LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS OF GIFTED STUDENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR INSTRUCTION AND GUIDANCE
CAROLYN YEWCHUK
University of Alberta

Contrary to what most people believe, a gifted mind is not necessarily able to find its own way. Although gifted students possess exceptional capabilities, most cannot excel without assistance. They need assistance academically, but they also need assistance emotionally through understanding, acceptance, support and encouragement (Webb, Meckstroth & Tolan, 1982, p.10).

In the present century, there have been three ways of conceptualizing giftedness (Yewchuk, 1984), but only in the contemporary view is there recognition that gifted and talented students require counselling services like all other students. In the earliest view, gifted children were regarded as weird geniuses engaged in exotic scientific experiments and academic endeavours, emotionally unbalanced and out of touch with society. Like Mozart, they were believed to be freaks of nature, and often put on exhibit to demonstrate their exceptional abilities. It was believed that geniuses died young (early ripe, early rot), and that nothing could be done for these unfortunate freaks of nature (biology as destiny).

This early view was replaced by the evidence from the longitudinal studies of 1,528 students with IQs of 140+ on the Stanford Binet Test of Intelligence initiated by Terman (1925) in California. Terman found that high intelligence was associated not with emotional imbalance, but with normal social adjustment and emotional development. In the myth of the super kid, good at everything, with no emotional and social problems, that developed out of the Terman studies, there was also no need for counselling services for gifted students.

In the contemporary view, which gained broad acceptance with the multi-talent definition of Marland (1972), and has been reinforced by a theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983) giftedness is seen as multi­faceted, and the typical gifted child as having an uneven profile of exceptional abilities. From this perspective, gifted students are seen as a heterogeneous group, who may differ in many characteristics, including social and emotional development. It cannot be assumed that, if left to their own resources, they will make it on their own. On the contrary, the very characteristics which are associated with their exceptional abilities also make them more vulnerable to criticism from teachers and rejection by peers. Gifted students are as likely to require counselling services as any other children in the schools.

DEFINITION OF GIFTEDNESS

Giftedness has been defined in many ways, with many suggestions for appropriate programming to meet the educational needs of gifted and talented children based on these definitions (see especially Maker, 1983; Renzulli, 1986; and Sternberg & Davidson, 1986). Alberta Education (in press, p.15) offers the following definition:

Giftedness is a broad, evolving concept which addresses exceptional ability and/or performance in a wide range of human endeavours including: intellectual and creative domains; talent in kinaesthetic areas, music and visual arts; and socio-emotional dimensions such as intrapersonal and interpersonal strengths. Some students have a potential to achieve that is not always demonstrated in their school work or through the school's identification, assessment and evaluation procedures. To reach their maximum potential, gifted students need to be recognized and nurtured.

Inherent in this and other contemporary definitions is the recognition that gifted and talented students require special educational nurturing in order to develop their full potential in the schools beyond what is typically available in the regular classroom because they learn and think differently from other students (Yewchuk, 1995). They require programme modifications in content, process, product and learning environment to accommodate their advanced abilities to learn (Maker, 1982; 1983).

LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS OF GIFTED STUDENTS

Research into thinking processes indicates that gifted students are superior to their average peers in the following ways (Rogers, 1986, pp. 29-31; Shore, 1991):

• recognizing the problem to be solved,
• readily and spontaneously generating a series of steps to solution,
• setting priorities for the direction to take in solving a problem (working with a plan),
• selecting representation of information more like an expert would,
• deciding which resources to allocate to a problem-solving task,
• monitoring solutions systematically, rather than guessing,
• executing the processes of analogical thinking,
• executing problems dealing with memory and attention,
• organizing and using prior knowledge, and
• using regulatory (metacognitive) processes.

Additional learning characteristics typical of gifted children are provided by Clark (1997), Davis and Rimm (1994), Martinson (1974), Renzulli, Smith, White, Callahan and Hartman (1976), and Whitmore (1980). These characteristics can be subsumed under the following headings: verbal proficiency, reasoning skills, knowledge base, learning efficiency, intense curiosity, originality, and power of concentration (Yewchuk,1995). Educational needs requiring instructional adaptation by teachers in the classroom, and possible problem areas requiring the attention of teachers and counsellors are associated with each learning characteristic.

