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The role of the teacher within the identification of gifted students

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The role of the teacher within the identification of
gifted students
Lola Prieto, Joaquín Parra, Carmen Ferrándiz and Cristina Sánchez
University of Murcia, Spain

Paper presented at the European Conference on Educational Research, University of Crete, 22-25
September 2004

One of the needs that classrooms teachers have is to know the characteristics of the precocious and gifted
students. One of the procedures to determine the gifted child process is to collect information on his/her
behaviour and delivery through checklist. It is convenient to make some precisions: the first, although
every extremely gifted student is unique, many share the same characteristics. Second, the studies show
that, when the teachers use checklist, the opportunities of identifying successfully the extremely gifted
students are very big. Third, no child has all the qualities of the list, that we will explained as follows, but
it is true that many of the skills in the list remind us the typical behaviours the children are capable of.

The aim is to make an screening with the purpose of selecting the children that show theses high skills, in
order to do that , we use a teachers checklist for knowing the most relevant characteristics, that according
to the experts� judgement (Renzulli, 1977, Sternberg and Lubart, 1997) some precocious and gifted
students show.

Our checklist is based in the model of the Renzulli�s et al.(1977) three rings. in a likert-scale kind (from
1 to 4) it is made of 28 items: a) 10 items measure the characteristics referred to intrinsic motivation (for
example: he/she get involves in what is interesting to him/her); b) 10 items value the general delivery (for
example: understand concepts and advanced-to-his/her-age figure relations; having a rich vocabulary); and
c) 8 items oriented to evaluate the creativity skills as: fluency, flexibility, elaboration and originality (for
example: great idea generation, unusual problem solving through different procedures).

In this study 467 schools have taken part (public and private schools), all of them from the autonomous
Region of Murcia (Spain), and 63.399 students of public schools and 22.981 students belong to private
schools, whose ages range goes from 5 to 12 years old.

The research has been done in three stages: the first one, we proceed to the design and adaptation of the
checklist for which we used the judges system, extremely gifted children experts.

The second stage: the teachers, using the checklist, selected the students that were standing out for their
delivery, creativity and intrinsic motivation, characteristics that, in opinion of Renzulli and Sternberg, are
those of extremely gifted students.

Third stage: once the checklists were completed we proceeded to the statistical analysis and result
interpretation.

Finally, we will continue studying the distinguishable characteristics of these children with the aim of
designing strategies to adequate them to their diversity.

The results show that the checklist has the psychometrics characteristics required for this kind of
instrument (Cronbach.90). From the initial sample of participants 156 students have been identified, that
fit into the requirement previously set: to get, at least, a percentile equal or higher to 75 equally in the
delivery scale as well as the creativity scale too. The characteristics of these children, according to the
teachers are: using and maximizing the knowledge efficiently, propose ingenious solutions and unusual
problems; they are persistent especially when the targets are interesting, original and complex.

As a final conclusion we can say that the checklist is a very useful tool for the teacher to identify
extremely gifted children.

Actually, we studying some differential characteristics as well as the cognitive configuration of these 155
children: a) general intelligence for the study of it itself we use an IQ test (BAD&G, General and
Differential Aptitude Battery), this test will enable us to, establish cognitive profiles; b) TTC (Torrance
test of creative thinking).

1. WHO THE GIFTED CHILDREN ARE?

We know that the term extremely gifted and talent are concepts that, sometimes, enclose certain
confusion, because the word, extremely gifted person is reserved to children with high intellectual abilities
in all fields, while we use the term talent for defining the children that show high abilities in certain fields
or areas such as art, music, sports and theatre. But, often, both concepts are used in a very different way
when we talk about school children that stand out at school environment. The resulting data from different
studies highlight that approximately between 3 and 3.5 per cent of the children in school age have been
identified as extremely gifted. Joseph Renzulli (1978) has developed a model widely used for defining
extremely gifted; such model is made of 3 superimposed circles representing 3 differential characteristics
of the extremely gifted children, which are:

