Varying Types of Gifted Students

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Identifying gifted students can be quite difficult. Gifted students fall into several categories such as: Successful learners, Creative learners, Underground learners, At Risk Learners, Twice Exceptional learners and Autonomous learners. When trying to identify the characteristics of these profiles, they can often be described as for example: Successful learners, complacent, dependent, extrinsically motivated learners who work for the grade, and are eager for approval. Other types of learners such Creative learners are highly creative, and get bored and frustrated easily. They can be impatient and defensive, sensitive and vulnerable, highly energetic and strongly motivated when it comes to learning. For underground learners however, they view some achievement behaviors as a betrayal of their social group, and feel conflicted, guilty and insecure. Other profiles like at risk learners tend to be reckless and manipulative, defensive, unmotivated learners who have unrealistic expectations and are resistant to authority. When identifying the characteristics of twice-exceptional learners, educators can see that the student has an intense frustration and anger, as well as mood disorders. These types of students or learners are prone to discouragement and have a poor academic self-concept. The last profile, Autonomous learners, is self-confident and accepting, they are optimistic, motivated and ambitious. When viewing an autonomous learner, we see that they learn from their mistakes or failures and are respectful. When educators are faced with the task of identifying these profiles within their students, educators can employ a collection of techniques that suit the different profiles needs in order to identify the gifted students and sup... ... middle of paper ... ...ifted student is by having a discussion with the student, sort of an informal interview, where the educator can find out what the students interests are and in turn implement a strategy that will cater for all students learning including the gifted students. Ways in which a student can identify or self evaluate their educational needs and become more involved with their learning is through the process of self-discovery, where students can use graphic organizers as a creative means to brain storming particular ideas about themselves. However for ESL students (English as Second Language) who are gifted, the use of interpreters or translators would be crucial to the students learning and identification process because without them, educators would not have a means for identifying accurately if their ESL students are also gifted or need extra support in their learning.

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