Talented and Gifted Education






 * “When you spoke of a nature gifted or not gifted in any respect, did you mean to say that one man may acquire a thing easily, another with difficulty; a little learning will lead the one to discover a great deal; whereas the other, after much study and application no sooner learns then he forgets … (Plato; Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the western world; 428/427 BC– 348/347 BC.)


 * Meta-analytic reviews have consistently concluded that education acceleration helps students academically without shortchanging them socially and emotionally. (James A. Kulik, University of Michigan.)

Introduction
Some people use the terms talented and gifted interchangeably. In more precise communication, gifted refers to natural abilites while talent refers to development of these natural abilities.

Through a combination of nature and nurture, some people are quicker and better learners than others. Plato's insights (quoted above) from about 2,400 years ago provide evidence that this has been an educational concern for a very long time.

Talented and Gifted education (TAG) is a worldwide educational concern. There are widely varying definitions as to what constitutes a TAG student, and there are widely varying educational approaches to providing special services to TAG students.

The US Federal Government allocates very very little money to TAG education. However, there is a National Association for Gifted Children. The following is quoted from the Website of this 8,000 member non-profit organization:


 * An estimated 3,000,000 gifted children sit in classrooms across the U.S. today. Because learning styles and levels vary widely, the needs of "smart kids" are far too often overlooked in the logical quest to meet minimum standards. But that begs the question:  What is a maximum standard and how can we shift the focus in the U.S.?


 * For over 50 years, NAGC has worked to increase public awareness about these key questions and to affect positive change.


 * The 8,000+ members of NAGC work on behalf of these 3,000,000 students who represent a good portion of the oft-heralded "pipeline of talent." Luis J. Rodriguez, an award-winning author and Chicano activist once said "It is not enough to prepare our children for the world; we also must prepare the world for our children." We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to help prepare the world of education for gifted students.


 * Thus, NAGC invests all of its resources to train teachers, encourage parents and educate administrators and policymakers on how to develop and support gifted children and what's at stake if high-potential learners are not challenged and encouraged

For all practical purposes, TAG education is defined by and implemented at state and more local levels. There is widespread interest and involvement in TAG education at such levels. A 6/6/09 Google search of Talented and Gifted OR TAG produced more than 8.5 million hits. The first item on the list was from the Oregon Department of Education. This page begins with:


 * Talented and Gifted (TAG) Education serves the purpose of providing instruction that challenges high-end learners and meets each student's learning needs. Resources and support materials for districts, schools, teachers, parents, and students are included.

It then continues with links to eight major topic areas:


 * Laws & Rules
 * Parents & Students
 * TAG Newsletter
 * TAG Contacts by Region
 * District TAG Administrators
 * Teachers
 * Resources & Links
 * Frequently Asked Questions

The quoted material given above indicates that the State of Oregon is interested in and involved in TAG education. It has legislation requiring school districts to deal with this educational issue. However, it budgets very very little (sometime, zero) money to fund TAG education. Thus, the level and quality of TAG education in Oregon varies considerably from school district to school district, and from school to school.

Free Book Written by David Moursund
Moursund, David (2006). Computers in education for talented and gifted students: A book for elementary and middle school teachers. Eugene, OR: Information Age Education. Access at http://i-a-e.org/downloads/doc_download/13-computers-in-education-for-talented-and-gifted-students.html.

This 118 page book explores various roles of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in talented and gifted (TAG) education. The three goals of this book are:


 * To help improve the educational opportunities and education of TAG students.
 * To increase the general knowledge of teachers about the field of computers in education.
 * To explore some possible changes designed to improve our educational system. Many of the ideas in this book are applicable to all students, not just TAG students.


 * Most of the content of this book has been written specifically for preservice or inservice “regular education” elementary and middle school teachers. Other possible readers include parents, TAG teachers, TAG students, school administrators, and so on. The book assumes some familiarity with education in general, but does not assume specific previous knowledge about TAG education.

