DIARY NOTES FROM DECEMBER 5 - 9

HARITHA KERALAM 2016

DIARY NOTES FROM NOVEMBER 29 - DECEMBER 2

SUB DISTRICT YOUTH FESTIVAL 2016-2017

DIARY NOTES FROM NOVEMBER 21 - 25

DIARY NOTES FROM NOVEMBER 14 - 18

GIFTED CHILDREN AND SLOW LEARNERS

GIFTED CHILDREN

Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to persist as a trait into adult life, with various consequences studied in longitudinal studies of giftedness over the last century. There is no generally agreed definition of giftedness for either children or adults, but most school placement decisions and most longitudinal studies over the course of individual lives have been based on IQ in the top 2 percent of the population, that is above IQ 130.

The various definitions of intellectual giftedness include either general high ability or specific abilities. For example, by some definitions an intellectually gifted person may have a striking talent for mathematics without equally strong language skills. In particular, the relationship between artistic ability or musical ability and the high academic ability usually associated with high IQ scores is still being explored, with some authors referring to all of those forms of high ability as "giftedness," while other authors distinguish "giftedness" from "talent." There is still much controversy and much research on the topic of how adult performance unfolds from trait differences in childhood, and what educational and other supports best help the development of adult giftedness.

Identification

The identification of giftedness first emerged after the development of IQ tests for school placement. It has since become an important issue for schools, as the instruction of gifted students often presents special challenges. During the twentieth century, gifted children were often classified via IQ tests; other identification procedures have been proposed but are only used in a minority of cases in most public schools in the English-speaking world.Developing useful identification procedures for students who could benefit from a more challenging school curriculum is an ongoing problem in school administration.

Because of the key role that gifted education programs in schools play in the identification of gifted individuals, both children and adults, it is worthwhile to examine how schools define the term "gifted".

Characteristics

Generally, gifted individuals learn more quickly, deeply, and broadly than their peers. Gifted children may learn to read early and operate at the same level as normal children who are significantly older. The gifted tend to demonstrate high reasoning ability, creativity, curiosity, a large vocabulary, and an excellent memory. They can often master concepts with few repetitions. They may also be perfectionistic, and may frequently question authority. Some have trouble relating to or communicating with their peers because of disparities in vocabulary size (especially in the early years), personality, interests, and motivation. As children, they may prefer the company of older children or adults.

Giftedness is frequently not evenly distributed throughout all intellectual spheres; an individual may excel in solving logic problems yet be a poor speller; another gifted individual may be able to read and write at a far above-average level yet have trouble with mathematics.

It is possible there are different types of giftedness with their own unique features, just as there are different types of developmental delay.

Giftedness may become noticeable in individuals at different points of development. While early development (i.e. speaking or reading at a very young age) usually comes with giftedness, it is not a determinant of giftedness.

SLOW LEARNERS

A “slow learner” is not a diagnostic category, it is a term people use to describe a student who has the ability to learn necessary academic skills, but at rate and depth below average same age peers. In order to grasp new concepts, a slow learner needs more time, more repetition, and often more resources from teachers to be successful. Reasoning skills are typically delayed, which makes new concepts difficult to learn. A slow learner has traditionally been identified as anyone with a Full Scale IQ one standard deviation below the mean but not as low as two standard deviations below the mean. If a cognitive assessment (IQ test) has a mean (average) of 100, we expect most students will fall within one standard deviation of 100. That means that most students have an IQ of 85 to 115. Those who fall two standard deviations below the mean are often identified as having an Intellectual Disability (IQ below 70). A slow learner does not meet criteria for an Intellectual Disability(previously called mental retardation). However, she learns slower than average students and will need additional help to succeed.

Most frequently displayed symptoms:

• short attention span,
• poor memory,
• difficulty following directions,
• inability to discriminate between/among letters, numerals, or sounds,
• poor reading and/or writing ability,
• eye-hand coordination problems; poorly coordinated,
• difficulties with sequencing, and/or
• disorganization and other sensory difficulties.

characteristics that may be present:

• performs differently from day to day,
• responds inappropriately in many instances,
• restless, impulsive,
• says one thing, means another,
• difficult to discipline,
• doesn’t adjust well to change,
• difficulty listening and remembering,
• difficulty telling time and knowing right from left,
• difficulty sounding out words,
• reverses letters,
• places letters in incorrect sequence,
• difficulty understanding words or concepts, and/or
• delayed speech development; immature speech.