Verbal proficiency:

• Has advanced vocabulary for age or grade; uses words easily and accurately; language characterized by fluency and elaboration; reads independently a great deal; enjoys difficult reading material.
• The educational needs of verbally proficient students include sharing ideas verbally in depth, using and exploring increasingly difficult vocabulary and concepts, working with advanced reading materials and working with intellectual peers.
• Possible problems include difficulty restraining desire to talk and developing listening skills and habits, dominating classroom discussion, using verbalism to avoid difficult thinking tasks, and being perceived as a "show off” by classroom peers.

Reasoning skills:

• Ability to abstract, conceptualize and synthesize; can see similarities, patterns and differences; can generalize from one situation to another; finds pleasure in intellectual activity.
• In the classroom the gifted student needs exposure to a variety of materials and concepts, opportunities to pursue multi-disciplinary topics and themes ("big ideas") in depth, and access to a challenging and varied curriculum at many levels.
• Possible problems include boredom with classroom instruction, unresponsiveness to traditional teaching methods, being judged as "lazy" and "unmotivated" by the teacher, and considered too serious by peers.

Knowledge base:

• Knows a great deal about a variety of topics; has quicker mastery and recall of factual information than other children of the same age; interested in "adult" topics such as religion, race relations, peace and disarmament, politics, the environment.
• Instructional classroom needs include early instruction of basic skills with minimum of repetition and drill, and exposure to new and challenging information about cultural, economic, environmental, political and educational issues.
• Possible problems include rebellion at having to work below one's level of competence, development of poor work habits because of lack of challenge, peer resentment of skills and achievement.

Learning efficiency:

• Can process a great deal of information quickly; has rapid insight into cause-effect relationships; is very observant.
• Quick learners need an accelerated pace of instruction.
• Possible problems include dislike for routine and drill, frustration with inactivity, lack of challenge and absence of progress, and impatience with "waiting for the group".

Intense curiosity:

• Questioning and inquisitive attitude; asks many unusual or provocative questions (not just informational or factual questions); interested in the "why" and "how" of things; concerned with what makes things right or wrong; has areas of "passionate" interest inside or outside of school.
• Educational needs include opportunities for active inquiry, and instruction in how to access information and conduct research.
• Possible problems include stifling of interests, lack of opportunity to pursue areas of interest, pressure towards conformity, perception by teacher as being "smart alecky".

Originality:

• Ability to generate original ideas and solutions; can reason out problems logically; finds new and unusual ways to approach and solve problems; can analyse complicated material into component parts; enjoys difficult problems and puzzles.
• Instructional needs include opportunities to solve problems in diverse ways, to build skills in problem solving and productive thinking, to explore alternative ways of conceptualizing problems (for example, metaphorically or visually), to attempt solutions to real-life problems; and to develop tolerance for ambiguity.
• Possible problems include tendency to have a critical attitude towards oneself and others, poor interpersonal relationships with children of the same age, rejection by peers as being "different" and nonconforming.

Power of concentration:

• Persistence in achievement of self-determined goals; has long attention span; when motivated works on tasks until completion; needs little encouragement from others when working on areas of interest (intrinsically motivated); sets high personal standards.
• Educational needs include opportunities for expression of personal preferences and choices, freedom to pursue "passion" areas beyond normally allotted time spans, and instruction in setting realistic expectations, setting and evaluating priorities.
• Possible problems include resistance to interruption and following a schedule, stubbornness, difficulty in accepting limitations of space, time or resources for activities, and pursuit of activities that are not "on task" from the perspective of the teacher.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CLASSROOM PLACEMENT

Although many characteristics typical of gifted learners may also be found among average learners, the question of whether the difference between them is one of degree or kind has not been established (Yewchuk, 1995). A difference of degree assumes a quantitative change along a unitary scale, in the same way that cold and heat are differentiated on a thermometer. If this is the case with giftedness, then educational accommodations which enrich classroom instruction and extend learning through accelerated instruction to higher levels are indicated. More time might be spent on higher levels of thinking, research skills might be taught earlier, material might be presented at a faster rate, and the ideas taught might be more complex (Maker, 1986). This view is consistent with the proposal that all children have similar instructional needs, with some variation, that can be accommodated in the inclusive classroom.