1. High intelligence level, which is manifested in high achievements obtained by the school
children within the school context. They show high levels of abstract, verbal, numeric, spatial
relations memory and verbal fluidity thinking; they usually adapt and create new situations in
the environment, show great capacity for automating information, the IQ is only one of its
forms, and not necessarily the most reliable, way of obtaining information on the intellectual
capacity of the school child.
2. Motivation and involvement in the task consist in showing a great energy or personal
involvement in doing a particular task. They usually are people with great curiosity in many
subjects, what it forces them to established selection and schoolwork planning criteria. The
perseverance, being this, one of the most specific characteristics of extremely gifted children,
besides they have self-confidence and a certain creed in their own capacity to do the work
they consider important, great capacity for establishing high achievements- achievement
motivation � broad mind for accepting external critics and certain sense for aesthetics in
appreciating their own and somebody else quality.
3. Creativity, that is together with intelligence and motivation, another of the peculiar
characteristics of the extremely gifted children. Creativity is understood as a kind of divergent
thinking that favours the search of solutions or different alternatives to a problem given. The
extremely gifted children with a high level of creativity are the ones that show a high
inventive capacity for producing many ideas or solutions to the problems (fluency); they show
a great broad mind for considering ideas, experiences, actions and somebody else products;
their speculative curiosity, take them to enjoy situations and tasks that imply intellectual risk,
they like confronting difficult situations, they are sensitive to aesthetics and they like to
present their ideas and research resulting products in a very original way, nothing
conventional.

2. THE TEACHER�S CHECKLIST: A PROCEDURE TO IDENTIFY GIFTED CHILDREN

The teachers are a very rich source of information as they have had the opportunity to get to know many
students with different characteristics. For considering the teacher as a valuable source of information, the
researchers of extremely gifted children have constructed instruments as checklist, whose aim is to
provide the teacher with a scale to value the extremely gifted children�s capacities. For example,
Quatrrochi (1984) demonstrated in his works that the teacher could value the characteristics referred to the
creativity of the extremely gifted children. Some other researchers (Roedell, Jackson and Robinson, 1980;
Hoeksema, 1982; Wolfle, 1989) have also demonstrated that the teacher is a very important source of
information for valuing the capacities of the children during the teaching � learning processes.

Despite the teacher having a privileged position for informing about the extremely gifted children�s
characteristics, however, the teacher, in general terms, tends to value the diligent child as intelligent child,
obedient as calm, forgetting the restless child, that usually put complex and embarrassing questions, that
cause problems to the teacher for being creative and puzzle because of their original and unusual answers,
being some of them some of the characteristics of the extremely gifted children. In this sense. Genovard
says (1982) that the teachers don�t value creativity, originality and curiosity of a superior intelligence.
This lack of knowledge of the extremely gifted children�s world obstructs its identification.

Fundamentally, from the eighties the scales for teachers, parents and schoolmates Nomination have been
designed for identifying the extremely gifted and talented children within the school context. We are
referring to the Teacher�s Nominations (Teacher�s Checklist)

The designed scales for teachers are made of a series of questions that have as an aim the observation and
valuing of a series of typical extremely gifted child characteristics.

Renzulli (1977), expert in the field of the extremely gifted, designed a scale for the teachers to identify
extremely gifted or precocious children (4-12 years old). The scale pretends the valuation of the following
characteristics: a) capacity to learn, we collect all the abilities referred to the control of vocabulary,
processing of information, reading competence, and so on; b) motivation, the items of this scale are
making reference to the personal involvement in their work, to the independent way of doing their tasks,
the ability to organize and structure activities, and so on; c) creativity, within this section we include the
curiosity, ideas generation, originality in solving problems, and so on; d) leadership, we have items
referred to the involvement of the student in the social and school activities, cooperation, responsibility to
accomplish what promised, and so on; e) precise communication, in this section we collect the
characteristics referred to verbal and written fluency, ability to express messages clearly and precisely,
easiness to describe anything with the suitable terms, and so on; f) communication and expressiveness, the
items of this subscale collect abilities referred to the information transmission through non verbal
language, easiness to narrate stories in a very interesting way and ability to use analogies and tongue twist,
and so on; g) planning capacity, includes items referred to the easiness to organize and structure their own
work, selecting information efficiently or the necessary resources to complete any task, and the ability to
use the different alternative methods to achieve the task, and so on. This scale was translated, adapted
valued and widespread in our country (Spain) by Castelló (1986).

