What's important for them to know?

[Ginger Lewman]

As our network grows, what 2 things would you like to let classroom teachers know about g/t children?

[Megan Glenn]

They actually do know quite a bit of what you are getting ready to teach and could benefit more from doing in-depth activities rather than some of the read and answer worksheets or book-work. Also, they have many affective issues that are different from their peers, which makes gifted education important to provide at all levels.

[Amy Wooldridge]

I agree with the in-depth activities vs worksheets. Also, that g/t children may react differently in social situations but it doesn't mean they are socially immature. More times than not if given a little guidance in how to handle specific situations they will turn out to be your mediators with other children when they have troubles.

[Binismom]

Amy,
I am a homeschooling mother of an exceptionally gifted daughter and she is almost ALWAYS the mediatorin a conflict! Very perceptive!
:)

[Donna]

a. Talk to the student. Misbehaviors like not putting in the class work, day-dreaming, playing up, and emotional outbursts might simply be symptoms of disengagement from grade-level studies.

b. Read the student's file/work portfolio from previous years and talk to the parents. Put a special sticker on the student file cover and a note inside, before passing it on to next year's class teacher.

[Nancy Bosch]

There is not enough space here to write all I would need to say, I couldn't stop with 2!! haha

[Ginger Lewman]

You do have a lot to share! So start with two and let's see where that leaves us! ;-) To me, two is simply a general guideline that may or may not need to be followed. See, as a general rule, I rarely follow rules!

[Nancy Bosch]

Let me think about it---I'll try to come up with two "nice" suggestions. As I'm sure I've mention before in this arena, I've taught gifted kiddos for 25 years and have seen NO changes for elementary gifted kids in their regular classrooms. NCLB and focus on high stakes testing is only making it worse, IMHO.

[Melissae Stiles]

I posed this question to my students. I'll post their responses on a new thread within the next couple days.

[Ginger Lewman]

I'm so glad you're posting this! If you have HS aged students who are responsible, I'd not mind them posting this information themselves. I have always asked why we do Professional Development in the ABSENCE of student-learners.

[Nancy Bosch]

Aside--we are surveying all the gifted elementary kids in our district to see how they feel about what is going on in their regular classrooms. Are their academic needs being met? The results are so sad--what we've seen in the last few years has proven to be true. Our brightest kids are actually regressing---their tech skills, research skills, writing skills are losing ground. There are so many things that are not being taught in the regular classroom as high stakes testing is the main priority. :(

[Conny]

<<we are surveying all the gifted elementary kids in our district to see how they feel about what is going on in their regular classrooms.>>

We did that in our school district in 2001. Here's an excerpt of the report. Sadly nothing was done with the findings. I was involved in the project and believed it could/would move GT forward. Instead it has deteriorated. There's not even any pull-out/enrichment/peer time anymore.

"..About a third of elementary and middle students indicated they were challenged to some extent. At high school that number doubled to almost two thirds. Whereas in high school most students gave indication of being somewhat challenged, most elementary and middle school students said they were challenged in one subject only. Under a tenth of students at elementary and middle school seemed to be generally challenged. At high school almost one fifth of students appeared generally challenged. Students gradually receive more challenge as they move from elementary to high school.

Students said they like getting work that makes them think. Many high school students are pleased with the option of taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes, saying it reduces boredom as the classes are more interesting and require more thinking. Middle school students also mentioned enjoying doing thought provoking work in advanced classes, and that the challenge “is a lot of fun."

At all levels math is the subject named most often as challenging. A third of elementary students, almost half of middle school students, and a quarter of high school students indicated math is a challenge for them.

A number of the responses indicate that math is not explained as well as students like and need. Some students have come to think they just are not smart enough for math. Others who do grasp new material quickly have difficulty because they feel slowed down when the teacher has to explain things more than once to other students. Some students who are in advanced math such as trigonometry feel the class, at times, moves too fast. Other students feel that the teacher expects them to learn the material on their own, pointing to the need for better explanation. For a number of students, the definition of “challenge” seemed to include work that is made difficult because of lack of clarity in explanations."

[Judy Dreeszen]

Unfortunately, you are not alone. I am working on my doctorate and my research is in differentiation. Even though the research tells us that regular education classes are not enough for gifted students and that they need to be challenged, the research shows that it is not being done. Several studies have shown that across the country diffrerentiation is not happening. I don't know if you are a member of NAGC, but I received an email last Thursday or Friday with the latest report. I tell you it is scary. Since NCLB, a study was done to see what progress was being made by students. The study shows that the bottom 10% of students have made gains. Unfortunately, the top 10% have not shown gains. My research is to work with a 5th grade classroom teacher next fall and help her differentiate the reading curriculum. I am excited about the prospects, but also a little nervous. I am hoping that we can accomplish some things that other teachers will notice and want to try in their classroom. I think the key is to find 1 or 2 teachers who want to try, then do one subject and work together. I am hoping this is the case and that differentiation will spread. I also know that if the administrators are not behind it, it won't happen. I think the key is one teacher at a time and we work from there.