chaotic home lives and don't have parent support could easily be overlooked. In the same way, I think that ELL and males could be under identified. I use to think that if a child required a great deal of support and showed miminal independence, that he/she was automatically not gifted. After exploring "giftedness", more thoroughly I realize that it might be a talented child that just needs instruction and strategies to become more independent and self-sufficient.

Ebony Gross

2013-05-14 23:23:16 UTC

We sometimes miss serving gifted and talented students because of the common myths and misconceptions. We believe that they're advanced and do not always need our attention or assistance because they know all of the material that is being taught. We must meet the needs of all students and ensure that they are placed in a setting that is suitable to them whether it is an inclusion or GT class. We also do not always have the curriculum or resources needed to provide quality GT instruction. Teachers like myself may not be as familiar with GT and have not been trained to teach those students.

2013-05-14 23:27:30 UTC

I think

2013-05-15 00:04:24 UTC

A. Lynne Maydag

I think sometimes we miss identifying gifted students because we often think of the gifted child as one who can thrive in any environment. We expect them to do well on tests, turn in all projects and constantly raise their hand with the right answer. When in reality many gifted learners need to be provided with modifications in order for their strengths to be evident. After consulting the REPI chart and reviewing the myths about gifted students I have realized that gifted learners need to be provided with lots of opportunities to be successful. One reason students are often over looked according to the article about "Twice Gifted" students is that they are "uneven in some aspect of their learning". They may excel in math but have a reading disability.

Mindy

2013-05-15 00:30:58 UTC

Sometimes we miss children who are gifted due to their inappropriate behavior, or quiet demeanor, or attitude of not caring or lack of an advocate or disability. Busting the myths of gifted education is eye opening because it enables us to look at students with an expanded view of giftedness, which in turn can help us to identify more students and provide better gifted and talented education programs. While reading the articles and watching the videos I kept thinking of one of my Kindergarten students. T is loud, physical, argumentative and often says very inappropriate things but when we were discussing possible solutions to a story problem he had the most insightful solution ideas and when we were comparing two versions of the same story his comparisons were more thoughtful, more detailed and more complicated than those of his peers. He is the type of student we may miss if we are not watching closely.

Caitlyn Callahan

2013-05-15 01:11:10 UTC

We miss serving some gifted student for many reasons. Each person has his or her own idea of a gifted student should look like, sound like, act like, etc., which does not necessarily match each and every gifted student looks like, sounds like, and acts like. It seems that often the gifted students are not the ones who sit quietly and follow all directions, but are the dreamers off in their own world, the artist who doodles instead of writes in class, or the disruptive student who is constantly out of their seat talking instead of working. It is too easy to write off these students due to their lack of attention. Many gifted students are identified through testing. If we are considering so many types of giftedness, however, it seems hard to believe that these tests will “find” all the gifted students out there.

Tamara Hewlett

2013-05-15 02:08:17 UTC

As educators, we sometimes "miss" serving some of our G/T students because we are looking for a particular kind of student. Many students are gifted or talented in areas other than the paper-pencil school-house type of learning experiences we provide to them. Some students who are gifted in that sense tend to be bored therefore entertaining themselves in ways that teachers may deem as distracting. As mentioned in the powerpoint, young learners really experience the world through their senses. They are able to learn in a very different way before they enter formal schooling. It's as if there is a major disconnect between what we know about students and their learning before they enter school and what we expect from them once they enter school. As noted in the video, there are many areas in which students can be considered gifted. We as teachers tend to only be "trained" in identifying intellectually gifted students who often have the characteristics of being creative and leaders. We are also "trained" in identifying students that struggle with academics in order to get them resources if they tend to have a learning disability. I don't feel as however that we are "trained" well in identifying twice exceptional students. Many of these students as well of ELL learners often slip through the cracks because of the need to address disabilities or language barriers.