At the end of the seventies, Johnson (1979) designs a scale for teachers for them to identify the distinctive
characteristics of the extremely gifted children. The scale is made of 24 items that are making reference to
the following areas: academic, creative, intelligence, and leadership, artistic, psychomotor and mechanic.
The goodness of the scale is that allows the obtaining of the classroom as well as the individual
schoolchild profile, in this sense, the teacher can observe the differences between the precocious, the
extremely gifted and talented with respect to the rest of the students within the classroom.

Later on, Hoeksema (1982) proposes a group of instruments for identifying the extremely gifted children
of the different instructional levels. Within the instruments he includes a checklist for the teacher. It is
made of 46 items that are making reference to characteristics that the author considers typical of
precocious children. The 46 items are included within 3 big categories: the first one is called "superior
general ability", within this category he establishes a distinction between the items referred to the
intellectual aspect and those that are making reference to the emotional, social and moral aspects; the
second is called "completion and involvement in the tasks" and the third one is called "superior level of
creativity". The presentation of the checklist is made of an answer sheet in which the teacher notes for
each of the items of the checklist the frequency on which the child shows such a conduct.
Within the first category, called "superior intellectual ability" is included items referred to the easiness for
learning new things and understand new concepts, to the ability that some schoolchildren show in the
handling of the language and reading and their high delivery in school work. Within the social, emotional
and moral aspects are included the abilities of the extremely gifted in organizing or leading groups, or the
understanding of abstract concepts (the death, the injustice in the world, the sadness and the lies, and so
on).

Within the category "completion and involvement", the items included make reference to the working
habits, concentration capacity, working independence, organizing and structuring the tasks or high
motivation for learning and involving themselves within the activities that are interesting, all of them are
schoolchild extremely gifted characteristics.

Within the category known as "superior level of creativity", the items that are included have
characteristics referred to the ideas fluency, to the originality in solving problems, to the flexibility to
change the pattern of thinking, to the imagination and inventiveness.

Within this instrument the teacher is asked about the wide variety of characteristics of his/her students in
the classroom; this instrument allows the giving of a wide and precise valuation of the school children and
especially those that are extremely gifted. It demands dedication of the teacher and knowledge of the
exceptional students� characteristics (extremely gifted, precocious and/or talented).

Other scale is the one designed by Mc Millan and it is known as the Teacher Summary (The Halton Board
of Education, 1987), it is an oriented to value in a global way the capacities of the students in relation to
the reading, written and verbal language, mathematics and development within the environment. Besides
it collects characteristics referred to creativity (fluidity, flexibility, originality, curiosity, elaboration,
imagination, knowledge and completion of tasks). The teacher can reflect the frequency and intensity of
the different characters corresponding to these 5 abilities and value the skills of the extremely gifted
children in these areas.

It is also known and used the scale for teachers designed by J.Wolfle (1989), that contains 20
characteristics that define the extremely gifted student and make reference to the different aspects of their
own personal development (handling and use of the language, abstract problems resolutions, sensitivity to
the problems of the others, creativity, and so on).

The research team of "High Abilities" of Murcia University conducted by Professor Prieto, designs a
checklist, based in the works previously mentioned and mainly around Renzulli (Prieto, 1997). This scale
contains 24 items, whose aim is valuing motivation, creativity and delivery of the precocious/extremely
gifted child. The results from the different studies have demonstrated that it has a high reliability as well
as an easy handling and use for teachers.

