Developing Talent & A Work Ethic In All Students

�Many strategies and programs that have been used in gifted programs can be used to improve general education and by shifting the focus to developing talents, a more exciting learning environment can be created for all students�� (Serving Gifted and Talented Students: A Resource for School Personnel, Genshaft, Birely, Hollinger, 1995)

Although patience is a virtue� boredom destroys the spirit, motivation, and eagerness to achieve. Lev Vygotsky states that: �the level of skill a child can produce is very much a matter of how much support the child has from the environment - especially from other people." (The Developing Child; Children Solving Problems, Thornton 1995) �Just as muscles improve with exercise, the brain seems to improve with use. Although learning does not increase the number of brain cells, it does increase their size, their branches, and their ability to form more complex networks.� (How the Gifted Brain Learns, David A. Sousa, 2003)

In "Developing Talent in Young People" B.S. Bloom, 1985, p.3 : "The study has provided strong evidence that no matter what the initial characteristics (or gifts) of the individuals, unless there is a long and intensive process of encouragement, nurturance, education, and training, the individuals will not attain extreme levels of capability in these particular fields. This research has raised questions about earlier views of special gifts and innate aptitudes as necessary prerequisites of talent development." (Education of the Gifted in Europe: Theoretical and Research Issues by Franz J. Monks, Michael W. Katzko, Herman W. Van Boxtel, 1992)

�While a few excellent examples of talent development exist, they are generally based outside of regular school settings (talent-identification programs; self-study programs; and weekend, after-school, and summer courses). Schools designed to foster the individual, diverse talents of students within the classroom are rare birds, indeed.� (http://www.edweek.org/ew/vol-17/26pluck.h17 March 11, 1998) �The Schoolwide Enrichment Triad Model (SEM) evolved after 15 years of research and field testing by both educators and researchers (Renzulli & Reis 1985)... Research studies were conducted that indicated positive growth for students, even those who were not identified for gifted program services (Reis 1981)�� (Serving Gifted and Talented Students: A Resource for School Personnel, Genshaft, Birely, Hollinger, 1995) �Distance education can also facilitate talent development. By allowing a student to participate in courses that are not offered in his or her own school, the student gains a new opportunity to learn and the school broadens its curriculum with a relatively minor financial investment.� (http://www.edweek.org/ew/vol-17/26pluck.h17 March 11, 1998)

Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 29 1. States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to: (a) The development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential; (http://www.unicef.org/crc/crc.htm)

Challenging All Students

�Besides curriculum compacting (Reis et al. 1992) which has been successfully used with a much broader segment of the population, a number of other strategies often implemented for high ability students can be extended to all students�� (Serving Gifted and Talented Students: A Resource for School Personnel, Genshaft, Birely, Hollinger, 1995)

�Not surprisingly, research suggests that students are bored in school and that a surprisingly large percentage of students are not intellectually challenged on a daily basis. Simple strategies, such as avoiding teaching students what they already know and showing how the curriculum applies to students' lives outside the classroom, increase the challenge and interest level. If students are routinely asked to jump over a bar that requires little if any effort, they will not be able to jump higher and will not seek out the challenge posed by a bar slightly above their reach.� (http://www.edweek.org/ew/vol-17/26pluck.h17 March 11, 1998)

Would you be told of your child's requirement to be challenged, if there are no such provisions for your child? How are you to know that the curriculum requirements for your child are adequate, and that your child is being appropriately challenged? There are children who have no interest for repetition - a hallmark of schooling. Interestingly, �30% of high achievers leave school without a diploma.� (Statistics Canada 1991) Children who are challenged, or accelerated have more probability of completing PhD level studies, due to the extra time available to them, and in all probability to the work ethic, they have achieved. Would your child flourish with a more challenging curriculum? Psychologists that specifically test for aptitudes can tell you -- Universities will also test students at reduced costs.

�In addition, group aptitude tests--usually given as part of a group achievement battery of tests--can be given quickly and inexpensively to large numbers of children. Children who obtain extreme scores can be easily identified to receive further specialized attention. Aptitude tests are valuable in making program and curricula decisions. They can also be used for grouping students as long as grouping is flexible. [�] Cognitive theory and research suggest that learning ability can be improved by training students in learning strategies. Improving academic aptitude may be possible through a systematic curriculum that complements direct training in learning strategies with both the development of general thinking approaches and the application of those approaches over a variety of different tasks and content areas.� (Macklem, Gayle L. (1990). Measuring aptitude. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 2(5), http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=2&n=5)

Characteristics of Gifted Underachievers �(not all characteristics may be present in the same person.) : high IQ score, lack of effort, a skill deficit in at least one subject area, frequently unfinished work, inattentiveness to current task, low self-esteem, poor work and study habits, intense interest in one area, seeming inability to concentrate, failure to respond to usual motivating techniques.� (How the Gifted Brain Learns David A. Sousa, 2002)

Underachievement: A Case Study (Reis, Hebert, Diaz, Maxfield, and Ratley 1995) � A 3-year study of 35 high-ability and underachieving students in an urban highschool found the following: No relationship between underachievement and poverty, parental divorce, or family size. Underachievement began in elementary school due to lack of challenge. Underachievers were often not resilient enough to overcome urban problems, such as gangs and drugs. Abilities of underachievers were often not recognized by their parents, teachers, and guidance counselors during their elementary years.� (How the Gifted Brain Learns David A. Sousa, 2002)

� Many cases of underachievement are linked to chronic early ear infections (9 or more in the first three years), with residual effects of auditory sequential processing deficits and attentional problems. Spelling, arithmetic, handwriting, rote memorization, attention, and motivation to do written work are all typically affected. (Linda Silverman, Ph.D., Director, Gifted Development Center, http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/What%20We%20Have%20Learned%2079-03.htm)