Sara Kahn

2013-05-15 19:40:37 UTC

We miss serving some gifted students for many reasons. However, this year at my school we have missed serving gifted students because of class size and lack of knowledge. All three kindergarten classes have about 30 students in them and this has made it very hard to meet all of our students needs. At the beginning of the year we discussed how we would help students that needed extra help and we discussed what we should do with some of our gifted students. In the conversations it seemed as though the gifted students were continuously being left out of the discussions. I continued to ask my coworkers how we would challenge our gifted students. One teacher said "I have never done anything for gifted students in kindergarten." This confused me because I came from a school district that had a gifted and talented programs in elementary schools. As we continued to plan for the school year students that were struggling received help from resource teachers, but the gifted students were not given any more thought. As a classroom teacher I have tried to challenge my gifted students, but I do not feel as though I have been trained appropriately in serving gifted students. In addition, I am so overwhelmed with the amount of students that I have in my class that I find it hard to meet all of their needs. All of the teacher's at my school differentiate instruction, but sometimes the gifted students need more then differentiation.

John Popow

2013-05-15 20:49:36 UTC

Marshelle Wilson

2013-05-15 21:28:44 UTC

From my experience, I missed serving some students who may have been talented and/or gifted due to ignorance on the true definition of what TAG looked like. Prior to last year, I thought a TAG student was one who always scored well on assessments, and had their hand up in class to correctly answer all the questions. I always thought of a gifted child as the most well behaved, and well mannered. Imagine my chagrin when I discovered that the kid in my classroom who was always reprimanded and constantly on red was also intellectually gifted. After attending a TAG training last year I found out that the way they even process information is vastly different. Therefore, my classroom instruction had to become more exploratory and I serve as a facilitator , versus the room authority and director. I even found out last year that it is possible to be gifted, yet still have some learning disabilities. TAG even falls under the Special Education umbrella. I think in order to better serve our TAG population, we must clearly understand what that means.

Erin Wagner

2013-05-15 21:29:02 UTC

There are many different reasons why we miss serving gifted students. In my personal experience, the biggest challenge for me was the fact that I had so many other students that needed attention because they were struggling. In the video they mentioned that many educators think they don't have to spend much time with gifted students because they can work independently and be fine on their own. I find myself saying this and even though I know they still need my guidance and support, most of my focus is on those low children. I think another reason that we miss serving these children is because we don't have the money, resources or knowledge on how to challenge those gifted students. I think many times the educators and administrators think moving the gifted children to a higher grade for part of the day is the answer to the problem. In reality, many children don't feel socially ready to be in the next grade and won't do as well as they could. I think this is why gifted classes should be formed within the grade level so the students are able to work with children their own age and on their own level. While I think it's good to have those gifted students work with and be role models for the struggling students, they are not the educators and they need to be participating in work that is challenging and meaningful for them. not just guiding or helping other students because they finished their work early.I think once educators become more knowledgeable about gifted programs and resources, we will miss less opportunities to serve these students.

Raquel Romero

2013-05-15 22:34:15 UTC

I think we "miss" serving some students who may be talented and /or gifted because

we forget to look beyond academics. Many of the students spoke about how they

would of like their teachers to have paid more attention to what was going on with

them individually. I think this goes back to building relationships with our students.

Providing all students the opportunity to reach their full potential by providing them

with choices in how to demonstrate what they know might give us more insight in

identifying students who may be talented and / or gifted.

John Popow

2013-05-15 22:55:04 UTC

How can we afford to look beyond acacemics when 50% of our evaluations are going to based on some sort of academic ttest. The test will be based on Common Core and I don't even know what grade I will be teaching next year. I think that the current tests combined with teacher recommendations get most of the gifted students identified. What teachers need is the flexibiltiy to teach in a way that does challenge the top learners. This is very difficult with 3 or 4 students reading below grade level in a class.