In few words, these instruments Checklist serve the teacher for identifying the characteristics of the
students with high abilities in a very significant way, because they can be very effective in the identifying
of the capacities of the students better gifted. An advantage of this system is that, once a teacher
recognizes the capacity, usually gets interested in designing adequate measures for the diversity of the
extremely gifted (educative provisions). The identification and educative provision have been always seen
very close to each other: the good provision allows the capacity to surface, while a good identification
leads to an adequate provision.

Summing up, we can say that it is essential the help from the teacher for the identification of the extremely
gifted students for several reasons, among these are the following:

- They are the ones that know the students better within the learning process.

- They spend a lot of time with the students.

- They know their weak and strong points for learning.

- They are, also, great learning easers. This easing or intercession can be reflected in the following
aspects:

1. The teachers of extremely gifted children try to make positive and physical relationships that
can help the learning of them
2. The quality and quantity of the verbal interaction, it is an important factor for the success of
the leaning of these children.
3. These teachers give great importance to the creativity of the their children.
4. The teachers of extremely gifted children are flexible with their time and program, according
to the students� needs.
5. Provide the suitable environment support for studies and independent interest of the children.
6. They show a "gifted conduct" for sustaining and maintaining their professional responsibility.
7. The have a great self-confidence.
8. They know how to apply their knowledge in the teaching-learning process.
9. They usually organize well their teaching work.
10. They are great innovators in methodologies, strategies and teaching tactics.

For ending up, we will like to highlight that the teacher is the key figure and it is in real terms the one that
makes the difference. It is on him to introduce the measures and procedures for benefiting the extremely
gifted. The role of the teacher recognized by the different authors can be summarized in the following
way: His/her personality, ability and experience are key factors for the teaching-learning process of any
child, but they are critics in the case of the extremely gifted. The capacity for proposing a stimulating
dialogue depends on the degree of intuition within the area.

3. COGNITIVE CONFIGURATION OF GIFTED CHILDREN

In 1998 Castelló and Batlle proposed a identification protocol that is extracted from two instruments of
measuring already elaborated, that are the Battery of Aptitudes Differential and General (BAD&G) and
Torrance�s Creative Thinking Test, that allow the differentiation of the different ways in which high
ability appears: extremely gifted, academic, artistic-figurative, verbal, mathematical spatial and creative
talent. This proposal tries to cover the two main problems related to identification in the extremely gifted
and talent that are: on one hand the low congruence among the theory criteria and the identification on the
other hand, the frequent word confusion in the concepts referred to high ability extremely gifted, talent,
precocious etc). As Castelló and Batlle established (1998), with this proposal we can obtain a reliable
valuation of a section of the resources potentially involved in particular areas (verbal, numeric, logic, and
so on).

The cognitive configuration of extremely gifted characterised by a high level of resources in all the
intellectual aptitudes. The evolution of extremely gifted is slow and complex, being difficult the appearing
of the most sophisticated processes and interactions before the end of the adolescence. In spite of this, the
basic aptitudes, as they are measured through the intelligence test, can be evaluated from 12 years old.
The social, motor functions and emotional they also are part of the extremely gifted. These should be
evaluated with suitable test (Castelló, 2002).

This model allow us to identify extremely gifted and talented students according to the following
typology: a) students that show simple talents or specific (referred to only one single variable); b) students
that show multiple talents (referred to several variables together); c) students the show complex talents
(referred to several variables together) within these ones we can find, academic and figurative talents; and
d) students that show conglomerated talents in which we can find the combination of intellectual
configuration of academic and/or figurative talents with the multiple or simple talent.

As follows we detailed the identification criteria of extremely gifted and every kind of talents.
The intellectual configuration in the case of the extremely gifted has a percentile of 75 or higher in all
areas: verbal, numeric, spatial, creativity, logic memory and non-verbal reasoning.

