GIFTED & TALENTED STUDENTS

Gifted And Talented Students



Gifted And Talented Students

Introduction

The National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth (NAGTY) was based at the University of Warwick in Britain and was founded in 2002 by a government (DfES) initiative for high achieving secondary students in England. It closed in August 2007 after Warwick University decided not to apply for the new contract. The Academy provided extracurricular activities for students between 11 and 19 years of age. It accepted students from all schools, whether state, CTCs, grammar or private, in the country and accepted all students deemed to be in the top 5%

The Academy itself was split into four distinct components, each of which had different aims and fields of work. The "Student Academy" was intended to provide provision directly for students; the "Professional Academy" aimed to improve the provision for Gifted and Talented youngsters in schools and colleges; the "Expertise centre" intended to provide organizations with support when working with G&T students and the "Research centre" conducted research into gifted children and the most effective methods of teaching them. Definitions of gifted and talented students are numerous. Many are similar to that in the 1978 House of Representatives resolution on education, which defines gifted students as "children, and, when applicable, youth, who are identified at the preschool, elementary, or secondary level as possessing demonstrated or potential abilities that give evidence of high performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, specific academic or leadership ability, or in the performing and visual arts." (DfES, 2002)

Discussion

The use of only grade point averages and IQ scores to classify students as gifted/talented has led to growing concern about procedures for identifying gifted students. Howard Gardner, noted Harvard neuropsychologist, has suggested that although the IQ test measures the linguistic and logical/mathematical intelligences, it does not account for at least five more: (1) the kinesthetic, (2) the musical, (3) the spatial, (4) the interpersonal, and (5) the intrapersonal (DfES 2002). Clearly, methods other than IQ tests and grade point averages must be used for identifying gifted/talented students for English and language arts programs (Collins and Aiex, 1995). Warnock and Holt (1985) and Delisle and Berger (1990) further note that gifted/talented students include not only students who do well in school but others who may not do well and who may not display easily observable talent.( DfES 2002)

William W. West expresses a similar point of view. In Teaching the Gifted and Talented in the English Classroom (1980), West not only identifies obvious characteristics of the verbally gifted, such as reading avidly, writing frequently and fluently, and participating in oral communication activities, but also stresses the importance of observing students who exhibit signs of disruptive behavior, pointing out that these students may simply be bored or unchallenged.( Eyre, 2004)

The education of gifted and talented pupils is an established domain of study but research in the area has increased dramatically, particularly in the past fifteen years. The reason for this burgeoning interest relates principally not to conventional educational concerns ...