John Popow

2013-05-15 23:04:51 UTC

Did I misunderstand something? I thought we were all supposed to be online and that Susan Goodman would be online as well. Oh well, as you can see from my previous post I am somewhat burnt out. There may be 3 or 4 above average students in my class and 1 or 2 of them might be gifted, but with 7 or 8 studnets with behavior issues I don't have time to complete a REPI chart. I did do the odd man out activity and saw some unique thinking but without more time for questions and responses I couldn't really say that any one of them was able to " transfer pattens and relationships to new situations" the Independent level of perceptiveness. Some of the lower acheiveing students in my class didn't really try to hard and then started goofing off too.

2013-05-15 23:21:34 UTC

Misconceptions is one of the reasons why gifted students are not having all their needs met. Many teachers hear that their students are TAG and have greater expectations from those students. However, sometimes we fail to realize that TAG is just a label and that we must still see the whole child. They are developing like their regular education peers and have weaknesses as well that need to be developed/strengthened. However, this misconception can be corrected with professional development that will give teachers a better understanding of the gifted program and the training to meet the students where they are in order to help them grow as learners. This training would be of benefit to every child.

I did the Odd One Out activity with a small group. It was an interesting activity and the children enjoyed it very much. However, I teach second grade. This year is their first being exposed to PTD. Being that this is a Kindergarten lesson, one would have expected many of the students to be able to identify traits above the readiness/emergent stage(s). With the group of students that participated in this activity, I found that many of them were able to find the odd one and explain how it was different. However, they did not elaborate on the similarities of the other two objects. Much of the ratings given were readiness. For my future reference, I know that this is something that the student I serve will need more of. It is up to me to weave PERCEPTIVE activities into my instruction.

Can someone tell me how to add my name to this thing.

Dinah Canton-Johnson

Catharine Matthews

2013-05-15 23:25:02 UTC

I think we miss serving some students who may be gifted or talented for a variety of reasons. First society has us focused strictly on academic skills as the basis for identifying giftedness. Meaning, that we look for the students who are early readers etc as gifted students. In reality, early reading can be a sign of giftedness but it is not a determining factor. Many students, especially young students display giftedness in various ways that do not look traditionally smart. Another misconception about gifted children influences our failure to identify these students needs. This misconception is that all students learn the same way or that they learn the way we are teaching. Many teachers except the gifted students to be the ones that are following along and picking up everything they are teaching. This is not always the case. Many gifted students have masks that are hiding their gifts. For example, they might have poor behavior, be impulsive, or have social issues. As educators we might focus on these behaviors and not see past that to the gifts. Some gifts are not valued in the classroom or school setting and as a result might not be identified. Some gifted students might have a learning disability or attentional issue that is impacting their behavior or learning. Many teachers do not realize that students can be gifted in one area and have trouble or struggle in another area. Also some students, for example ESOL students cannot readily access the curriculum or demonstrate their knowledge and as a result cannot show their skills. If you do not use varied forms of assessment, in the classroom you might miss some of the gifts students in your class have, or even what they know. Finally, I think we miss identifying gifted and talented students because in doing so we make more work for ourselves and identifying giftedness is not as valued in the classroom. As mentioned in the video it is okay for some to excel at sports, but in the classroom we believe in the American dream where we can all be great. By saying someone needs more, or is smarter than someone else we challenge that view of the American dream.

John Popow

2013-05-15 23:34:19 UTC

I agree. Social economic status is another reason giftedness is missed. Just because they haven't been exposed to situations that they can demonstrate giftedneess. ie puzzles, drawing , books they may not be on the same level as the student's who have. Judging on their current level rather than on their ability to aquire new learning is a mistake that could easily be made

John Popow

2013-05-15 23:41:15 UTC

Dinah, Mine comes up with a place that says, Name. If yours isn't there must be something wriong with the way it loaded. Maybe try loading it again.

