Gifted and Talented, Visually Impaired

Gifted and Talented

www.lcps.k12.nm.us/departments/SPED/AES/PD/T_TRogers.ppt

Gifted and Talented students can easily get bored with work that is not challenging or when the pace of instruction is too slow. They also benefit from a richer, more varied presentation and a greater degree of responsibility for project deliverables and more self-determination with respect to project subjects.

GT students often work better in smaller groups (if not alone) and when grouped, benefit from work with similarly gifted peers. They may be more interested in learning independently, and are often times less enamored with ‘hands-on' experiences. Self-instructional tasks, games, simulations, and ‘real' audiences with authentic assessments may improve rates of learning and retention.

There are a plethora of modifications that may be appropriate for GT students, and those will be explored below. Perhaps the most important modification for this particular project is the creation of students groups that will work effectively together. In addition, the assessment instruments for this project include ‘enhanced' models that establish high expectations for GT students if they are to receive exemplary ratings.

The following is a ‘laundry list' of potentially worthwhile modifications for instruction of GT students:

•  Pacing (2-3 times faster) GT students are significantly more likely to retain science and mathematics content accurately when taught 2-3 times faster than “normal” class pace

•  GT students are significantly more likely to forget or mislearn science and mathematics content when they must drill and review it more than 2-3 times

•  Elimination of excess drills & review (2-3 reviews only)

•  Whole-to-part conceptual teaching

•  Increased depth of content; Complexity of content in all academic domains (coverage)

•  Opportunity for reflection, analysis

•  Daily challenge in talent area

•  Preference for self-structured tasks and self-imposed deadlines

•  Preference for working on projects alone or with one like ability peer; GT students tend to mistrust the benefits of small group learning; care must be taken that the tasks demonstrate that the group can “do better” than the individual

•  Greatest preference for independent study projects that are reading/content acquisition-based

•  Greater interest in learning “something new and different,” rather than doing hands on things

•  In lecture situations, students tend to be multi-modal (visual and auditory) in their acquisition, processing

•  For auditory GTs, there is a love of discussion

•  For more visual GTs, discussion is not a favorite

•  Mentorship among GT students, which further their understanding in a specific field result in socialization effects and self-esteem effects as well as academic effects

•  One-to-one tutoring

•  GT students are decontextualists in their processing, rather than constructivists; therefore it is difficult to reconstruct “how” they came to an answer

•  GT students tend to use more higher order thinking even without training, but benefit significantly from being trained in these skills

•  GT students prefer a structured learning environment (desks, tables, etc.) but open-ended tasks and assignments

•  Academically or intellectually GT students tend to be uncomfortable taking risks or dealing with ambiguity; therefore there is a need for teaching creative thinking and encouraging divergent production

•  The greatest academic benefits of “discovery” learning have been attained with GT students, particularly if the learning was Brunerian (teaching of major ideas and concepts)

•  GT students perform significantly more highly when the majority of their time is spent in true peer interactions (academic core areas only)

•  Abstraction

•  Complexity

•  Multi-disciplinary

•  Organization

•  Study of people

•  Methods of inquiry

•  Higher order thinking, critical skills training, problem solving

•  Open-ended thinking

•  Proof and reasoning

•  Discovery, shared inquiry, problem- based learning

Modifications of Product

•  Real world products

•  Real audiences/authentic assessments - “Real audiences” as the form of evaluation of products and performances are supported by literature only, but “realistic,” corrective feedback produces significant positive effects for GT learners

•  Systematic, corrective feedback

•  Individual benchmark setting

•  “Real World” problems and products are supported by literature only

•  A variety in production requirements improves motivation and self-direction

•  High, but specific, expectations for performance result in significant “cognitive dissonance” but with significant rises in academic self-esteem

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Visually Impaired

Courtesy Rules:
- Refer to the student by name
- Adjectives are your friend. The more frequent and the more specific
they are, the better.
- Seat the student in the front, away from glare.
- Have the student adapt to a routine, and notify him/her of any changes.

Classroom Guidelines:
- When displaying visual objects, a verbal description is necessary.
- Reiteration is essential in the fact that the students gets the
statements. This is also key when writing anything on the board.
- Supplementary materials should be provided in large print, or Braille.
- Provide audio textbooks for the visually impaired.

Lab Guidelines:
- When introducing tools and materials, have the student familiarize
the feel of them beforehand.
- If need be, provide alternate activities which provide the same
lesson for the sake of safety.
- If possible, use descriptive videos.
- Label objects with Braille in order for the students to have an
easier time identifying objects in the lab.
- Use a hot plate, and not a Bunsen Burner.
- For computers, provide a voice input device in order to give commands.

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