Some General Information About TAG Education
In essence, each state o its "own thing" in terms of TAG education. Here is quote about what my state (Oregon) has done:


 * Challenging High-End Learners. The purpose of this statewide project is to provide Oregon educators with samples of differentiated curriculum across content areas, K-12, that challenge high-end learners while addressing the Oregon standards and benchmarks. The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) sponsored this project and worked closely with TAG educators across the state to develop the differentiated curriculum samples. Extensive resources and support materials, such as graphic organizers for use with a broad range of students, are included.


 * Oregon Department of Education contracted with Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska to assist in the development of the Challenging High-End Learners curriculum. Former Executive Director of the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary, Dr. VanTassel-Baska is a world-renowned expert in gifted education.

The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) provides detailed information on what each individual state is doing. There are very wide state-to-state differences. Quoting from the 2008-09 State of Nation report:


 * As high-ability learners sit bored in classrooms around the country, our

nation is failing to meet their learning, social, and emotional needs that are key to their success. In the 40 years since the lunar landing ignited so many young minds, our commitment to academic excellence has waned, leaving gaps in our ability to identify and appropriately challenge high-ability students from all backgrounds. The State of the States report confirms that the U.S. lacks a coordinated gifted and talented education policy and system. Instead, we have holes in a piecemeal collection of policies and resources that results in a loss, not only to the students, but also to the nation.


 * Our nation needs a comprehensive, national gifted education policy in

which federal, state, and local leaders work together to ensure that all gifted and talented students are identified and served by well-trained teachers using challenging curriculum to meet their advanced learning needs. Supporting teacher training and professional development, designing and sharing model identification and service programs, and eliminating policies that obstruct students from receiving appropriate instruction are core elements of a national strategy to support our most advanced learners. A greater investment

Math and TAG Education
This section focuses specifically on math TAG.

Quote from Book by Karen Rogers

 * Professor Julian Stanley and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins have suggested that mathematically precocious students are significantly more likely to retain science and mathematics content accurately when it has been presented two to three times faster than the "normal" pace of a traditional mixed-ability class (Julian Stanley, 1993).


 * Further, Stanley has found that gifted students are significantly more likely to forget or mislearn science and mathematics content when they are forced to review and drill it more than two to three times. In other words, the constant repetition of the regular classroom, so necessary for mastery among the general population, is actually detrimental to long term storage and retrieval of technical content of gifted students. (Karen Rogers, Reforming Gifted Education: Matching the Program to the Child. Great Potential Press, Inc. 2002.)

Question Raised by Sonya Richardson 6/5/09
Here is a question raised by Sonya Richardson in a 6/5/09 email message to the Oregon Council of Teachers of Mathematics distribution list:


 * Hi Folks,


 * I'd like to know why I keep running into parents/grandparents who are looking for tutoring for their TAG kids who have taken Algebra 1 at the 5th grade level and failed it or are failing it. I just talked with another one yesterday whose grandson is in the 7th grade TAG program and has failed Algebra 1 twice and is being made to take it again next year without any further preparation. The grandmother wants tutoring to prepare him to take it again.


 * Here are two questions:


 * Why does a TAG program assume that Algebra 1 is appropriate for 5th graders?
 * Why can't advanced 5th graders be introduced to a more extensive understanding of the number system through something like hands on explorations instead of pushing them into Algebra 1?

Response by David Moursund 6/6/09
Think about the options open to a parent or grandparent of a child who exhibits both giftedness and talent in math. The adult likely knows relatively little about TAG education and about math education. Likely the adult has read about enrichment and acceleration.

Now, add to this situation the likelihood that an elementary or middle school's TAG contact person or TAG coordinator has a relatively limited background in mathematics and in how to effectively deal with students who are especially talented and gifted in math.

A variety of results are possible. Here are a few:


 * The student may have a teacher who is strong in math and who can provide high quality math enrichment.
 * The school may be large enough (or, be a middle school or high school) so that an accelerated math class is available. This is somewhat similar to the "ability grouping" that is done by some individual elementary school teachers.
 * Advancement in the traditional school math curriculum may be selected as a solution.
 * The student may have a parent, grandparent, or other care given who is strong in math and who can provide a combination of enrichment and advancement. This approach can also be provided by the parent or grandparent providing the funds for individual tutoring.
 * The student may be given special opportunities through local, regional, and national programs. For example, Johns Hopkins University is well known for its math TAG programs for young students.