Jennifer Ramos

2013-05-16 00:17:24 UTC

During my thought process of this question, I got stuck on figuring out how we are able “miss” serving some gifted students. Then the light bulb moment hit as I read the following quote from Jeanne Paynter within the MSDE newsletter titled “Gifted Education in Maryland – Nurturing Potential, Challenging Performance”: “It isn’t fair to expect gifted students to make it on their own without specialized instruction, nor is it fair to expect teachers to work effectively without specialized training.” This made the question so much easier to answer.

If a teacher is expected to identify and/or teach gifted students, they must first be trained to do so. This thought takes me to the Top 10 Myths video. Being gifted does not imply that we should not give students instruction; after all, sports players are coached so our gifted students should be as well. The same thought process holds true for teachers too. Recognizing and teaching gifted students requires us as teachers to learn how to service these students. If we do not receive instruction, we cannot provide instruction nor can we identify these talented kiddos.

When identifying and teaching gifted students, we must also consider the notion that gifted does not mean perfect. A gifted student may excel at Math or Reading, but struggle in other content areas. A gifted student may also think in a creative sense, but struggle academically. A gifted student thinks differently, but may still have struggles.

My take away thought of this week: It is imperative for us to educate our minds to the fullest so that we can properly identify the specific needs of ALL of our students. When we do this, we are able to provide the instruction that is just as diverse as the students we teach.

Mike Wills

2013-05-16 01:51:56 UTC

After watching the video and reading the newsletter, I feel it is very difficult for teachers to recognize gifted and talented students without proper training. I know in my 12 years as a 2nd grade teacher I've always been worried about the students below grade level that always had to be pulled for extra small group instruction or reinforcement of the objectives being taught. I'd have activities for the high achievers as we all do to differentiate our instruction, but I wouldn't think about how that activity may not meet the needs of a gifted learner. It is differentiated and challenging, but is it meeting the needs of the students that show gifted behavior or talents? I think I've missed serving the needs of some gifted/talented students because of my focus on students with needs to reach or stay on grade level. Just in a few short weeks I've learned valuable strategies to help me in the future.

I really thought the video shed light on the needs of gifted students and how people perceive the needs of gifted students are met through regular instruction and activities. The myth that compared a gifted education to a high performing athlete really made a lot of sense to me. If an athlete isn't trained at the highest level, the chances of meeting his or her potential is very low. This could be said about the gifted student also. The gifted and talented behaviors must be identified at a young age so the classroom instruction can be tailored to meet the needs of the gifted learner.

I really like what Erin said in an earlier post that it is great to have the gifted students in the classroom to be role models and help others, but it isn't their responsibility to be the educators, that's our job. The gifted children should be engaged in meaningful and challenging activities instead.

Dana Roffe'

legallyblonde62 — 2013-05-16 02:45:59 UTC

Teachers ‘miss’ serving some gifted students as teachers do not think or believe in the ten
myths as explained in the video. One of the myths in the video discussed about
how most teachers believe that gifted and talented (GT) students should be in
regular classrooms. However, this is not true. GT students must be placed in a more
challenging environment like AP classes. Some teachers do not identify GT as
students with a disability and they feel that they should not be in gifted and
talented classes. Although children can have a disability, they can be considered
GT by showing the various behaviors as stated in the REPI. Children who are
identified as having a disability and GT are known as “twice exceptional”. In the article, Alaina Haerbig said that teachers need to organize and demonstrate in a clear and concise organization to help
all students and not lower the level of instruction. And, most teachers discuss
that GT children are identified with good soical economic backgrounds. However, the child can
be impacted by having an accelerated and enrichment program. Teachers do not
look at the entire student, but the REPI behaviors help teachers identify and
observe those behaviors so that teachers do not to miss GT students in their
classes.

Anna Nydick

2013-05-16 16:59:41 UTC

I believe that teacher miss serving certain gifted students because they are not adequately educated on what gifted behavior can look like. The myth about the student performance where the student who was performing below grade level in reading but not given a chance even though they were one of the highest thinkers in math really resonated with me. I felt that so often as an educator we are pushed to get our students ON grade level, that when they are below in a certain area, I do not get to really explore their areas of strength. Rather the time we spend together in that area is more a check in not a teaching opportunity.

