EDG 550B Module 6 Discussion Board Post

Why are these topics of importance to the field of gifted education?

The underachievement of gifted students, cultural diversity and economically

disadvantaged students, and twice exceptional students are important topics in the field of gifted

education because students with these challenges are often not identified for services and are thus

not supported in achieving what they are capable of.

Rimm et al. (2018) cited multiple studies that found that culturally diverse students were

not identified for gifted services, even when their scores were the same as their majority peers.

Similarly, students with disabilities are not given the opportunity to show their gifts because

“many school districts continue to delay and even avoid comprehensive evaluations for 2e

children” (Rimm et al., 2018, p. 313).

Students from low socio-economic households begin school at a disadvantage because

they often lack access to preschool programs (Rimm et al., 201, p. 263), making it more difficult

for them to score well on achievement and ability tests used for identification because they do

not have the same experiences as their middle- and upper-class peers. Underachieving gifted

students can find themselves stuck in lower-level courses that exacerbate their underachievement

and may lead to their giftedness being unidentifiable (Rimm et al., 2018).

For all student groups, but particularly for gifted underachievers and 2e students,

performing at grade level is not working to their potential and must be addressed so that students

can feel successful and society can reap the benefits of their gifts.

What are the issues that have to be considered?

 For culturally diverse students, they can find themselves caught between their cultural

values and the value of academic achievement. For example, “some minority groups have

cultural frames of references that are oppositional to the frames of reference of the American

mainstream…achievement could feel like betrayal to their own race” (Ogbu, 1994, as cited in

Rimm et al., 2018, p. 277). Specifically, “the achievement ethos is in conflict with cultural

values for both Native Americans and Mexican Americans” (Rimm et al., 2018, p. 265).

Underachieving gifted students, particularly highly creative students, can have a difficult

time conforming to school expectations because their “personalities and thinking styles are quite

at odds with those required for classroom success” (Rimm et al., 2018, p. 235). This would

make them less likely to be identified for gifted services because teachers often look for behavior

characteristics in nominating students for gifted programs. Gifted students who complete work

quickly, but receive additional, unchallenging busywork to complete, may find that it is easier to

slow down their pace so that they are not punished for finishing early (Rimm et al., 2018).

Twice-exceptional students can face frustration and stress everyday because they have to

work harder than their non-disabled peers and invest more time in coursework to be successful

(Rimm et al., 2018). Another consideration is that ADHD characteristics can resemble those of

high-intensity, high-energy gifted children, especially when presented with an unchallenging

curriculum (Rimm et al., 2018).

What affective and curricular recommendations have been put forth when working with

students who experience these challenges?

Role models and mentors are effective at supporting students, especially gifted students

who have additional challenges. Richert (1991a) summed up the role educators and parents play

in the lives of their students by saying that, “The single most awesome influence educators and
parents have are as role models” (as cited in Rimm et al., 2018, p. 257). Economically

disadvantaged, culturally diverse, and twice-exceptional students benefit from seeing someone

like them, with similar life experiences, achieve success. This role model and/or mentor is

especially important for students who lack critical family support, such as low SES students

(Rimm et al., 2018).

Culturally diverse students have to learn how to hold on to their racial identify while

succeeding in the mainstream culture and teachers can help their students navigate this challenge

(VanTassel-Baska et al., as cited in Rimm et al., 2018). Exum (1983) suggested that counselors

should learn about the community where they are working and create a partnership with families

to strengthen the relationship between families and the school (as cited in Rimm et al., 2018).

One way to do this in disadvantaged communities is by providing meals and childcare at

information nights targeting parents (Rimm et al., 2018).

To increase the identification of culturally diverse students, Rimm et al. (2018) suggests

looking at potential rather than performance to increase the number of students participating in

gifted programs and to mitigate any mismatches between the identification procedures and a

student’s home environment. Additionally, schools should consider achievement outside of

school as an indicator of giftedness.

According to Rimm et al. (2018), “Underachievement is a learned behavior; therefore it

can be unlearned” (p. 243). Underachieving gifted students need to see the connection between

their effort and their academic outcomes (Rimm et al., 2018). Teacher expectations play an

important role in reversing underachievement. Students need an environment where they believe

that the teacher wants them to succeed and has set realistic – difficult but challenging –

expectations for their performance (Rimm et al., 2018). Students know how teacher perceive
them so when a student believes that a teacher expects them to fail, this confirms their own poor

self-evaluation. On the other hand, teachers who expect improvement can reverse

underachievement for some students (Rimm et al., 2018). Underachieving students frequently

have low self-esteem and lack confidence (Rimm et al., 2018). School and teacher interventions

to combat these perceptions are important aspects of gifted programs targeting these students.

Identifying students who are underachieving requires educators to look at data beyond the

first reading. Rimm et al. (2018) recommends looking at actual school performance and

comparing that with expected performance based on IQ scores. They also recommend looking at

earlier tests scores to determine if a child is gifted but is not underperforming.

Similar to underachieving students who often have low self-esteem, twice-exceptional

students can react to low expectations with feelings of inadequacy (Rimm et al., 2018). For

these reasons, “dealing with the extremely poor self-images of these children should be a

primary underlying goal of a gifted program for students with disabilities” (Rimm et al., 2018, p.

319).

To identify students with disabilities for gifted services, the National Association for

Gifted Children (2013) recommend to “look for students whose performance is discrepant across

major academic areas, highly variable across academic tasks, or whose school performance as

reported by parents, differs greatly from outside of school learning and achievement” (as cited in

Rimm et al, 2018, p. 310).

Twice-exceptional students benefit from a mentoring relationship with a successful adult

who also has a disability to encourage them to continue persevering despite their own disability

(Rimm et al., 2018). Programs and lessons should focus on student strengths and enrichment

activities should develop these strengths and challenge students, rather than being solely for
remediation (Rimm et al., 2018). Another important feature of programs designed for twice-

exceptional students is to provide alternate ways for them to demonstrate their learning, which

will usually correspond to their area of strength (National Education Association, 2006, as cited

in Rimm et al., 2018).

References:

Rimm, S. B., Siegle, D. & Davis, G.A. (2018). Education of the gifted and talented (7th ed.).

Pearson Education, Inc.