A difference in kind reflects a qualitative change. The cold of the polar regions and the heat of the tropics produce qualitatively different ecological systems and living conditions. Applied to giftedness, a difference in quality implies that the educational needs of average and gifted children are worlds apart and best met through differentiated programming. For the gifted, differentiation involves general adaptive altering of the curriculum to the collective characteristics of giftedness in accordance with basic principles of appropriate curriculum differentiation (Kaplan, 1986). These adaptations include modification of the content to be learned, the skills to be mastered and the products to be developed. (Kaplan, 1991). An appropriately differentiated programme for gifted students is not suitable for meeting the educational needs of students with average abilities. It is best delivered in educational settings separate from the regular classroom.

The distinction between quantitative and qualitative may not be as simple as it appears, for a quantitative difference may become qualitative under some conditions. A constant rise in temperature may increase the warmth of water until the boiling point is reached and a new substance, steam, is produced. Berliner (1986, p. 34) makes the case that "More leads to different," and that cumulative increases in knowledge and skills inevitably result in "catastrophic" change. Thus a child who learns mathematics more quickly than age peers could, over time, acquire knowledge in an advanced area such as algebra that reflects a qualitative difference in competence compared to peers.

It follows that children with the most advanced capabilities are the ones most different in kind from the average. Feldman and Goldsmith (1986) document the extraordinary achievements of child prodigies who are capable of "performance in an intellectually demanding field at the level of an adult professional before the age often" (p. 16). Hollingworth (1942) describes the extremely advanced reasoning capabilities of children with IQs above 180 on the Stanford-Binet who waste more that three-fourths of their time in the regular classroom. Certainly there can be no doubt that children with these advanced capabilities require educational provisions beyond the regular classroom.

IMPLICATIONS FOR INSTRUCTION

Like all other students with special needs, gifted children require instructional adaptation to encourage full nurturance of their potential. The adaptation stems from their educational needs as exceptional learners. To meet the advanced thinking abilities of gifted students, differentiated educational programmes should encourage the development of higher level cognitive processes. If these needs are not met in the classroom, performance suffers and the risk for emotional distress, maladjustment and isolation from peers increases.

All children have the following six basic rights in school (Parke, 1989, pp. 47-48). The essence of these rights is the necessity of focusing on the needs of all children as special learners within the classroom, and on developing special curricula and techniques of instruction to meet those needs.

All students have the right to learn at their own pace. Quick learners should be allowed to move through the curriculum at a faster pace than slower learners. All students have the right to receive instruction that is at their achievement and ability level, irrespective of grade level. Thus a third grader reading at fifth-grade level should be receiving fifth-grade instruction and materials. All students should be given the opportunity to develop independent thinking skills, e.g. problem-solving techniques, higher level inquiry skills. All students should be prepared to be lifelong learners. They should participate in classroom decision-making and assume responsibility for their own learning. All students should be allowed multiple means of expressing what they know and how they feel. This allows for differences in cognitive abilities and learning styles. All students should be encouraged to develop a respect for themselves and others, and to accept individual differences.

If these basic rights are acknowledged within the schools, then appropriately differentiated programmes for gifted students may be provided within inclusive classroom settings. A list of annotated references outlining educational provisions for gifted students in regular classrooms is appended.

IMPLICATIONS FOR GUIDANCE

Through interviews with gifted and talented children, Galbraith (1983, p. 17) arrived at eight "great gripes of gifted kids," the major problems they face in school as a result of their exceptional abilities. Here is what the students said:

• The stuff we do in school is too easy and it's boring.
• Parents, (teachers, friends) expect us to be perfect, to "do our best" all the time.
• Friends who really understand us are few and far between.
• Lots of our course-work is irrelevant.
• Peers often tease us about being smart.
• We feel overwhelmed by the number of things we can do in life.
• We feel too different, alienated.
• We worry a lot about world problems and feel helpless to do anything about them.

Some of these gripes arise from a curriculum that is out of sync with the intellectual abilities and cognitive skills of gifted children; others, from school practices that keep students locked in with chronological age peers rather than mental age peers, resulting in lack of challenge and meaningfulness. When you are worried about landmines, world hunger, the ozone layer, the pollution of the environment and other survival issues, it is hard to take Spot and Dick seriously.

Intellectually advanced children have difficulty in finding true peers because of the dysynchrony between chronological and mental abilities, and often have to endure teasing, taunting, and put-downs. High ability students see themselves as different, and many experience giftedness as a social handicap. A ten-year-old with the intellectual abilities of a sixteen-year-old may not be able to make friends with ten-year-olds nor sixteen-year-olds. Thus gifted children are often trapped in a position where they must either associate with peers who do not understand them or play alone. This preference for solitude, common among many gifted children, results in a deficit in social skills. As the students grows older, they become even less effective in dealing with their age-mates, and a cycle of social isolation and alienation begins.