I agree with what Mike/the video said about if an athlete does not train at his optimal level, will he not be able to excellent at his craft? I think it is very interesting that we spend so much time targeting the lows but rarely have enough time to create instruction for the students in need of enrichment. I know that teachers are meant too, but it seems that the priority is always for students to perform first on grade level if they are below, and then the enrichment seems an afterthought. This relates to athletes training on their level because if I spend all my time as an educator adapting my insturction to the lows, than my high students are not being trained at their optimal level, rather they are being given lowered expectations than they deserve and they might disengage or not understand the value of education.

Paulina Charubin

2013-05-16 21:26:30 UTC

I believe that teacher's miss serving students who may be talented and/or gifted because I think that teacher's are not properly trained on how to identify talented or gifted behavior. I know that as a first year teacher even though I have gone to trainings and worked with my team members there is a lack of communication between many people. Also there is a lot of miscommunication with what we are supposed to be doing and how exactly we are supposed to be completing each PTD lesson. I went to PTD meetings in the beginning of the year and I was told how to teach the lessons only to find out a few weeks ago that I taught the lessons wrong and that I have to start all over from Lesson 1 again. I think that another reason why teacher's miss serving gifted and talented students is because teacher's have so much stress put on them to complete this and that assessment that we often loose track of what we are doing and when things need to be completed by. We have so many deadlines that it is hard to find time to do everything that we are supposed to do in a way that is correct becuase I know of many teachers that cut corners to get things completed just so it is checked off of their list of things to do. I think that we as teacher's miss a lot of opportunities with our students that we sometimes really should not be missing. We are trying to help students with their futures and if we are missing their talents at such a young age than we are really not doing our jobs properly.

Susan Smith - GT "Miss" Served

2013-05-16 23:44:54 UTC

I think one reason we miss serving gifted students is because society generally believes that these kids will be okay because they are smart, so they require less attention. Secondly, even though research documents real, innate differences in how gifted students learn, society tries to refrain from labeling kids and possibly ostracizing them or having them considered as elitists. Another reason that educators tend to miss serve the gifted is that we tend to identify giftedness using a “school-house” assessments and standardized tests that don’t address all of the potential areas of a learners gift. Finally, we are not considering student interests which research has proven is critical to the success of a twice-exceptional student with ADD, ADHD, etc.

Tracie Evans- Missing the Gift

2013-05-17 17:53:39 UTC

I read quite a few of the articles and after viewing the video and reading the "myths" , I definitely have a better understanding of why the students get missed and it is unfortunate. As teachers, I can not be the only one that spends so much time focusing on the children that are getting "lost" that we do not realize our gifted students are also getting "lost" . We do not do this on pupose and now how know better how not to do this, but we think that the "higher" students are so independent that they no longer require as much assistance as the struggling students. We are just so happy that they are passing all the test I think it is a good suggestion that we should be properly "trained" to see what "gifted" really looks likes. This way it could clear up any miscoceptions we all have. Without proper training and guidelines, it is pretty much subject to opinion.

I did the Odd Man out Activity. I have a stuggling Pre-K class this year. My high students of course was able to complet this activity error free with very little guidance. However my strugglng students had no idea where to begin. Even with prompting and guidance, they could not grasp the skill. The pictures they selected were random and they could not understand the relationship between objects. I pretty much had to give them the answers and tell them why/how the pictures " go together" Go togethers was a skill we did back in the beginning of the year with matching.

Ann Rossman

2013-05-18 15:20:39 UTC

It's unfortunate that some educators fail to identify talented and gifted students due to societal, behavioral, or other constraints. I don't feel like we should place all the blame the classroom teachers, however. We have so much pressure placed on us from all levels of administration to "close the achievement gap." Personally, I have been guilty of placing all of my energy on my struggling readers, while my advanced learners have suffered. While I've tried on my own to create accelerated or problem-based activities for my high achievers, I haven't received formal instruction on the best practices on differentiating the curriculum in the general classroom setting.

