IDENTIFYING GIFTEDNESS www.drlakshmisharma.com

Dr Lakshmi Sharma Workshop on Giftedness Part 2

No Limits to Learning!Believe & You Can Achieve!

The Gifted Child

Identifying Giftedness

• Gifted V Talented

• Identification - For Parents

• Identification - For Teachers

• Gagne’s model

• IQ Testing

Gifted v TalentedNaturally easy v Training corresponding mastery

Giftedness is a superior natural ability Talent ability/skill that has been developed exceptionally well

Francois Gagné

Gifted or Not ?

• Most schools identify gifted as the top 10% - 90th percentile

• Others define it as the top 5% - 95th percentile

(For schools - dependent on the cohort)

• MENSA – Top 2% - 98th percentile official testing required

The Obvious yet not so obvious !

• Giftedness identified early & evident much later

• The key is, what I term, the “weirdness factor”

• That moment you think wow that was weird – that’s the key!……….you are in awe & freaked out at the same time !

My Personal Journey (my child)

Early Years (0-3)

• Spoke at about 8-9 months, “read” at 1.5yrs (A-Z;aaaaa bbbb)• Early walker (Did not miss out crawling stage-Autism link)• Monitored patterns in house – disruptions to patterns-nonstop

crying• High concentration levels • Puzzles – sit until completed age 2 100 pieces age 3 250 pieces• Memorised picture on each jigsaw piece 100-weirdness factor• Multilingual 4 lang. – bilingual fluent

My Personal Journey

Middle Years (3-7)

• Passionate about strategic games scrabble, chess• Sense of Justice “why is that child always picked”• Defining moment for thinking at higher level-logical reasoning “I think gay marriage should be lawful I don’t understand why they can’t marry, its so unfair ”• Age 2-3 Asked how babies where made• Independent learner – wants no help• Loves adult company & older children

My Personal Journey

Middle Years (7-10)

• Loves any sense of challenge• Interest in how things work & why• Formulates own maths logical to calculate• Frustration of illogical issues• Speed of understanding increased• Scans people & their intellect level

Identifying cognitive & social factors for gifted children of types.For a highly gifted child usually identify most of these.Cognitive

• High Order Thinking• Logical Reasoning• High level of Concentration• Memory & Attention span – phenomenal• Formulates own concepts/ideology• Ability to understand quickly • Excellent problem solving - Identifies connections maths science etc• Demand to know why – curious• Extremely creative both practically & thought• Thorough in decision making• Evaluates & Judges at high level• Comprehends way beyond years• Extensive Vocab, early reader,• Early walker & talker

•Social

• Formulates own jokes advanced humour • Sensitivity – extremely frustration very easily • Strong sense of justice fairness and injustice• Enjoys advanced issues – political/philosophical• Constantly Energetic• Thrives on challenges• Fear of failure - Perfectionist• At ease & prefers adult company & conversation• Enjoys strategic play – chess• Immense passion for patterns & codes• Befriends children/adults of same intellect

CHECKLIST OF LEARNING AND BEHAVIOURAL CHARACTERISTICS COMMON TO THE GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENT

Note: A high proportion of YES responses may indicate a child of high ability

STUDENT NAME __________________________________ DATE ______________

ITEM Yes No

A LEARNING

1 Is a rapid learner, who understands advanced topics easily

2 Shows insight and fantasises about cause-effect relationships

3 Persists in completing tasks

4 Sees the problem quickly and takes the initiative

5 Learns basic skills quickly and with little practice

6 Is reluctant to practise skills already mastered, finding such practice futile

7 Follows complex directions easily

8 Constructs and handles high levels of abstraction

9 Can cope with more than one idea at a time

10 Has strong critical thinking skills and is self-critical

11 Has surprising perception and deep insight

12 Is a keen and alert observer, notes detail and is quick to see similarities and differences

13 Displays intellectual and physical restlessness; once encouraged, is seldom a passive learner

14 Has a remarkable range of general (or specialized) knowledge in one or more areas (e.g. dinosaurs)

15 Possesses extensive general knowledge (often knows more than the teacher), and finds classroom books superficial

16 Explores wide-ranging and special interests, frequently at great depth

17 Has quick mastery and recall of information, seems to need no revision and is impatient with repetition

18 Learns to read early and retains what is read; can recall in detail.

19 Has advanced understanding and use of language, but sometimes hesitates as the correct word is searched for and then used

20 Sees greater significance in a story or film and continues the story

21 Demonstrates a richness of imagery in informal language and brainstorming

22 Can ask unusual (even awkward) questions or make unusual contributions to class discussions

23 Asks many provocative, searching questions which tend to be unlike those asked by other students of the same age

Source DET WA, Australia

Teacher’s Observation Form for Identifying Giftedness

B BEHAVIOURAL

Sets very high personal standards and is a perfectionist

Is success-oriented and hesitates to try something where failure is a possibility

Demonstrates a sense of humour and loves incongruities, puns and pranks

May be behind peers in manual dexterity, which can be a source of frustration

Can have a negative self-concept and suffer from poor social acceptance by age peers

Daydreams and seems lost in another world

Listens to only part of the explanation and sometimes appears to lack concentration, but always knows what is going on. When questioned usually knows the answer

Often prefers company of older students and adults

When interested, becomes absorbed for long periods and may be impatient with interference or abrupt change

Can be stubborn in own beliefs

Shows sensitivity and reacts strongly to things causing distress or injustice.

