Gifted and Talented Students
Advanced students respond particularly well to projects that “afford multiple opportunities for student construction of knowledge through inquiry, discussion, and argument” (Watters, 2000). Technology Literacy projects provide almost unlimited opportunities for gifted and talented students to become more autonomous learners and begin to think like writers, historians, journalists, mathematicians, scientists, and engineers.
Projects alone, however, do not necessarily stretch the learning of gifted students. Gifted and talented students acquire many learning strategies independently, but they often need additional instruction. Gifted and talented students need complex, challenging tasks to accomplish, but they also need consistent coaching to ensure optimum academic and personal growth.
When coupled with instruction and support at an advanced level, Technology Literacy projects provide opportunities for gifted and talented students to master the processes and skills they need to be successful. Imagine a classroom where:
- A sixth grader uses e-mail and instant messaging to communicate with an expert biologist while analyzing radio telemetry data collected from an endangered species.
- A student may be bored and whose behavior has often disrupted class is focused and cooperative while writing a play about being a refugee, creating a brochure to advertise the play, and performing the play with other students at a parent night.
- An extremely creative student who often has trouble completing projects learns a process for gathering and organizing information while researching a narrative essay, then spontaneously transfers that skill to the completion of other academic work.
- A sixth grader in an urban neighborhood school assembles a portfolio of essays, publications, data analyses, and charts and wins admission into the seventh grade program of a prestigious high school.
Strategies for Gifted and Talented Students >
Teachers must adapt instruction in a heterogeneous classroom to help gifted learners achieve their full potential. Fortunately, many of the instructional strategies that are effective for students with special needs are also appropriate for gifted and talented students.
Techniques for Gifted and Talented Students >
When teachers establish rules and procedures that enable inquiry, discussion, and argument, technology provides powerful tools to empower gifted and talented learners to achieve their full potential.