Also, I can attest to the fact that until this course, I have never received any type of professional development on how to identify students who may not be traditionally gifted learners, but still demonstrate talents or creativity in other areas. We are definitely doing our students a disservice by not providing all educators with the proper information on how to identify those students, no matter if they are English language learners, special needs children, or a behavioral problem within the classroom.

Jane Miller-Pankiewicz

2013-05-18 21:22:24 UTC

I just read Ann Rossman's post and, while I'm really not trying to copy, I have to admit that she hit ons everal of my thoughts - and expressed them very well. We do miss serving some of the students that might be gifted or talented because, as teachers, we do need to focus on the low performing students (especially with the current obsession with data and how that data relates to keeping our jobs). The top performing students do well and it's usually pretty easy to adjust things to challenge them more - though that's not same as a gifted program. The low performing kids get a lot of time and attention to help them get the basics - as they need and should. The group that I think may not get served to their fullest potential - especially if they are gifted or talented in a a non-academic way - are the middle students. These aren't the squeeky wheels on the highest or lowest end, they are kids that are that that don't "shine" in math or reading, though they do OK. These are some of the kids that I think may get overlooked for anything special unless it is potentially for gifted and talented. These may include the kids with learning disabilities, as well. Without being identified as gifted and talented, these kids arent' going to get any different services - no remediation, no enrichment, just the general curriculum.

Like Ann, I too have not received any formal training in PTD - I just had a PTD binder handed to me without explanation and my mentor teacher didn't add too much info to that. So, if the state (and my county) truly want to focus on gifted and talented, then give the teachers the training and support that we need to identify and serve these kids.

2013-05-20 01:03:12 UTC

Devon K

2013-05-20 01:10:47 UTC

The point that continues to resonate with giftedness, is that there are so many faces of gifted children. With the many behaviors that demonstrate talent, it is easy to focus on a single (generally academic) skill and overlook the talent a child may possess. This brings me back to Maya, Maya is similar to the child in the video who does not perform because she does not get good grades. With Maya what catches an adults eye is her constant movement and aloof expression. On the surface she presents as not engaged or processing the information. We miss giftedness because we would focus on attempting to correct the negative behaviors. Yet when invited to share her thoughts, they are detailed and comprehensive and her voice is expressive as she speaks.

The 10 Myths video really brought to life the struggles these kids experience until they are identified as gifted and then their needs are met. They do require different instruction to encourage and engage the students to reach their personal potential. The twice exceptional-student also struck a cord, as my own daughter has been misunderstood throughout her school experience. It was always obvious to us when she had a teacher who recognized her strengths, and “got her.” She was encouraged to follow her interests, engage in hands on real life experiences and thus excelled and loved learning. Many students are missed because they do not fit the “school-house” picture of gifted and teachers are not sufficiently trained on what gifted behavior can look like.

Laura D

2013-05-20 03:37:28 UTC

I think Myth 2 from the video is one of the biggest reasons why teachers don't meet the needs of gifted students. Many classrooms are heterogeneously grouped by abilities with student far below grade level, at grade level, and above grade level + gifted. Teachers don't have the ability or time to adapt and compact curriculum while trying to teach to the mid range of students and spend as much time as possible with struggling students to pull them up as much as possible to grade level. Myth 1 ties in here as well that the gifted students will do "just fine" in class and can find ways to challenge themselves.

I have several boys in my class this year who come to mind as being above average and need accelerated work and discussion groups. The problem that I face is that they truly aren't gifted because they don't show the ability to work independently at their best ability or show initiative. I still have to make sure they aren't rushing through their work to have computer time or are expanding on their thoughts/using best handwriting/playing around and talking about Pokemon. So if they aren't going to do their best to show what they know then it's wasting my time to create activities when I could be working on another work related task.