The Do’s and Don’ts for Teachers of Gifted Students
What every parent and teacher of gifted children should know.
This advice is relevant for teachers at any grade level. And, if you’re the parent of a gifted child, feel free to share this with your child’s teacher(s). That said, here’s some of my advice after years of studying giftedness and what gifted school children need in order to thrive.
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First, do familiarize yourselves with gifted behaviors and characteristics.
Then, don’t hesitate to ask other teachers and your principal for their ideas and advice. In the earliest grade levels, most parents of gifted children are just starting their own journeys to understand what giftedness is and what their really smart child needs and likes, so although you should listen to them, try to development a collaboration of some sort.
Do Provide Intellectual Challenge
…during each day in school from the beginning of your time with the student. Gifted children learn to underachieve in the early grades. Accomplishing what their classmates accomplish is done with no effort, no practice, and great speed. Test anxiety, perfectionism, and fear of failure may all be associated with this early conditioning and lack of challenge in school. A child who has had no opportunity to practice, to develop organizational and study skills — because nothing asked of her requires any thought or effort — is the child who is likely to crumble in confusion and self-disappointment when she runs into a challenge for which she had no opportunity to prepare!
Do give the child many opportunities to read books, even textbooks, beyond grade level.
Find materials that cover the same topic you are covering with the entire class but that are at a higher difficulty level and see if the child can read, understand, and discuss from that material. Announce what you are doing via notes home and also invite parents to find and share materials. Try to arrange this opportunity as often as possible in the school setting.
Do give the brightest few students in your class time
… to read alone, or build something, or listen or watch something from the huge range of possible videos available while you work with the majority of the class and ask those few students to summarize what they read with writing or recording at home later for homework. It will make it even better for you and them, if you allow the brightest students to work together on some of these assignments and activities.
If you are feeling very energetic, read the material yourself and develop summary, synthesis, and interpretation questions for these students to guide their responses to the material. Don’t try to do it all by yourself, either. Find other teachers who have students who are ready for higher level materials and instruction so that you can share the planning and teaching. Invite parents or community volunteers to help you with this task.
Do use alternate materials from the regular curriculum, like library books, for example, whenever possible.
And there are some fantastic work sheets available that are brain teasers, problem solvers, etc., so look for those as good ways to keep bright and gifted students engaged while the rest of the class is going through typical grade-level material.
Don’t ask your gifted student to do all tasks and assignments that fit the whole class.
Is there really any learning to be gained from every worksheet or end of chapter assignment that is available? If a 1st grader is reading chapter books from the 3rd grade level or beyond, why would you have that same child go through a 1st grade reader or workbook with children for whom the grade level material is more appropriately paced? Don’t stop the student’s forward progress by worrying about them running out of things to learn.
Do look at the information about all your students’ ability profiles.
All children take ability and achievement tests multiple times in school during their school years. Talk to whomever you need to so you can see the results and get any of your questions about what they mean answered. This will help you know if there are any quiet or hiding gifted children in your class. You may discover the trouble-maker or class clown is just trying to keep himself amused! Work with those students to discover what is going to work. Not every child is the same and whatever you have available to keep the child meaningfully engaged, provide it. Keep in mind: these children are going to make all the expected standards even if you don’t drill them on it.
Don’t expect that gifted children’s talents are even.
If you have an incredibly math-able or reading-able child in your class, performance at the same level in both subjects may be expecting too much. There are highly gifted children who are evenly talented, but be alert to those who are unevenly talented and don’t assume they are being difficult with you by not performing equally high in all areas.
Don’t focus the challenge on either the child’s strengths or weaknesses.
Allow the child to really pursue her highest interests and abilities. Help the child recognize which skills and knowledge will still be important for a normally functioning adult citizen. A child who is ready to do math several years beyond grade level may not be reading at that same level. Help the child see why being a good reader and writer will still be important. In other words, recognize the necessary “hoops”. But, don’t expect you can make an area for which the child has less talent “catch up” with the strength area. Sometimes leaving the child less time and energy to continue in the strength area — by concentrating only on weaknesses — does lessen the gap, but this certainly is not progress!
Do give compliments to the gifted child for his abilities and efforts.
Gifted children need recognition for their abilities from people whose opinion matters most to them just as much as anyone else. Try to be particularly aware of when a child really has put a great deal of thought or effort into something and needs encouragement. If the child has talent in an area (art, music, games, anything) acknowledge it. Look for ways to help the child know himself. Point out when the child’s effort has resulted in improvement.