Gifted children find themselves in a difficult position. Although they may have advanced intellectual abilities beyond their years, they still possess the body and emotions typical of their age. Many adults form expectations of gifted children based on mental age rather than chronological age, and become distressed when the expectations are not met. A five-year-old child is just that, with the experiences and feelings of a five-year-old child, irrespective of mental age. When this child acts like a five- year-old, parents and teachers may react with disappointment. Sensitivity to the implied criticism results in the child's becoming increasingly hesitant to express personal feelings/views for fear of being put down. Gifted children may develop a feeling that they are acceptable to the adults around them only if they are perfect.

The constant praise and excessive expectations from others create problems for the gifted adolescent faced with decisions regarding the future (Yewchuk & Jobagy, 1991 b). Making career choices can be overwhelming to the gifted individual who experiences multiple interests and abilities. Delisle (1985) points out that career guidance is the most over-looked element in the education of gifted youth. The belief that gifted kids can make it on their own is largely responsible for this lack of career counselling. However, it is increasingly important in our technological age that gifted adolescents be provided with information and counselling regarding career options. The multi-potentiality of gifted youth makes it easy to disappoint others, for no matter which career is chosen, there is always a "road not taken."

Combined with the frustration over career decisions is the heightened moral responsibility that many gifted youth possess (Yewchuk & Jobagy, 1991 b). The gifted child is often intellectually capable of understanding adult situations, but remains powerless to create effective change. A child who expresses concern over the plight of poor people may be met with an adult response of "You're too young to worry about such things." However, the gifted child does worry about humanitarian issues, and as such, should not be brushed aside. This impotence to create real-world change is a strong factor in the suicidal behaviours of gifted adolescents (Yewchuk & Jobagy, 1991a). The feeling that nothing can be done about such problems may lead the gifted youngster to remove all the problems at once, through a suicidal act. Feelings of hopelessness or helplessness often precede suicide attempts (Metha & Dunham, 1988).

If the "great gripes" of gifted students are not addressed, the net result is students who tune out, become behaviour problems, refuse to go to school, feel bad about themselves, skip classes, become depressed, play truant, withdraw, or act out. Anecdotal and first person accounts of damaging and frustrating classroom experiences are commonly reported by gifted students (see especially Delisle, 1987). In classes where minimal, if any, provisions are made for their learning needs, gifted students are at risk for behavioural and emotional conflict and underachievement (Whitmore, 1980), school dropout, juvenile delinquency, anorexia nervosa (Yewchuk & Jobagy, 1991b), depression and suicide (Yewchuk& Jobagy, 1991a). The counselling needs of gifted students are unique and varied, and many techniques and procedures have been developed specifically for these students. Annotated sources offering useful suggestions for school counsellors are appended.

CONCLUSION

"The gifted must be seen as average with gifts, not as superior with faults" (Manaster & Powell, 1983, p. 73). No better than their chronological peers, just different as learners, gifted children have academic, emotional and social needs that must be recognized and nurtured in school. Whether in regular or congregated classes, gifted children require a curriculum differentiated to accommodate their exceptional learning characteristics, and counselling services to help in understanding and coping with being different from average peers.

Some classroom teachers report that it is unrealistic to expect differentiated instruction for a gifted child within a heterogeneous classroom (Schaufele & McDonald, 1994). Even an experienced teacher with graduate training in gifted education reports neglecting the needs of gifted students: "With 28 students of varying levels and abilities and special needs, I often find the most neglected are the brightest. Even though I know what to do for these youngsters, I simply do not have the time to provide the differentiated instruction they need and deserve. Instead, my attention shifts, as it has in the past, to the students in my class with special learning problems who are already terribly behind in second grade" (Morgan, quoted in Renzulli & Reis, 1991, p. 33).

But the situation is hopeful in Alberta. Many teachers and counsellors are concerned about fostering the development of the highest potential of gifted students through the provision of a challenging and meaningful curriculum within regular classrooms or congregated programmes. Charter schools have been established in large urban centres for students seeking challenge outside the typical public school. Professional development services are available for schools seeking to provide comprehensive programming to meet the needs of their gifted students.

