Question 1.B.c.?

Question

Discuss, with examples, three strategies for working with students who are gifted.

Answer 1

Three Strategies and Examples for Working with Gifted Students

1. Strategy: Provide opportunities for intellectually gifted students to learn in the manner that they excel the best, including constant mental stimulation, opportunity to process complex information very rapidly and the exploration of subjects in depth.
Example: Let the students each pick a topic or subtopic of personal interest. Have students perform prewriting tasks, including research, citation, and outlining. Encourage students to make presentations in a variety of media, including oral presentations, visual displays, printed presentations, online postings to web sites, slide-shows, dramatic enactments, music or other modes of their choice. Encourage higher level of taxonomic inquiry in their data. Provide a clear rubric to allow for such diversity of production.
Non-example: Give students an identical worksheet with factual questions for a particular topic.

2. Strategy: Distance learning opportunities
Example: Long distance and online resources include EPGY math, Johns Hopkins Writing Tutorials, online high school and college courses, including online AP classes, and free online resources from the GT-Cybersource database.
Non-example: Limiting gifted students to limited texts or allowing unrestricted and unfocused browsing on the web.

3. Strategy: Explore acceleration
Example: Allow students to attend classes with other students who are at the same developmental level, rather than with their age peers. A student may be enrolled in a 12th grade trigonometry class, a 10th grade World History class, and 9th grade elective courses at the same time, based on performance and ability, instead of being lumped in automatically according to age.
Non-example: Gifted students taking standard math, social studies, and science classes at levels lower than taken in middle school.

Sources
http://www.gt-cybersource.org/Record.aspx?NavID=2_0&rid=11201
http://www.nwrel.org/msec/just_good/9/ch4.html
http://www.prufrock.com/client/client_pages/teacher_introduction.cfm

Answer 2

1. Learn their strengths and weaknesses. Every person in this world is unique, but nobody is perfect. Alfred Nobel was clever, but had poor health condition. Have a chit-chat with them, talk with their parents, and explore their strengths.

2. Know their desires and work with it. Push their 'hot buttons'. If a student want to be an economist or scientist, for example, tell them the beauty of economics or science. Tell them about Harvard or MIT. Tell them about Warren Buffet, George Soros, Bill Gates, or Albert Einstein. Give them direction and strategy. Motivate them to reach their goals.

3. Discipline them when they do something wrong, be arrogant, or misuse their talents. Talk to them personally, clearly, and explain consequences of their attitude.