G Frost's List: Assignment 3

• ATLANTA | When Liz Fitzgerald realized her son and daughter were forced to read  books in math class while the other children caught up, she had them moved into  gifted classes at their suburban Atlanta elementary school
• Just 100 miles down the road in Taliaferro County, that wouldn't have been an  option. All the gifted classes were canceled because of budget cuts.
• In the age of Sputnik, we put money into math and science, and we ended up on  the moon," said Del Siegle, a University of Connecticut researcher who wrote the  report. "We really need to consider that again. We cannot afford as a country to  ignore talent."
• Just six states pick up the whole tab for gifted programs, and 13 don't put a  single dollar toward such curriculum, according to the study

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• But most experts define the term as the top 3% to 5% of scorers on IQ and other  standardized tests. For the smartest of these kids, those who quickly overpower  schoolwork that flummoxes peers, skipping a grade isn't about showing off.
• a 2000 study for Gifted Child Quarterly, Joseph  Renzulli and Sunghee Park found that 5% of the 3,520  gifted students they followed dropped out after eighth  grade. Astonishingly, that's almost as high as the 5.2% of nongifted kids who  dropped out. Untold numbers of other highly intelligent kids stay in  school but tune out. "When we ask exceptional children  about their main obstacle, they almost always say it's their  school
• says her school system discourages grade skipping and  instead approaches the challenge of exceptional children with this question:  "How is it [that] we can meet the needs of gifted kids  in a regular classroom without saying, 'Gee, you're 5, but you can read at a  seventh-grade level, [so] let's put you up to at least sixth grade'? It doesn't  make sense at a social or emotional level," says Peña.

• A 2001 study of 320 adults who were accelerated as  highly gifted kids 20 years ago found that more than  70% had no regrets about the experience. Among those who were dissatisfied,  nearly half wished they had accelerated more, not less. A 1996 study also found  that students who had been accelerated made more money than  gifted kids who had decided to move at the normal  pace. That doesn't mean acceleration leads to success, of course. But it does  mean that acceleration doesn't usually carry long-term negative  consequences.

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• The results of the pilot study are significant in the specific field of music  education, as each of the identified positive teacher characteristics from the  study can be nurtured and utilised in the teaching and learning of music.
• In order to provide for academically gifted and talented students, teachers must  first be aware of the social, emotional and intellectual characteristics they  may exhibit. Within the literature on gifted and  talented education for the past fifty or more  years, many lists of characteristics have been developed. These lists are not  meant to be determinants but rather indicators of potential giftedness and  talent.
• two major roles of music education for  academically gifted and talented students  emerged; its use as a 'leveller', and its value in challenging and motivating  students in an enjoyable way.

• Music also helps academically gifted and talented students to develop  confidence, co-ordination and creative skills. As one OC teacher reported, it is  often characteristic of academically gifted and talented students to lack  confidence and skill in practical areas such as musical performance:

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• For children to be identified as gifted and  talented, they need to demonstrate outstanding potential or promise rather than  mature, expert performance
• . Multiple talents and multiple criteria are almost the byproduct words of the  present-day gifted education movement, and most people would have little  difficulty in accepting a definition that includes almost every socially useful  form of human activity.
• However, a full-fledged gifted education movement was rather triggered by the  launching of the satellite Sputnik by the Soviet Union in 1957 and the  ensuing space race.
• A more recent approach to gifted and talented  education focuses on talent development
• There are two main strategies to serve gifted  children: acceleration and enrichment
• programs encompass enrichment and acceleration services that take place (1)  within regular classrooms or clusters from one or more grade levels; (2) during  special grouping arrangements within classrooms, across grade levels, or in  after-school and out-of-school programs; (3) in special schools such as magnet  schools or high schools that focus on advanced learning opportunities in  particular curricular areas; and (4) through arrangements made for individual  students at colleges, summer programs, internship opportunities, or mentorship  programs.
• With respect to the issue of effectiveness, gifted students in pull-out, separate class, and  special school programs performed better than their gifted peers in the within-class arrangements or in  schools without gifted programs.
• First, some components of gifted programs may  indeed be applicable to general education, such  as enrichment or inquiry-based learning, while other components are only  suitable for gifted children, such as  acceleration and some high-level curricular materials. Second, even though  instructional principles and strategies appropriate for gifted learners may also be appropriate for other  learners, there are differences in the pace and levels of learning and  understanding that impose constraints on the effectiveness of implementation of  these principles and strategies
• effective gifted programs (1) congregate gifted children at least part of the time; (2) address  children at a high intellectual level; (3) use acceleration when warranted; (4)  address real and challenging problems; (5) include well-supervised independent  study; (6) place educational experiences in a life-span context for the learner;  (7) build substantially upon opportunities for individualization; (8) include  well-trained and experienced teachers; and (9) support the cognitive and  affective needs of all gifted students.

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