Don’t expect effort when no effort is required.
In order to successfully teach gifted children, the teacher must provide frequent opportunities to learn material appropriate to the child’s ability level. If you can already tie your shoes, for example, how do you show more effort at shoe tying and do it better? Complimenting children for the completion of activities that require little effort and no real learning only teaches conformity and people-pleasing skills. It does not advance the child’s knowledge or academic skills. Children intuitively know this and do not value compliments or good grades “awarded” for pointless work.
Don’t hold the gifted child up as an example
… for other children to emulate, compete with, or follow. Remember that most classes are deliberately set up to have students with a wide variety of talents and abilities. When less able children are already trying their best, it is hurtful to imply that they could compete with the highly gifted child if they only tried harder! Each person is unique and abilities affect interests and goals as much — and often more — than effort. Comparisons might make the gifted child tone down her abilities so as not to feel freakish or disliked. Comparisons can put all the children in an untenable, unfair position.
Do demonstrate how to prioritize, schedule, and let go.
Many gifted individuals discover early that they have many interests and can get more done than most other people. Sometimes they get over-involved and can’t decide how to lower their stress and their commitments. Many gifted children are perfectionists. They obsess over the correctness of an assignment or they can’t even get started because they are not sure they understand fully what the teacher wants. Often the gifted child thinks the assignment requires more than it does or that the teacher ever intended. Listen carefully to see if this is your student’s issue. Sometimes you have to help the student do less!
Gifted people need down time and processing time, so they must learn how to pick and choose carefully in order to allow the time necessary for emotional growth and self-discovery. Help them learn to recognize the difference between their own goals and someone else’s. Teachers can be especially helpful in this task when they allow the gifted student to omit or greatly shorten exercises and homework that constitute unnecessary review of already known or learned skills. The saved time frees the energy of the child for more meaningful reading and activities. Help them learn that some assignments are necessary “hoops.” For example, breaking down a major writing or research project into smaller parts keeps it from being overwhelming later. This is assuming the teacher already knows that the overall project is appropriate for the ability and readiness level of the student.
Do give the gifted child the information
… that you are aware of her relative ability level. If you don’t know how to do this or don’t feel comfortable, get professional help to prepare yourself. This is not the same as saying, “I know you’re smart so I expect more of you.” Instead, “I know you are very capable and I am trying to give you materials and instruction that challenge your thinking and fit your abilities. I also am aware that sometimes you feel this makes you stand out and look too different. Let’s be sure to work together on this so we can help you learn and feel as though you fit in.” Children who are within a normal, average range can certainly handle that they “fit in” and are normal. Children who differ from the norm — and who therefore experience many things in life differently for that reason — need help in understanding why. I believe the specifics can be shared by the time the child’s mental age is about 12. Take the time to learn about levels of giftedness and the differing abilities and needs of children within the brightest segments of your classes. See 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options (Ruf, 2009).
Don’t worry that helping your gifted student know himself (or herself) better
… will lead to a “big head,” a know-it-all attitude, or undo vanity. True giftedness that is understood by the possessor leads to a more open understanding and acceptance of others (if it has been explained well). The more intellectually gifted a person, the more likely the person will know how much he doesn’t know yet. Don’t worry that the child will feel superior to you; children need to look up to adults and you are better equipped than you may realize.
www.fivelevelsofgifted.com
My Books on Giftedness
The Five Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up: What They Tell Us (2023). https://www.amazon.com/Levels-Gifted-Children-Grown-Up/dp/B0C9SHFRLH or https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-5-levels-of-gifted-children-grown-up-phd-deborah-l-ruf/1143719859?ean=9798988323709. This is an 18 year longitudinal study follow-up about the original gifted child subjects in 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options (2005, 2009).