The intellectual configuration in the case of the simple talent gets a 95 percentile or higher in only one
specific aptitude (for example a verbal, mathematical spatial, creative or logical talent).

We can also find a multiple talent that shows an intellectual profile in which there are several specific
aptitudes having a percentile of 95 or higher.

The complex talent is the one that is made of the combination of several specific aptitudes getting a
percentile of 80. Within this category we can find: a) academic talent that comes from the combination of
verbal, logic reasoning and memory; b) figurative talent that comes from the combination of logical and
spatial reasoning.

In the last place, in the conglomerated talent we can find several intellectual profiles, it can be considered
as conglomerated the talent that comes from the combination of an academic talent with one or several
specific aptitudes, it is also the result of a figurative talent in combination with one or several specific
aptitudes, or when in a profile we find a figurative talent in combination with an academic talent and
several specific aptitudes.

4. EMPIRICAL WORK

The aim of this work is double: on one hand, to show the efficiency of the Teacher�s. Checklist in the
identification of extremely gifted; in the other hand, to study the cognitive configuration and different
profiles of the extremely gifted and talented children. This work has been carried out in the Region of
Murcia (Spain).

4.1. Participants and Schools

In this work, there were 467 schools of the Region of Murcia, 372 public and 95 private. The school
children sample was of 63.399 students (from public schools) and 22.981 (private and state assisted) all of
them in the stage of enfant school of 5 years old and primary education, according to the Spanish
Educative system. The ages of the students range from 5 to 12 years old.

4.2. Instruments

As follows we describe the instruments used in this study.

4.2.1. Teacher�s Checklist

In a Likert like scale, oriented to tutor teachers, made of 28 items:

10 items measures the characteristics referred to the inherent motivation (for

example: gets involve in what really interest him, he/she is persistent in doing the
task);

10 items value the general delivery (for example: includes concepts and numeric
relations to advanced for his/her age; has a rich and elaborated vocabulary);

8 items oriented to evaluate the creativity abilities, such as: fluency, flexibility,
elaboration and originality (for example: generate great amount of ideas, solve
unusual problems through different approaches).

The teachers answered the items with answers ranging from 1 to 4, representing the characteristics of
variability in the following answers: 1) In complete disagreement or never happen what is part of the item,
2) In some disagreement or almost never happen what is part of the item, 3) In big agreement or almost
happening what is part of the item, 4) In full agreement or always happen what is part of the item.

The results show that the checklist includes the psychometric characteristics required for this kind of
instruments: of Cronbach equal to .90.

4.3. Procedure

The empiric work was carried out in 3 stages.

The first stage: The Teacher�s Checklist was sent to 467 schools of the Region of Murcia that have
Enfant and Primary Education, 372 are public and 95 private. After, the teachers using the checklist
selected the students that have stood out in creativity, intrinsic motivation, characteristics that,
according to Renzulli (1977) and Sternberg and Lubart (1997), are from students with high abilities.

Once the checklist has been completed we made the statistical analysis and result interpretation.
These allowed us to select the potential students that showed exceptionality for high abilities. From
the total number, the sample was short listed to 155 students, after applying the established criteria
that was the reaching of 75 percentile in the sub scales referred to creativity and general delivery in
the Teacher�s Checklist.

The second stage: applying the IQ test (BAD&G). The evaluation of the intellectual capacity,
through the BAD&G that is performed within the school centre, in ordinary school timetable, as
another activity programmed as part of the Curriculum. This application is done in the classroom
context and several members of the team, previously trained for this purpose, collect the data.

The third stage: Creativity evaluation through TTCT (Torrance Test of Creative Thinking). This
stage had as an aim the evaluation of creativity that is done applying the TTCT carried out by the
members of the team.

5. RESULT ANALYSIS

The program used for the statistical analysis has been SPSS 12.0.

In this first moment the analysis have had descriptive character over the answers given to the Teacher�s
Checklist, the BAD&G test and the TTCT test, as well as the analysis for obtaining the reliability of the
scale (Alpha of Cronbach).