Empathises with others and often takes a leadership role; very understanding and sympathetic

Shows unusual interest in adult problems such as important issues in current affairs (local and world), evolution, justice, the universe

Source DET WA, Australia

Teacher’s Observation Form for Identifying Giftedness

Teacher observation Includes use of progress maps, developmental continua,

Monitoring Standards materials and Teaching TAGS observation schedules.

School records Consider all students in the group.

Behavioural indicators Base judgements on objective criteria which consider

academic, social and behavioural indicators.

Class evaluations Obtain information from all staff involved with a student as well

as previous teachers or reports and records.

Parent information Parents are aware of a student’s pattern of interests and learning rates for new material. Techniques for obtaining information can include interviews and checklists and could be included in enrolment procedures.

Peer report Student reports are generally reliable. The instruments need to be carefully structured to seek efficiently broad information. Students may nominate friends, but a pattern of responses usually emerges. Peer reports supplement other methods.

Student self-report Students are generally objective about themselves. Self-reporting has been shown to relate well to peer and parent information. Student interest inventories may be used but value judgements and gender bias need to be considered. Requires sympathetic approach and possibly is most effective in an interview situation.

Achievement tests These assess performance in school-related tasks and are usually subject-based. Previous learning is required as is a level of reading ability in most cases. Under-achieving or special needs students may not be identified. Tests should not be grade or age-limited, or culturally or content-biased.

Intelligence tests The tasks presented are selected to reduce the amount of formal learning that is required. Tasks require a range of language, visual or combined problem solving strategies and skills and are usually different from “typical” school experiences.

Creativity tests May identify the creative thinker who could otherwise be overlooked. May be too narrow in scope to be used without being supplemented by other measures, unless the identification of creativity is the sole objective of testing.

Formal Testing for Giftedness

Source DET WA, Australia

Dual Exceptionalities

• Gifted students with disabilities

• Difficult to recognise due to “masking” cognitive abilities

• Imperative:attention to disability & intellect nutured

• Difficult to test as IQ tests in general don’t account for this consider ADAH,

deafness, Learning difficulties etc.

Gagne’s model

Who was Gagne?

Canadian Academic- RetiredPh. D. in Psychology from l’Université de Montréal (1966), Department of Psychology at l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Research & teaching activities to the field of giftedness.

My Convictions About the Nature of Abilities, Gifts, and Talents in Journal for the Education of the Gifted, Vol. 22, No. 2, 1999, p. 109-136

.

Gagne – A Gifted Identification model

Gagne Stated

A child may be born gifted, but if these gifts are not appropriately cultivated, they will not develop into fully-formed talents.

A student may be musically gifted, without training, these gifts will not be realized and potentially not even noticed at all.

Talent is determined based on performance relative to one’s peers or expectations.

Gagné’s ModelDifferentiated Model of Giftedness & Talent (2008) Gagné’s model defines giftedness & talent

Connects to teaching and learning

Giftedness is a broad concept encompasses a range of abilities

Giftedness only potential, a transformative process in order to become a talent

Adequate school support necessary - students develop their gifts/high abilities 

Gagne’s DMGT

M

Do I need an IQ test for my child?• YES !!!• Schools & Education Departments require an IQ test for:Early Admittance to SchoolAcceleration of the Child (grade skipping)• Parents require it for:Guidance for the teacher & themselves - areas the child is superior inEvidence of giftedness but the teacher has not identifiedAwareness of your child’s percentile rankingAdmittance to gifted programmes & selective schoolsHighlights possible weak areas of your child’s cognitive aspect

My Advice

• Even if your child is not gifted get an IQ test!

• The report is vital to understand your child - test targets specific areas

• What your teacher says does not always match what the test says

• The test is a fantastic non-biased measure of their “real” ability

• Be aware though that these tests target western children

• My child, non western up bringing, scored lower due to this

IQ Testing

Registered Educational Psychologist

Teacher (at least 4 years) with Psychology qualification

Can administer IQ testing

Full Test with Report costs $1500AUD

Cheaper Alternative – University Psychology Dept – Swinburne ($300AUD)

Test Type

• Wechsler Test most common & most accepted

• Stanford Binet

(Worth a mention - Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test - quick test – IQ?)

• Began blind folding chess players• Mentored by Charcot (hypnotism), Influenced Piaget• Research Assistant – SIMON• French gov (1904):how to identify low IQ students • Binet-Simon Scale, tasks age typical, tested 50 kids • Intellectual development influenced by the environment• Intelligence not based solely on genetics

Alfred Binet 1857-1911 French

Lewis Terman 1877-1956 USA

• Stanford University 1918:Binet-Simon to Stanford-Binet• Introduced intelligence quotient (IQ) score for the test• Intelligence "the ability to carry on abstract thinking“• Used intelligence testing on numerous soldiers• Studied 643 children scored at >IQ 140, the Genetic Studies of

Genius, evaluate 1921, 1930, 1947 &1959 • Subjects called "Termites" most extensive gifted • Disproved highly intelligent children prone to illness

David Wechsler 1896 –1981

• Taught by Charles Spearman

• Non-intellectual ability are involved in intelligent behavior

• Objected to the single score 1937 Binet scale

• Role of nonintellective factors in testing.

• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)1939 Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Test

• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children(WISC) 1949

• Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence(WPPSI) 1967

• Removed quotient scores of older intelligence tests (the Q in "I.Q.")

• The WAIS is today the most commonly administered psychological test

• Different sub-tests for four different types of intelligence

verbal comprehension reason verballyperceptual reasoning reason spatially/non-verbal working memory maintain information & organize processing speed measures speed of child

What does the Wechsler test actually measure

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No Limits to Learning!Believe & You Can Achieve!