� "Because language skills remain the most frequently used measure of academic giftedness, students who are strong in visual-spatial skills are often perceived as underachievers. Consequently, if they are poor in language skills, their teachers are more likely to focus on remediation and overlook any hint of giftedness. One major study at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign found that, compared with other gifted students, students gifted in spatial ability were performing below their capabilities." (How the Gifted Brain Learns, David A. Sousa, 2002)

The Visual Spatial Learner "In most cases, the visual-spatial learning style is not addressed in school, and these students' self-esteem suffers accordingly. Traditional teaching techniques are designed for the learning style of sequential learners. Concepts are introduced in a step-by-step fashion, practiced with drill and repetition, assessed under timed conditions, and then reviewed. This process is ideal for sequential learners whose learning progresses in a step-by-step manner from easy to difficult material. By way of contrast, spatial learners are systems thinkers-they need to see the whole picture before they can understand the parts. They are likely to see the forest and miss the trees. They are excellent at mathematical analysis but may make endless computational errors because it is difficult for them to attend to details. Their reading comprehension is usually much better than their ability to decode words. Concepts are quickly comprehended when they are presented within a context and related to other concepts. Once spatial learners create a mental picture of a concept and see how the information fits with what they already know, their learning is permanent. Repetition is completely unnecessary and irrelevant to their learning style. However, without easily observable connecting ties, the information cannot take hold anywhere in the brain--it is like learning in a vacuum, and seems to the student like pointless exercises in futility. Teachers often misinterpret the student's difficulties with the instructional strategies as inability to learn the concepts and assume that the student needs more drill to grasp the material. Rote memorization and drill are actually damaging for visual-spatial learners, since they emphasize the students' weaknesses instead of their strengths. When this happens, the student gets caught up in a spiraling web of failure, assumes he is stupid, loses all motivation, and hates school. Teachers then assume that the student doesn't care or is being lazy, and behavior problems come to the fore. Meanwhile, the whole cycle creates a very deep chasm in the student's self-esteem. In the traditional school situation the atmosphere is often hostile to visual-spatial learners and their skills. The students are visual, whereas instruction tends to be auditory: phonics, oral directions, etc. The students are gestalt, aha learners and can be taught out of order, whereas the curriculum is sequential, with orderly progressions of concepts and ideas. The students are usually disorganized and miss details, whereas most teachers stress organization and attention to detail. The student is highly aware of space but pays little attention to time, whereas school functions on rigid time schedules." (http://www.dyslexia.com)

If your child is having trouble in school, have your child tested by a professional outside the school system. If your child does not have an identifiable disorder, he may be underachieving. A child's C grades in a standard curriculum can change to A grades when challenged. The A's the child receives enhances his self-concept and motivation, in addition to avoiding long term lowered self-esteem, depression, and developing a "lazy" work ethic. Those who continue to underachieve risk skipping classes in highschool and possibly dropping out. In addition, your child can be learning disabled while at the same time requiring a challenging curriculum. �� dual exceptionalities are a challenge to identify and generally require a two-pronged program: one that offers remediation of their disability, alongside the equally important promotion of their gifted skills (Porter 1999)� (Educating Young Children With Special Needs, Louise Porter, 2002)

� Dr. Silverman�s Gifted Development Center: �The most valiant parents are those who have twice exceptional children. I could tell you endless stories of misdiagnoses, masked disabilities, obstacles and frustrations�even public humiliations faced by gifted children with learning disabilities and their parents. We�ve had parents come to the Center with a wheelbarrow full of previous test scores, but who have received no help. We�ve handed them two pounds of handouts to read, and they�ve devoured every page. We�ve told them their child needed a sensory-integration evaluation by a pediatric occupational therapist and a central auditory processing battery by an audiologist and a vision evaluation to determine if vision therapy was warranted and a program for dyslexia and an evaluation by an AD/HD specialist and an elimination diet to determine if the child�s behavior was affected by particular foods and modifications for the child�s introversion and sensitivity and distance learning classes, like the Educational Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY), and a laptop computer for written work, and a special school for gifted children that will develop the child�s strengths while shoring up the weaknesses or possibly radical acceleration or homeschooling. They�ve left with their heads swimming, but these amazing people actually follow through on the majority of the recommendations�� (Linda Silverman, Ph.D., Director, Gifted Development Center, http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/LKS%20Column/Heroes.htm)

Visual-spatial learners and children with dual exceptionalities tend to get smarter as they get older and often become successful adults. (Linda Silverman, Ph.D., Director, Gifted Development Center, http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/What%20We%20Have%20Learned%2079-03.htm)

Copyright notice: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 July; 87(14): 5568�5572.
Learning causes synaptogenesis, whereas motor activity causes angiogenesis, in cerebellar cortex of adult rats. J E Black, K R Isaacs, B J Anderson, A A Alcantara, and W T Greenough
Beckman Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana 61801.

"The role of the cerebellar cortex in motor learning was investigated by comparing the paramedian lobule of adult rats given difficult acrobatic training to that of rats that had been given extensive physical exercise or had been inactive. The paramedian lobule is activated during limb movements used in both acrobatic training and physical exercise. Acrobatic animals had greater numbers of synapses per Purkinje cell than animals from the exercise or inactive groups. No significant difference in synapse number or size between the exercised and inactive groups was found. This indicates that motor learning required of the acrobatic animals, and not repetitive use of synapses during physical exercise, generates new synapses in cerebellar cortex. In contrast, exercise animals had a greater density of blood vessels in the molecular layer than did either the acrobatic or inactive animals, suggesting that increased synaptic activity elicited compensatory angiogenesis..." (http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=ncbibooks&artid=54366) full text

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