After the data analysis we can say the following:

First: in respect to the results of the Teacher�s Checklist, we have to highlight that the averages of the
students proposed by the teachers have been very high.

So, in respect to the dimension referred to the intrinsic motivation the average mark assigned to the
students has been 3.14 (Typical Deviation 0.43), that is under the teachers� judgement the students with
high abilities usually get high marks in the motivation sub scale. It is necessary to remember that the range
of variability moves from 1 to 4 in all sub scales ("In Total disagreement or never happen what is part of
the item" to "In full agreement or always happen what is part of the item".).

In relation to the scale that values the general delivery, the average was 3.18 (Typical Deviation 0.55),
what informs us that, according to the teachers� judgements, that happen very often behaviours that
reflect that high general capacity of delivery.

And in the same way, in relation to the creativity dimension, the average mark of the students has been
3.16 (Typical Deviation 0.50), what represents that these students show high creativity, according to what
the teachers say.
In second place: in respect to the gender differential analysis, according to the teachers there is a 65.1 %
of boys the show high abilities (extremely gifted and/or talented) while the 34.9 % have been girls
showing high abilities (extremely gifted and/or talented).

In third place: in relation to the school level, according to the teachers, it is within the first stage of
Primary Education (6 to 8 years old) in which we have the highest number of students with high abilities.
When we use the most conventional psychometric procedures, it is also in this stage when we find the
highest number of students with high abilities (see table 1).

Table 1. Initial proposals and identified children with some exceptionality. Educative Stage Percentages.

Enfant and Primary Education Stages Teacher�s Checklist BAD&G and TTCT
Percentage
Percentage

Pre-school Level (5 Years old) 14.89 6.87

Primary Education First Stage 1�-2� (6 to 32.12 39.69

8)

Primary Education Second Stage 3�-4� (8 29.78 29.77

to 10)

Primary Education Third Stage 5�-6� (10 22.34 23.66

to 12)

In fourth place: The data referred to the cognitive configuration of these 155 students considered as high
abilities, are distributed as follows:

a) 45 students (29.03 %) show profiles referred to a talent defined as conglomerated, being

basically its intellectual configuration as follows: academic talent aptitudes (high intellectual
resources in verbal, logic and memory management), and also mathematical talent (high
resources of representation and numeric and quantitative information handling).

b) 24 students (15.48%) show academic talent, which is a way of complex talent in which it is
combined the high resources of verbal, logic and memory management. As it is an interaction
of resources, the great functions that are generated relate to the memory management from
verbal information logically organized.

c) 19 students (12.26%) show a multiple talent, which their intellectual aptitudes at very high
level of delivery (95 percentile) in two areas.

d) 19 students (11.61%) respond to the mathematical profile, that is, they have high level of
resources of representation and numeric and quantitative information handling. This character
makes an incidence in certain trend to represent quantitatively all kind of information,
mathematical or another.
 e) 7 students (4.51) show verbal talent, what it means that have high intellectual level of
resources oriented to the representation and verbal material handling. They solve skilfully
problems and situations that demand verbal and numeric components. They also show certain
easiness to work with problems that imply establishing analogical relationships responds very
well to complex verbal orders and handle a great number of basic concepts.

f) 5 students show the figurative-artistic talent profile, they stand out because of their spatial-
figurative aptitudes and creative and logical reasoning. Despite the logic component is usually
low consider, it becomes very necessary for the steady production and artistic material
elaboration. The interaction of these variables is essential for the identification of this talent.

g) 4 students (2.58%) show a creative talent profile, that is, they are students that have
reflected an extraordinary divergent thinking, concreted in their flexibility or capacity to
change the patron of thinking; their fluidity or easiness to produce different and numerous
ideas and solutions to problems; their originality or ability to propose non conventional
answers but very productive and their ability to elaborate or easiness for decorating their
ideas.

h) 2 students (1.29%) show the logic talent profile, it is very similar to the creative in
intellectual terms; but in return, its functionality is higher, as the school and cultural
parameters coincide with this one.

i) Finally 7 students (4.51 %) show characters of extremely gifted, the stood out for their high
resources in all the intellectual aptitudes. So, the interactions among the logical,
mathematical, verbal, spatial and memory resources are more important and not the gross
capacity in each of them. They show a great capacity for delivery, intrinsic motivation and
creativity (see table 2).

