Date post: | 19-Jun-2015 |
Category: |
Education |
Upload: | guestad7b2ea2 |
View: | 944 times |
Download: | 2 times |
GIFTED EDUCATION:Underachievement
Susan Cohoon – Iowa, U.S.A.
Myths/Truths --- “Dirty” Little Secret
At-Risk
Drop-Outs----Behavior Issues
Acceleration
Can you tell which of these students are gifted?
Myth
• Global giftedness –general intellectual power across the board.
• Gifted in one academic area
• Learning disabled in another
Truth
• Children with exceptional ability in art = simply talented.
• Artistically or athletically gifted children = not really that different from academically giftedMyth
Truth
Myths Truths
Giftedness –• high IQ
• “made” by overzealous parents
• glowing with psychological health
• Little evidence giftedness in nonacademic areas requires exceptional IQ
• Parents highly involved• Face ridicule, taunts,
socially isolate and unhappy
More Myths
• Giftedness is inborn
• All children are gifted
• Gifted children become prominent adults
• Environment • powerful influence on
development of gifts
• Gifted children • special needs
• Very few gifted become prominent adult creators.
Winner, 1996
MoreTruths
Education’s Dirty Secret
• Gifted education is often haphazard, ineffective, and under funded.
Strip & Hirsch, 2000; Davidson & Davidson, 2004Colangelo, Asuline, & Gross, 2004
Testing Issues• Can put child under stress
• Scores affected by environment
• Tests administered by psychologist • more reliable than group tests.
Rimm, 1995
• TEST BIASES• Favor those fluent
in English• Exclude minorities
• Lower socio-economic
• Recent immigrants
• ELL students
Strip and Hirsh, 2000
Education systems rarely provides what gifted students need:
Davidson & Davidson, 2004
•Work that challenges to extent of abilities
•in environment with other kids who love to learn
•Advanced academic curriculum to abilities
•Opportunity to explore topics in depth
•surrounded by academic peers.
Some uncomfortable being called “gifted”
Rimm, 2006
UNDERACHIEVEMENT• Belief only perfection can
rescue damaged self • interferes with performance
• All-or-nothing thinking• unrealistic goal setting (Rathvon, 1996)
• Avoid competition • miss important skills(Rimm, 1995)
UnderachievementSyndrome• Feeds on itself
• Grows until something or someone intervenes
• Classroom• Rarely pay attention• Little or no studying• Do not do homework or complete assignments (Rimm, 1995)
• Counterproductive classroom behavior (Rathvon, 1996)
• Goals too high /too low, guaranteeing failure
• deny opportunity to build confidence
• refuse to risk failure
(Rimm, 2006)
•Disorganization•Lack of personal control over educational success
Behavior Problems
Ruf, 2005
Mental Stimulation
• Kept with age peers • wait for others to catch up• stunt growth in order not to appear different. • fail to develop discipline and confidence that comes
from being challenged to the extent of abilities.
• Stunting the growth of gifted children • limits ability of society to make great leaps in art & science
• True social justice • providing education that challenges all students to extent
of abilities
(Davidson & Davidson, 2004)
Iowa Acceleration Scale
• Is grade acceleration appropriate.• Single subject
acceleration or mentorship
Acceleration –the Best Alternative
• GED or state standardized tests • taken at early ages to go to college
Davidson & Davidson, 2004
• Acceleration levels playing field of opportunity
•cost to the family or school minimal
Colangelo, Assouline, Gross, 2004
Types of Acceleration• Early admission
• Kindergarten, First Grade• Middle School, High School• College
• Grade skipping• Subject matter or partial
acceleration• Curriculum Compacting• Dual enrollment• Correspondence
Classes• Advanced Placement
(Rimm, 1995)
Educational Plan?
• With well thought-out written plan• gifted child with advance development in one or
more areas receive consistent curriculum and school instruction
• geared to academic ability and potential
• Without an appropriate educational plan• gifted children often lose excitement for learning
(Rogers, 2002)
• For every year a highly gifted child is left in regular, un-enriched classrooms, a year is lost of what the intellectual capabilities could have been
• (Davidson & Davidson, 2004)
• Students must be encouraged to exercise their minds to the best of their abilities
• Rimm, 1995
Sources• Colangelo, N., Asuline, S.G., & Gross, M.U.M. (2004). A
nation deceived: How schools hold back America's brightest students. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press.
• Davidson, J., & Davidson, B. with Vanderkam, L. (2004). Genius denied. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
• Rimm, S.B. (1995). Why bright kids get poor grades: And what you can do about it. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press.
• Rimm, S.B. (2006). When gifted students underachieve: What you can co about it. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.
• Rogers, K.B. (2002). Re-forming gifted education: Matching the program to the child.. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press, Inc..
• Ruf, D.L. (2005). Losing our mind: Gifted children left behind. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press, Inc..
• Strip, C.A., & Hirsch, G. (2000). Helping gifted children soar. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press, Inc.
• Winner, E. (1996). Gifted children: Myths and realities. New York, NY: Basic Books.