Rethinking Gifted and Talented Programs

In this week's lecture, we touched on the idea of Gifted and Talented programs, what it means to be a gifted student, and the way in which teachers need to differentiate their instruction for these students. Gifted students are typically those with very high verbal skills, which are demonstrated through standardized tests and school achievements. However, the definition has broadened to include unusual skill or talent in a range of activities, such as music or art, for example. Gifted students often learn more independently than other students their age and have exceptional vocabulary and writing skills. They are also usually very motivated even on difficult tasks and tend to hold themselves to higher than usual standards of achievement.

There are some positives to a program like this. For example, a gifted program provides students with academic work that is challenging to them which helps prevent boredom and keeps students engaged. They are also able to form friendships with peers of similar intellectual abilities, which can provide meaningful social and emotional support.

However, this topic reminded me of when I was in grade school. I was never tested for the gifted program. That being said, from grades 2 to 5, I was in a split class with six other students from my grade and we were put in a class with the grade above us. There was also a straight Grade 2 class that comprised the rest of the Grade 2 students. It was never explained to us why we were the chosen students to be in the split grade, but looking back now, I believe that we may have stood out as the more academically inclined students who would be able to take on the challenge of learning content that was above our true grade level. This experience for me was not a positive one overall. I remember feeling upset that I was separated from the rest of my friends. Moreover, as there were only six of us in Grade 2, we essentially skipped getting taught the Grade 2 curriculum and were taught Grade 3 content instead. This experience continued until the six of us were reunited with the rest of our grade in a straight Grade 6 class. I consider my experience to be an example of accelerated learning, as opposed to enrichment learning, where I would have been given additional instruction while still following the regular grade-appropriate curriculum. 

Although my experience was not exactly the same as being in a gifted program, it made me consider the realities of being a young child who gets labelled as gifted. I think gifted students often face the pressure of trying to maintain the persona associated with being “smart”, which often leads to them setting unhealthy standards for themselves and in turn, becoming susceptible to perfectionistic tendencies. This can lead to a lot of anxiety and burnout. Furthermore, students with this title are often afraid of failing as they grow up being praised for their success, and often tie their self-worth to their ability to be successful on any given task. This creates a very risk-averse mentality. Personally, I think it also sets a false expectation that because a student is gifted, it means that they will automatically be successful in life, which is not always the case.

Gifted and Talented programs are likely not going anywhere anytime soon. However, I think that for students who do seem to be inclined in one or more subject areas, there are ways to help mitigate the negative side effects of being labelled as gifted. For example, it is important to praise a student’s effort rather than their intelligence or success to avoid the student tying their self-worth to achievement. Moreover, teachers could design “low-floor, high-ceiling tasks”. This means that all students have the opportunity to start and finish an assignment easily, but the complexity of the task can increase based on a student’s knowledge or experience with the subject. This allows students to do the same work, but the work can meet students at their respective levels of ability. It is imperative to also stress to students the importance of attributes other than intelligence, such as being kind, empathetic, and curious. Perhaps most importantly, teaching an academically inclined student that failure is okay and is actually a crucial part of the learning process will ensure that the student remains open to taking risks. 

It is true that intelligence can be a huge strength, but as future educators, we need to keep in mind that our students are still cognitively developing, and that framing intelligence as the “end-all-be-all” for success can have negative consequences. 

BrooklynW@OTU