Keys to Successfully Parenting the Gifted Child (2023). Keys to Successfully Parenting Gifted Children (2022, 2023)
5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options in 2009. Here are links to the 5 Levels of Gifted book on Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/5-levels-of-gifted-deborah-ruf/1126358834 and Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Levels-Gifted-School-Educational-Options/dp/0910707987 or directly from the publisher: https://www.giftedunlimitedllc.com/store/p12/5_Levels_of_Gifted.html
As a TAG Coordinator of 10 years, I love and agree with all you say. Some schools do have a pull out program, and this is unfortunate. Most gifted students do ot like to be pulled out, nor do their teachers like it. I love that you wrote about working with the primary teacher, because that would solve a lot of problems. I do believe putting gifted students in classes with like gifted abilities would be perferred, but in many schools, that would not work. I have just heard this week that one school dropped their TAG program because students were getting a big head. They believed that classroom teachers differentiated very well, and are trying to just work with gifted students that way. I am a bit leary of that, because I think the gifted stdents can be lost due to the more overwhelming needs ot the other students in the classroom. Too often gifted students are used to tutor the others instead of being challenged themselves. I worked in one school that wanted me to work with the students in the subjects they were pulled out of, but the students were still expected to do the regular classroom work plus more. Also, the TAG teacher may not be able to help them in that area as well as say, the music teacher, because they don't have that training. I had a lot of programs that involved contests, and even though some teachers would not send their students to the scheduled TAG time classes, the school and teachers still expected them to be ready for the, say, Mock Trial Contest. I had to go in before school, on days I was not scheduled to work as I was 1/2 time, week-end and holidays. I lived 45 miles away for the school, so I did ask for compensation for gas, not time. The administrators did not like this, but they also did not require the TAG students to come to class as the times scheduled for them. I did always work with teachers that asked for support for the TAG students, but too many just complained about students being pulled out of their core classes. Gifted students have a right to be taught as they need to be in their areas of giftedness, but too many teachers and administrators do not seem to understand this. I agree wholeheartedly that teachers, administrators, and the TAG Coordinator must work together. Unfortunately, teachers today have many expectations, and adding one more meeting working together for the gifted students in their school seems to be too much for them. They are already stretched for time to plan and teach their classes. If administrators do not take the time to understand TAG needs, and support the TAG students and Coordinators efforts to teach TAG students, the TAG students will be the ones that have needs that are not addressed. Your article was well researched and I totally agree with you. I am just sorry that one school where I worked did not support the gifted students needs, and because of the school that dropped the TAG program due to not wanting the gifted students to get a" big head" and the parents were complained and did not understand the needs of gifted students, I believe TAG programs may still have a batle on their hands due to too many educators and parents not understanding the reason that some students do need to be challenged so they don't develop bad habits and are given chances to live up to their potential.
Thank you for this article, Deborah. During July, August, and early September of this year, I had the privilege of interacting with a young man at my hospital (he was volunteering over the summer) who is going into his senior year at a gifted magnet high school: it is called Allied Health which is a special school that prepares its students for careers in the health care field (he is interested in becoming a neuroscientist). Not long after meeting him, I just knew that he was highly gifted. We would often encounter each other at lunch, and on one occasion, the topic of SATs came up: his performance was right around where your levels four and five tend to perform on the ACT or SAT. As is characteristic of the gifted, he has a wide array of interests, and I really found it stimulating and fulfilling to talk to him.
Also, during our conversations at lunch, he expressed an interest in mathematics and was looking forward to his AP calculus course. One day, out of curiosity, I asked him if he ever saw a proof of the quadratic formula in school, and he said that he had not. He remarked that teachers don't often go very deep into the details of why various concepts work: for the most part, they are given the material and taught how to apply it. Consequently, I wrote up a proof of it, along with clarifying notes and explanations of steps, and gave it to him on a later occasion. Upon giving it to him, he looked very excited, so I decided that the next time I saw him, I would bring one of my proof-related math books (it was an extra copy of mine) with me to the hospital and see if he would be interested in it. My motivation for doing this was to provide an additional means of enrichment for him.
The next time I saw him at lunch, I explained that he would likely encounter proofs of various theorems and math results in his calculus book, and that the book itself is not designed to teach students how to read and do proofs: if he wished to understand what was going on in the proofs, then he would need access to other resources. Thus, I showed him my book, which covered key proof techniques along with including some cool tricks for proofs from calculus and other undergraduate math subjects, and he readily accepted it. On a later occasion, I also gave him another book called "How to Read and Do Proofs" by Daniel Solow. He seemed to like the fact that Solow's book contained concise summary outlines of the key proof techniques on its inner front and rear covers.
That said, it is my hope that my attempt at providing him with enrichment was helpful to him. I believe in his potential and hope that he finds a good fit in this world and experiences a fulfilling life.