REFERENCES

Alberta Education. (In press). Teaching students who are gifted and talented. Edmonton: Special Education Branch.
Berliner, D. C. (1986). Catastrophes and interactions: Comments on "The mistaken metaphor." In C. J. Maker (Ed.), Critical issues in gifted education: Defensible programs for the gifted (pp. 31-38). Rockville, MD: Aspen.
Clark, B. (1997). Growing up gifted (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Davis, G. A., & Rimm, S. B. (1994). Education of the gifted and talented (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Delisle, J. R. (1985). Vocational problems. In J. Freeman (Ed.), The psychology of gifted children (pp. 367-378). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Delisle, J. R. (1987). Gifted kids speak out. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing.
Feldman, D. H., & Goldsmith, L. T. (1986). Nature’s gambit. New York: Basic Books.
Galbraith, J. (1983). The gifted kids survival guide. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit.
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.
Hollingworth, L. S. (1942). Children above 180 IQ. New York: Arno.
Kaplan, S. N. (1986). Qualitatively differentiated curricula. In C. J. Maker (Ed.), Critical issues in gifted education: Defensible programs for the gifted (pp. 121- 134). Rockville, MD: Aspen.
Kaplan, S. N. (1991). A transition curriculum. Exceptionality Education Canada, 1(1), 35-41.
Maker, C. J. (1982). Curriculum development for the gifted. Rockville, MD: Aspen.
Maker, C. J. (1983). Teaching models in education of the gifted. Rockville, MD: Aspen.
Maker, C. J. (1986). Qualitatively different: Is it a key concept in developing curricula? In C. J. Maker (Ed.), Critical issues in gifted education: Defensible programs for the gifted (pp. 117-120). Rockville, MD: Aspen.
Manaster, G., & Powell, P. (1983). A framework for understanding gifted adolescents' psychological maladjustment. Roeper Review, 6, 70 - 73.
Martinson, R. A. (1974). The identification of the gifted and talented. Ventura, CA: Office of the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools.
Marland, S. (1972). Education of the gifted and talented, Vol. 1: Report to the Congress of the United States by the U.S. Commissioner of Education. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Metha, A., & Dunham, H. (1988). Behavioural indicators. In D. Capuzzi & L. Golden (Eds.), Preventing adolescent suicide (pp. 49 - 86). Muncie, IN: Accelerated Development Inc.
Parke, B. (1989). Gifted students in regular classrooms. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Renzulli, J. S. (Ed.). (1986). Systems and models for developing programs for the gifted and talented. Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press.
Renzulli, J. S., & Reis, S. M. (1991). The reform movement and the quiet crisis in gifted education. Gifted Child Quarterly, 35(1),26-35.
Renzulli, J. S., Smith, L. H., White, A. J., Callahan, C. M., & Hartman, R. K. (1976). Scales for rating the behavioural characteristics of superior students. Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press.
Rogers, K. B. (1986).Do the gifted think and learn differently? A review of recent research and its implications. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 10(1), 17-39.
Schaufele, T., & McDonald, S. (1994). Inclusion and gifted education: A teacher perspective. AGATE, 8(1), 8-11.
Shore, B. M. (1991). How do gifted children think differently? AGATE, 5(2), 19-23.
Sternberg, R. 1., & Davidson, J. (Eds.) (1986). Conceptions of giftedness. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Terman, L. M. (1925). Genetic studies of genius Vol. 1: Mental and physical traits of a thousand gifted children. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Gifted, 16(2), 120 - 146.
Webb, J. T., Meckstroth, E. A., & Tolan, S. S. (1982). Guiding the gifted child: A practical source for parents and teachers. Columbus, OH: Ohio Psychology Publishing Company.
Whitmore, J. R. (1980). Giftedness, conflict and underachievement. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Yewchuk, C. (1984). Changing perspectives in gifted education. Education Canada, Winter, 10 - 13.
Yewchuk, C. (1995). Gifted education and school reform. In J. Lupart, A. McKeough, & C. Yewchuk (Eds.), Schools in transition: Rethinking regular and special education (pp. 164 - 193). Scarborough, ON: Nelson.
Yewchuk, C., & Jobagy, S. (1991a). Gifted adolescents: At risk for suicide. European Journal for High Ability, 2, 73 - 85.
Yewchuk, C., & Jobagy, S. (1991b). The neglected minority: The emotional needs of gifted children. Education Canada, Winter, 8 - 13.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Reprinted with the kind permission of the author and the Alberta Teachers' Association.