2. What is gifted?
Note: From Education for Inclusion and Diversity (3rd ed.) p. 65, by A. Ashman and J.
Elkins, 2008, New South Wales: Pearson
3. What is gifted?
Note: From Educational Psychology (3rd ed.) p. 208, by A. Woolfolk and K.
Margetts, 2013, Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson.
Category of
giftedness
Number of SDs
(SD=15) above
mean of 100
General ability
score (IQ)
Proportion of the
population in or
above this range
Moderately gifted 2 130-144 2%
(1 in 50)
(1 in 2 classes)
Highly gifted 3 145-159 0.1%
(1 in 1000)
(1 in a school)
Exceptionally
gifted
4 160-179 0.001%
(1 in 100,000)
(20 in Western
Australia)
Profoundly gifted 5 180+ 0.00001%
(1 in 10,000,000)
(2 in Australia)
4. What does gifted look like ?
(Winebrenner, 2001, p. 10-11):
• Has an advanced vocabulary and verbal ability for her/his age
• Has an outstanding memory. Possess lots of information and can
process it in sophisticated ways
• Operates on higher levels of thinking that her/his age peers. Is
comfortable with abstract and complex thinking tasks
• Sees patterns, relationships, and connections that others can’t
• Is very intense. May be extremely emotional and excitable. Gets
totally absorbed in activities and thoughts; may be reluctant to
move from one subject area to another; may insist on mastering
one thing before starting another
• Is sensitive to beauty and other people’s feelings, emotions and
expectations
5. What does gifted look like ?
(Winebrenner, 2001, p. 11):
• Gets frustrated with the pace of the class and what she/he
perceives as inactivity or lack of noticeable progress
• Monopolises class discussions
• Rebels against routine and predictability
• Becomes the “class clown”
• Asks embarrassing questions; demands good reasons for why
things are done in a certain way
• Becomes bossy with her/his peers and teachers
• Becomes impatient when she’s/he’s not called on to recite or
respond; blurts out answers without raising their hand
6. How do you confirm giftedness for one
of your students?
• Refer the student to the school psychologist for
testing
• Typical tests administered:
– Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – 4th Ed.
(WISC-IV)
– Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – 2nd Ed.
(WIAT-II)
– Test of Visual Perception Skills (non-motor)
7. How do you confirm giftedness for one
of your students?
• The following constructs are tested:
– Verbal Comprehension (tests of verbal reasoning
and acquired verbal knowledge)
– Perceptual reasoning (tests of nonverbal
reasoning, spatial processing and motor skills)
– Working memory
– Processing speed
8. Once you’ve found one, why should
you teach them differently?
• “Providing for the gifted and talented pupils in
our schools is a question of equity. As with all
other pupils, they have a right to an education
that is suited to their particular needs and
abilities.” (Balchin, Hymer & Matthews, 2009)
• “Wasting the potential of a gifted mind is
reckless for a society in desperate need of
creativity and inventiveness”. (Steineger, 1997)
9. How should you teach them
differently?
Three examples of differentiating the curriculum
• Curriculum compacting. This provides
students with the opportunity to demonstrate
what they already know about a subject.
Teachers can then eliminate content that is
repetitive, replacing it with advanced learning
experiences (Vaughn, Bos & Schumm, 2000).
10. How should you teach them
differently?
• Enrichment. Giving students additional, more
sophisticated, and more thought-provoking
work, but keeping them with their same-age
peers in school (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013)
11. How should you teach them
differently?
Examples of “Author Extensions” enrichment
(Winebrenner, 2001, p. 102)
• Write something of your own in the same style as
the author
• Read other books of the same type by different
authors. Compare and contrast the styles of the
various authors
• Read interviews with the author. Write a short
biography of the author based on that
information.
12. How should you teach them
differently?
• Acceleration. Moving the students quickly
though grades or through particular subjects
(Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013)
13. How you should not teach them…
From Atkins and Taylor (2009), p. 4.
16. References
• Ashman, A. & Elkins, J. (2008). Education for Inclusion and
Diversity. (3rd ed.). New South Wales: Pearson.
• DETWA. (2007). Department of Education and Training
Western Australia: Middle childhood: Mathematics/Number
scope and sequence. Retrieved from
http://det.wa.edu.au/redirect/?oid=com.arsdigita.cms.conte
nttypes.FileStorageItem-id-10886532&stream_asset=true
• Atkins, W. J., & Taylor, P. J. (2009). Australian Mathematics
Competition: Primary 2004-2008, Book 1. Canberra, ACT: AMT
Publishing.
• Woolfolk, A., & Margetts, K. (2013). Educational Psychology.
(3rd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson.
17. References
• Winebrenner, S. (2001). Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular
Classroom. Minneapolis, USA: Free Spirit Publishing.
• Balchin, T., Hymer, B., & Matthews, D.J. (Eds). (2009). The
Routledge International Companion to Gifted Education.
Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge Publishing.
• Steineger, M. (1997). Clarion call to action. Northwest
Education (Fall 1997). Portland, OR, USA: Northwest Regional
Education Laboratory
• Vaughn, S., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S. (2000). Teaching
exceptional, diverse, and at-risk students in the general
education classroom (2nd ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn
and Bacon.
