Just because kids are scoring high on school standardized tests and student homework, it doesn't mean they are learning. Gifted learners require teachers who understand their special needs, engage and push them to explore their limits.
Kids' grades are only one indicator of giftedness. Gifted students learn differently from their classmates in at least five important ways:
- They learn new material in much less time.
- They tend to remember what they have learned.
- They understand ideas and concepts at more abstract and complex levels.
- They become passionately interested in a topic and find it hard to move on to other tasks until they are satisfied they have learned as much as possible about their latest interest.
- They are able to concentrate on many activities at once, keeping track of what a teacher is saying while they appear not to be paying attention.
Susan Winebrenner is the author of "Gifted Students Need an Education, Too" Educational Leadership, September 2000.