Myth No. 3:
There is no need to identify gifted students in the early grades.
Many school
districts do not begin identifying gifted and talented students until third
grade. There is a belief among some educators that giftedness cannot be
properly identified in the early grades. However, the National Association for Gifted Children programming
standards start with pre-kindergarten. The group’s early childhood network
position paper says that “providing engaging, responsive learning environments
… benefit all children, including young gifted children.”
Well,
we all know that I am not opinionated about this at all! (Note Sarcasm) As an educator, that is like telling me that
we cannot be properly identifying special education until 3rd
grade. A gifted child can and oftentimes
does perform better when they are younger prior to us “schooling it out of them”. For more information about that watch this
FANTASTIC video by Sir Ken Robinson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
.
As
a parent, I was truly fortunate to have someone realize that our son was profoundly
gifted and he was tested and started receiving services at 2 ½ years old. Until then, I just assumed all children
sorted animals by kingdom, phylum and class.
However, we had a rude awakening when joining the public school system
to find out that not only did they not test children that age, they did not
provide services. In fact we were told
that all children typically even out around 3rd grade and if we had
just not worked so much with him he would be fitting in better at school. My beautiful, bright, inquisitive boy who
couldn’t wait to go to ‘real’ school (he had been going to an ASU profoundly
gifted program for 2 years twice a week) hated going to school and cried nearly
every day. It was absolutely a horrible
experience for him and us. Why would we
want to put any child through that?
Each
and every child that we come in contact with should be given the opportunity to
be excited about learning something new each day. Anything else is criminal in my book. (Again, not showing any opinions here!)
And
as a side note, I tested three students today, two were 5 and one was 6. The test was a piece of cake for them and of
course they all qualified. The nice
thing is that the Cognitive Abilities Test, is just that: a test for cognitive abilities. I learn so much more than just whether a
child is gifted or not. I can typically
tell a lot about a child, their strengths, weaknesses and possibly if they are
disabled and it has not been caught because their giftedness masks their
disability. I personally believe that
every student should be tested using the CogAt or something similar so that we
have one more data point to use to determine appropriate educational paths.
Posts
This is so frustrating ... I had everything typed up and the blog dumped it when I hit post (this is the second time this has happened)!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Marlene that gifted testing should be provided at the earliest opportunity. There is significant research that shows assessments can be given that will provide enough statistical data to determine if a child has cognitive abilities that identify the child as gifted.
I also think that as gifted advocates and researchers continue to get their message out about the signs and characteristics of gifted children, we will see a higher demand from parents to have their children assessed at earlier ages. I also think that knowing this means as educators and administrators we need to be prepared to offer these amazing children the learning opportunities they need to achieve their highest potential.
I really liked the video that Marlene showed this morning. There is no way to know if the doctor was identified as a gifted child in school. What Mr. Sci did was not just to benefit gifted students. He used his talents and curriculum to inspire the best performance out of all his students. What I think happens when a school focus' on the needs of gifted students, it raises the bar for all the students at the school.
Giftedness should be identified as soon as possible, pre-k is best. : -)
ReplyDeleteI understand the experience Marlene spoke of with her son all too well. Sadly, this is a common occurrence with gifted children; I have heard the story so many times over the past few years that it truly breaks my heart.
My girls were lucky as preschoolers, I was able to stay home with them and provide the enrichment they needed… although I had no idea it was ‘enrichment’. I thought all kids requested these activities. While my first two struggled with entering public school, it was Bailey who struggled the most (I think I described her struggles in a previously discussed myth). If only I had known then, what I know now, I could have saved my children years of frustration.
In the past few years, I implemented a program that allowed siblings (and anyone in the public) to test for giftedness. We had a good turnout of preschoolers for testing and most qualified or came in very close. These children were then invited to enter kinder early or were guided towards play groups specifically tailored to meet the needs of gifted preschoolers (depending on age and readiness).
Part of the goal was to help these young children find peers that were similar to them, other children who understand their vocabulary and strange way of playing (gifted preschoolers are notorious for playing side by side, while playing completely different independent games, and communicating the entire time). The parents where very grateful, they enjoyed having a support group with others that understood the craziness they were going through.
If interested, we can put a similar program together here as well. : -)
I would love to see this program here! I also need to talk to you about how to test a pre-schooler since I never have. THANK YOU, Michelle
DeleteAs a gifted first/second grade gifted teacher, I am definitely pro testing and identification of gifted students early. I could tell as early as 1st grade the areas where the students in my first grade class were gifted and how my class could be structured so that they would be stimulated and engaged in their learning. I can’t imagine waiting until third grade to identify. You literally lose time, energy and engagement with those kiddos. If in kindergarten you are all ready misplaced, it really does set the tone for how students will view school and coming to class.
ReplyDeleteAs an Early Childhood Major, I fully believe we should be providing students as young as pre-k with a learning environment that is engaging and will benefit gifted students as well. I advocated to bring back a double major of Early Childhood/Special Ed at ASU after they pulled it due to funding. What better time to identify and provide than when they are young and can sponge up a LOT of the world around them. I agree with Michelle and the article that pre-k is the best time to identify gifted students. We would not wait until first grade (though sometimes it doesn't appear until later) to identify other types of special needs and provide services for them. Gifted should be no different.
ReplyDeleteI would also love to provide a community of support to families of gifted children. They could find out that the "craziness" is actually okay, and there are others that might be going through some of the same challenges! Our gifted community here at San Tan is striving to better itself. We are doing this by working closely together. When parents see the teachers working through the same challenges parents see at home, I have found it relieves some of the anxiety of the parents.
As a Kindergarten teacher last year, it was more difficult to provide an engaging learning environment for my students who were gifted and the students who were on or below level. I know, I eventually made it work, but I always felt like I could have done more for my gifted students.
I really hope that what Alisa said was NOT true for my class, and my gifted kiddos last year were not misplaced and they had a positive experience in Kindergarten. I still feel that way as a first grade teacher. For some, first grade is all day, and a new transition into longer school schedules. I hope that when I work with students through their anxieties, hopes, and dreams, that I leave a positive imprint on their lives. Maybe that should ring true for all teachers, and not just Kindergarten. A student could have a fabulous kindergarten, first, and second grade year, then in third grade, the teacher did not engage or push the student. That could also set up for the rest of their school lives as well. I feel honored to have the privilege of working with my students.
Grrr... second time I'm having to post.
ReplyDeleteThe above conversation has gotten me to thinking as I'm still learning about gifted-ness (that is a word, right?) - has anyone heard about a child who was identified as gifted only to later be identified as typical? I ask because knowing the brain continues to develop until the mid-20s, I'm interested if there has ever been a case of a brain developing in a way that cognitively it is advanced early on. Other than as a result of a TBI, has anyone ever experienced this? Not trying to be a devil's advocate, necessarily... just wondering.
It seems there is an overpowering response to assessing students as soon as possible. Is there any real negative to having them tested? I would play the other side and say we should wait to test a child, but I cannot think of a negative side affect! However, Craig does raise a point of how the brain develops. The previous research was also based on the thought that students all level out at third grade. I would like to get into more research on how the brain develops and what causes kids to develop differently. My science side pops out- nature vs. nature... does this have an affect? Either way, the ultimate goal is have every child reach their potential and challenge them so school is exciting. Tears are no fun!
ReplyDelete