21st Century Learning and Teaching

One of the personal qualities that seems to be shared by most gifted children is being different and divergent – in terms of thinking, interests, values and behavior.

Many gifted adults feel “wrong” or anxious about “not fitting in” even though being different can be a strength, a positive attribute.

In her article “Counseling Gifted Adults – A Case Study”, counselor Paula Prober writes about Susan, who “had known that she was different since she was seven. Her thoughts and feelings had never fit into the box that was comfortable and reassuring for most children.

“Her appetite for learning was insatiable. Reading was more nourishing than food. Thinking, analyzing, and synthesizing were better than Barbie.

“And she worried about everything: poverty, world peace, and the loss of the rain forests. It kept her awake at night. The adults around her said that she was too young to be concerned with such things. That didn’t help. To her classmates, she just seemed weird–certainly not birthday party material.

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http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?&tag=Gifted+kids

There are five ways in which gifted students tend to learn differently from their peers:

1. They learn new material much more quickly.
2. They have a better ability to remember what they have learned, which reduces or eliminates the need for review.
3. They have ability for abstract or complex thinking that their peers do not have.
4. They become focused on specific topics and are very passionate about them to the exclusion of other topics and subjects.
5. They can take in many stimuli at once, knowing what is going on around them while concentrating on a specific task.

Using these characteristics as a guideline, approximately 6%, or 3 million, students in the United States may be classified as gifted. Although there is little argument that gifted and talented students must be provided with challenges that meet their academic needs, no federal regulations specifically mandate special services for G and T learners.

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Ich finde den Umgang mit Hochbegabung in unserer Gesellschaft verkrampft. Es wird viel über Inklusion gesprochen, und das ist gut so. Aber zur Inklusion gehören auch jene am oberen Ende des Leistungsspektrums. Immerhin zwei Prozent der Menschen haben einen IQ von 130 und mehr und gelten damit als hochbegabt.

Trotzdem gibt es gerade in Deutschland einen verschämten Umgang mit Begabung. In den USA drucken sich viele ihre Mitgliedschaft bei Mensa auf die Visitenkarte, in Deutschland hingegen gilt man als Streber, wenn man zu gut in der Schule ist oder sehr wissbegierig. Viele Hochbegabte wollen daher lieber nicht auffallen.

Meinen Sohn habe ich nach dem Gespräch mit der Lehrerin auf eine andere Schule geschickt, dort wurde er besser gefördert. Er hat sein Abitur als Jahrgangsbester bestanden und studiert heute Medizin. Jetzt wollen Sie bestimmt wissen, wer von uns den höheren IQ hat, mein Sohn oder ich. Aber es gibt bei uns Mensanern einen Kodex: Über den IQ spricht man nicht.

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http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?&tag=Gifted+kids

http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?&tag=Gifted+adults+are+different+from+an+early+age

It’s easy to assume that for extremely bright young pupils, life in the classroom is a snap. But when conventional school curricula fail to stimulate their hungry young brains, leaving them bored and stymied, these kids may get lost in the system. Some end up with C averages and slip into truancy, and many may never blossom to their full potential. It’s a big loss for lots of reasons, including the fact that these precocious kids represent a unique pool of talent for generating new ideas and innovations. And because of inadequate policies, we may be losing opportunities to nurture the Henry Fords and Marie Curies of the future.

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http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=Gifted+kids