As indicate in Sonia Richardson's question, advancement into a traditional math course may prove to be a poor choice. The success of such a choice may depend on the math maturity and math interests of the student, the specific math teacher in the advanced math class, social issues, and so on. There is no guarantee of success!

Here is a suggestion going in a different direction. Computer programming and related topics such as computer animation, computer modeling, digital photography, and so on can provide a math-oriented or math-related environment in which a person can pose and solve problems, practice critical thinking, practice learning on their own, practice providing feedback to themselves, and so on. In my opinion, these are wonderful alternatives to the traditional enrichment/advancement options made available to many TAG students.

Response by Judy Ferrari 6/8/09
Sonya,

I am in complete agreement with you. Most every TAG student in our district who tries to take algebra as a 5th or 6th grader is not successful. In addition, they miss out on the concrete teaching of so many other content areas (geometry, probability, etc.). Better to enrich their young minds with problem solving and other math extensions of concepts appropriate to their age. Putting students on the "fast track" to algebra can also lead to other problems in the last two years of high school when students often won't have a math class to take.

Thanks for bring up this important subject.

Response by Kathkeen Barta 6/8/09
I had the good fortune to with K-6 TAG students for twenty years. We tried an accelerated math program for several years. While some of the students did well with that program, a significant number did not, possibly in part because we could not provide daily staffing. They did thrive with teachers who provided much lateral challenge as well as an at-grade level problem solving approach. It was the drill and kill stuff that indeed killed them, in particular.

One quick story: once I had a student, Michael, a possible prodigy who, at 4th grade, could consistently explain some calculus concepts to me (who had never taken calculus) in such clear and simple terms that I could understand. I contacted math professors at all of the local universities for ideas about what to do with him. One professor at Reed College was willing to work with me. He contacted colleagues around the country who had themselves been math prodigies as children, asking them for advice. He got back three types of answers:


 * Provide some acceleration with "lateral" challenges
 * Provide all kinds of math games and other "lateral" challenges, but don't accelerate
 * For heaven's sake, don't do anything: leave the kid alone!

What the professor decided to do was to use Harold Jacob's first edition of /Math a Human Endeavor/ with Michael as a fifth grader. A graduate student at Reed worked with Michael using that book and he found it engaging and challenging. It did come to light that Michael's father was tutoring him in math and the classics about three hours a night, and had been doing so for years, so that brought the possible prodigy issue into question. After that year, Michael and his father moved to another district.

Response by Joseph Dalin 6/14/09
Hi,

The major question is: what is a Talented and Gifted persons or students? What is his/her special capabilities? Memorizing or the capability of understanding? Are the Talented and Gifted students learn differently? Do they understand symbolic abstract language better, or significantly better, than ordinary students?

The basic education of mathematical understanding and creative thinking is gained through solving problems of cases which deal within the child's environment, experience and conceptual system.

Algebra is a symbolic abstract nonhuman language. In order to understand such a language there is a need to:

Have a "mathematical thinking maturity” and than - to translate the symbolic representations into graphic representation and learn through self experience, exploration and discovery (which is the way human beings learn).

It can be achieved by comprehensive integration of Visual-dynamic-quantitative computer software into the teaching and learning process of school mathematics.

Such an approach should be applied for all students, not only Talented and Gifted students.

I don’t believe that, in general, students of 5th grade have the “mathematical learning maturity” for learning algebra 1.

I don’t believe that most students of 7th grade are capable to leaning algebra 1 through its symbolic representation only. Anyhow, what’s the rush? Learning is a long journey….

I don’t believe that most students, even in higher grades, are capable to really understand Algebra by learning only through its symbolic representations. That’s the main reason of poor achievement, failure and frustration of school mathematics education which is based on teaching symbolic mathematics.

I am ready to share my experience.

