Spotting A Gifted Kid
How to spot a gifted child? I can honestly say this is the most challenging thing to do as an educator. Students who are extremely bright may not always show the signs that we as educators classify as gifted. We are really great at identifying our "high flyers", but Gifted students may not always be our typical idea of what Gifted means.
Being a Gifted teacher, I can honestly say that there are a lot of challenges that Gifted students face. I see a lot of asynchronous behavior where they have a retention and acquisition level that is higher than other students, but they cannot interact appropriately with their same age peers. They may also not show their work, are easily distracted, and are extremely unorganized. This is not all Gifted students, but some of these behaviors will help with identification. The resource below is a great read on identifying a Gifted student. As much as I would like to say identification is easy, that could not be farther from the truth. We all get it wrong sometimes, but it is better to have them tested if you think they are Gifted, than to let them fall through the cracks.
How to spot a Gifted Student: TeachersFirst. (2021). Teachers First, Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers. https://www.teachersfirst.com/gifted_spot.cfm
Here are just a few that you will read about through this link that will put things into perspective a little more.
What Do I Do When I Think I Have Spotted A Gifted Kid?
When you think you have a Gifted child in your class the best thing to do is talk to your Principal and Gifted support staff. The process may be different based upon your school district, but here is what our school district does. When you think there is a child who is Gifted, you have to add their name to the Child Study team. Now we know how long that process can take once a child's name is submitted to the Child Study team. A faster way to approach this as their teacher is to notify the parents.
Making a phone call home to the parents can start the process a lot quicker. When you talk with the parents, make sure you start out by stating that you see some tendencies of potential "Gifted qualities" in their child, and testing is a great way to be certain of this. Make sure that you let them know that this does not mean that they will qualify, but that it will help you as an educator get a better understanding of their abilities. If they are on board with having their child tested, have the parents send in a written parental note or email stating that they would like to have their child tested for Gifted Programming. This process will put things into motion, and you won't even have to worry about a Child Study team process.
Once you receive the parental request for Gifted testing, the notice gets passed along to the School Psychologist and the Gifted Screener in the district. From there they have 60 days to have the child tested.
What to do with the Results?
Once you have the results you can use them in one of two ways. If the child does qualify for Gifted services, then you will have a GIEP with goals in their strength areas. The SDI's will help you to differentiate within the classroom. If they do not qualify, that does not mean that you will not differentiate. The results of the tests indicate IQ and areas where they may be higher or lower in. Based upon those test results, you can place them within the classroom. You will be able to give them challenge in areas where they were stronger, and support them in areas they were lower. It can help with WIN groups, stations, and academic support groups if needed. Either way, the testing process will help you to better reach this particular child's needs.
Have you ever identified a Gifted Child?
Have you ever had the opportunity to identify a Gifted Child? I would love to know what the outcome was if you did. The feedback on how you identified them, what made them stand out in comparison to their peers, and the key factors you were looking for is extremely beneficial to all educators.
Hey Fallon!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your resources and tips for spotting gifted kids! As someone who was identified in elementary school, I know all too well of the disorganization and impatience. I love that there are teachers like you that are so dedicated to supporting these students. It's an IEP that's not always given the same urgency as others, but it's important that we're providing services for every kid. You did such a great job of breaking it down step-by-step. This can really help educators!
Fallon,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these great resources! The cyber school that I work for does not accept GIEPs but we do have a Scholar Program that students can test into in 3rd grade. Although this is great, what do we do for students in the younger grades who are advanced or those children who do not qualify for the Scholar Program? We see this a lot unfortunately. We do follow the steps to test students, follow up with our principal and guidance counselor, etc. but sometimes it takes a while to schedule these meetings and take the next step.
Teaching kindergarten, we get students that range from being able to add and subtract 3-digit numbers, read on a 3rd grade level, etc. and other students who are looking at letters for their first time. In posted lessons, we do incorporate some challenges and support resources at the end of the lesson that correlates with that skill. Last year we started dedicate a few lessons strictly to challenges that were optional to all students, we had a great response to that! Using the resources you provided and what qualities to look for in a gifted student will be helpful entering the new school year. :)
Hi Fallon!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this post about identifying gifted students. I liked how you mentioned how a teacher could start a conversation with the family by noting gifted tendencies. Often, teachers are pointing out student struggles. I appreciate the chart of charactistics. Found that very helpful. As a special education teacher, we have some similaries as the process to get the ball rolling if you will to be identified. Yor post was a great read and resource. Thank you for sharing. ~ Andrea