When we say that someone is gifted, what exactly does that mean? What is gifted education?
Gifted education is a service that helps gifted and talented children who need various services and teaching methods that the regular grade program cannot always provide. Since they are capable of higher achievements in various areas, “…have greater abstract reasoning, and develop at a faster rate than their age peers” (Silverman, para. 22), providing different services helps gifted and talented students to develop at their developmental level rather than their age level.
Joseph Renzulli helps to describe why gifted education is needed. He states that there are three factors that affect a gifted and talented child’s behavior development. The three factors are ability, creativity, and task commitment. He believes that, “Children who manifest or are capable of developing an interaction among the three clusters require a wide variety of educational opportunities and services that are not ordinarily provided through regular instructional programs” (Brown, Renzulli, Gubbins, Siegle, 2005, para. 10). It is important to provide gifted and talented children with an education that helps them learn new information and increases their knowledge, which is exactly what gifted education does.
References
- Brown, S. W., Renzulli, J. S., Gubbins, E. J., Siegle, D., & et al. (2005). Assumptions underlying the identification of gifted and talented students. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 49(1), 68-79. http://search.proquest.com.cuw.ezproxy.switchinc.org/docview/212096180?accountid=10249
- Davis, G. A., Rimm, S. B., & Siegle. D. (2011). Education of the gifted and talented (6th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
- Definitions of giftedness. (n.d.). http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/definitions-giftedness?id=574
- Silverman, L. (n.d.). What we have learned about gifted children. http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/articles/what-we-have-learned-about-gifted-children