NY Times Opinion Piece
The Editors (7/4/2010). The pitfalls in identifying a gifted child. Retrieved 7/6/2010 from http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/the-pitfalls-in-identifying-a-gifted-child/. Quoting from the article:


 * Thirty-seven states have some sort of mandate to address the needs of gifted and talented students in public schools. While many parents and teachers have mixed views about the tests used to identify talent and “giftedness,” the programs are strongly supported by many parents who cannot afford to send their children to private schools. They are hard to overhaul, for various reasons. …


 * The purpose of identifying young gifted students is to recognize two groups of children: those who because of their advanced development need much greater challenges than they are likely to receive in a traditional education setting and those who may with intervention become advanced.


 * To develop identification procedures that include both of these groups, the following issues must be considered: First, gifts and talents are often exhibited within a specific area of expertise or interest. For example, a young child may know the botanical names of all of the plants in her backyard because of her interest in gardening but may not do well on a traditional achievement test.

General References
Center for Talented Youth (n.d.). Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth. Retrieved 6/6/09: http://www.hobel.org/lwved/id76.htm.

This Center for Talented Youth (CTY) has long had a major national and worldwide emphasis on students with special talents in math. Quoting from the Website:


 * CTY Talent Searches identify, assess, and recognize students with exceptional mathematical and/or verbal reasoning abilities. Students may participate in Grades 2-6 or Grades 7-8. Participation in the CTY Talent Search comes with a wealth of benefits.

Gardner, Walt (8/6/2010). Identifying gifted students. Education Week. Retrieved 8/9/2010 from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/walt_gardners_reality_check/2010/08/identifying_gifted_students.html.

Hoagies' Gifted Education Page of TAG Quotations. Retrieved 6/7/09: http://www.hoagiesgifted.com/gifted_quotes.htm.

Moursund, David (2006). Computers in education for talented and gifted students: A book for elementary and middle school teachers. Eugene, OR: Information Age Education. Access at http://i-a-e.org/downloads/doc_download/13-computers-in-education-for-talented-and-gifted-students.html.

Turner, Dorie (11/21/2009). Report finds wide disparities in gifted education. Assiciated Press. Retrieved 12/6/09 from http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5icgZ8epCvdw8-yIHdwDTNuYlXm1gD9C41Q6O2. Quoting from the document:


 * Such disparities exist in every state, according to a new report by the National Association for Gifted Children that blames low federal funding and a focus on low-performing students.


 * The report, "State of the States in Gifted Education," hits at a basic element of the federal government's focus on education: Most of its money and effort goes into helping low-performing, poor and minority kids achieve basic proficiency. It largely ignores the idea of helping gifted kids reach their highest potential, leaving those tasks to states and local school districts.


 * "In the age of Sputnik, we put money into math and science, and we ended up on the moon," said Del Siegle, a University of Connecticut researcher who wrote the report. "We really need to consider that again. We cannot afford as a country to ignore talent."


 * The federal government spent just $7.5 million last year on research and grants for the estimated 3 million gifted children in the U.S. Both the Bush and Obama administrations have tried to eliminate that money entirely, but Congress put it back into the budget each year.


 * Gifted programs are typically paid for by local districts or states and vary dramatically. In some states, it's as stark as one county with multiple gifted programs — magnet schools, honors courses and separate classrooms for advanced learners — next to a county with nothing.


 * "The quality of gifted services is dependent on geography, and it shouldn't be," said Laura Carriere, president of the Maryland Coalition for Gifted and Talented Education and the mother of two gifted children.


 * Just six states pick up the whole tab for gifted programs, and 13 don't put a single dollar toward such curriculum, according to the study. That means poor urban and rural school systems are often have no money left for their highest achievers, according to the Nov. 12 report.


 * "There is a markedly insufficient national commitment to gifted and talented children, which, if left unchecked, will ultimately leave our nation ill-prepared to field the next generation of innovators and to compete in the global economy."

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Distance education and distance learning: a vision of the future of education. Joseph Renzulli, a world-class leader in TAG education.

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[http://i-a-e.org/newsletters/IAE-Newsletter-2008-01.html What is the Information Age? Two brains are better one. Becoming more responsible for your own education.]

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