Table number 2. Children identified by typology of exceptionality and school stage.

Exceptionality Enfant Primary E. Primary E. Primary E. Total % %

Typology education Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Accumulated
5 years

Verbal Talent 2 4 1 7 4.51 4.51

Mathematical 2 10 2 4 18 11.61 16.12

Talent

Logical Talent 2 2 1.29 17.41

Figurative-artistic 5 5 3.22 20.63

Talent

Creative talent 3 1 4 2.58 23.21

 Academic Talent 4 7 11 2 24 15.48 38.69

Multiple Talent 5 7 7 19 12.26 50.95

Conglomerated Talent 2 16 13 14 45 29.03 79.98

Extremely gifted 1 4 2 7 4.51 84.49

Not registered 3 5 8 8 24 15.48

6. CONCLUSIONS

In the first place, the results show a certain coincidence between the Teachers�s Checklist and the
psychometric techniques (IQ test and creativity marking). As the previously established criteria patterns
are maintained: reaching or going over of 75 percentile in the intrinsic motivation and delivery capacity
subscales. When these conditions are met, both procedures (checklist and psychometric trials) coincide in
the identification of the 84.5 % of the students.

In second place, it seems useful to use the Teacher�s Checklist together with the psychometric trials
because both procedures are complementary and help us to explain, and as a result, understand better the
students with high abilities within the school context.

In third place, in the study of the general characteristics of these students we have observed their great
creative capacity referred to: fluency, flexibility, elaboration and originality. Being some of these
components more relevant in some students with high abilities (extremely gifted, precocious and/or
talented) than others, as it is reflected in the teachers� evaluations and in the resulting data of the
creativity test (TTCT).

In fourth place, we have to insist in that these students show a great level of general intelligence. Although
their cognitive profiles are different as they are showing extremely gifted or specific talents, they are
students that use efficiently their intellectual resources referred to the verbal, logical-mathematical and
spatial reasoning and their remembering and memory capacity.

In fifth place, we want to point out some orientation patterns for these students identified with high
abilities. For example, for the students that show precocity, we would have to design action patterns
oriented to provide them with complex works including quantitative concepts, numeric problems and
solving problems that demand the execution of logical inferences, generalizing and applying rules to the
solution of the problems. It will be also recommendable for the school to provide them with risky
situations for preventing them from boringness, as they are students with high domain of information and
fast pace of learning; that will invigorate socializing situations as the interest and motivations are different
to the rest of their classmates, this can lead to a rejection from their classmates.

For the students with academic talent, we would have to design activities demanding from them the
storing and retrieving of any kind of information that can be expressed verbally having a logical
organization.

It would be convenient that for the figurative � artistic talent, the teachers include tasks and works
demanding the using of the representation and/or expression abilities.
However, for the verbal talent the activities should be oriented to the access to the information that
requires coding and decoding complex information.

For the mathematical talent the teachers� intervention will be centred in providing material and activities
that demand verbal comprehension of the mathematical-logical problems.

In respect to the logical talent the teacher should include tasks related to the domain of conceptual
categories, graphic, verbal and numeric logical series, that would demand all of them a high level of
abstraction.

Finally, the creative talent demands an especial attention from the teacher�s side; this should promote
spaces, resources and moments the ease the use of their resources and broad mind.

7. REFERENCES

Castelló, A. (1986). Bases per la realització d�un programa de recerca sobre la identificació
d�individus superdotats/ben dotats com a dades fonamanetals per l�estudi psicopedagogic de
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