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Topics Lesson 1: Comprehensive Program Design for Gifted and Talented

Students

Introduction

In this lesson, you will learn about gifted and talented students and how are you
going to make a comprehensive design that suits them. You will also understand what
is a comprehensive progarm design and how it is done.

Learning Outcomes

After studying this module, the pre-service teachers should be able to:
1. Understand gifted and talented students,
2. Plan an comprehensive program design: and
3. Make a comprehensive program design.

Content

Gifted and talented children are those persons between the ages of four and twenty-
one whose abilities, talents, and potential for accomplishment are so exceptional or
developmentally advanced that they require special provisions to meet their
educational programing needs. Children under five who are gifted may also be
provided with early childhood special educational services.
Gifted students include gifted students with disabilities (i.e. twice-exceptional) and
students with exceptional abilities for potential from all socio-economic and ethnic,
cultural populations. Gifted students are capable of high performance, exceptional
production, or exceptional learning behavior by virtue of any or a combination of these
areas of giftedness.

What is comprehensive program design (CPD)?

A comprehensive program design (CPD) is a thoughtful, unified service delivery plan

that has a singular purpose: to identify the many, varied ways that will be used to
meet the needs of high-potential students. This plan is formulated by a variety of
stakeholders, including faculty, administrators, and parents.

Characteristics of the Gifted that Tend to Screen Them Out of the Program

 Bored with routine tasks, refuses to do rote homework

 Difficult to get him to move to another topic

 Is self-critical, impatient with failures

 Is critical about others and teachers

 Often disagrees vocally with others and the teacher

 Makes jokes or puns at inappropriate times

 Emotionally sensitive, may overact, get angry easily or is ready to cry if things go
wrong

 Not interested in details, often hands in messy work

 Refuses to accept authority; nonconforming and stubborn

 Tends to dominate others

Things to consider in making a comprenhesive program design for Gifted and
Talented students.

 A flexible program which involves the higher cognitive concepts and processes as
defined by Bloom and Guilford

 Freedom from the restrictions of structured requirements and limited time frames

 Time and freedom to experiment, explore subjects of interest

 Open access to needed learning resources whatever and wherever they may be
(Grade level is irrelevant for the gifted and talented who can cope with materials
from two to four or more levels higher than grade placement.)

 Confrontation with problems and issues of society for which there is no single
predetermined solution

 Opportunity to brainstorm, thus producing creative ideas

 Encouragement to ask questions, make discoveries, pursue own interest in depth

 Opportunities to work with other gifted/talented students at least part of the time

 Wide variety of in-depth cultural experiences beyond the usual field trips to zoos,
museums, industries

 Opportunities to help others (e.g. as volunteer readers to the blind, volunteer tutors
to students in lower grades)

 Friendly recognition and acceptance of their giftedness

 Introduction to their own abilities (Many gifted/talented people never knew that
they were unusual in any way until someone helped them to discover their
abilities.)

 Active concern for the gifted/talented among administrators, counselors, teachers

Gifted/Talented students have a need for their varying learning styles to be

addressed

 Rapid response and functioning

 Deliberate and contemplative response

 Logical and direct thinking

 Exploratory and circuitous thinking

 Intuitive understanding

There are consequences of the failure to meet the needs of gifted/talented students

 Poor study habits B. Behavior problems

 Apathy and withdrawal

 Emotional/psychological problems caused by neglect or ridicule of abilities

 Underachievement

 Nervous breakdowns/suicide
 Increased dropout rate H. Involvement with drugs, alcohol, and promiscuous sex

 Involvement in criminal activities (often behind the scenes as the “mastermind”)

 Dependence on welfare in retaliation against a society that does not seems to value
high potential and/or creativit

Counseling Goals for a GT Program

• A healthy, realistic self-esteem based on a clear understanding of strengths and

weaknesses.
• A healthy sense of responsibility for development not contingent upon fate or actions
of others.
• Internal motivation through de-emphasis on completion with others and
encouragement of personal goal setting and evaluation.
• Concept of self as a continuing process rather than a finished product.
• Understanding of the needs and motivations of self as well of others and use of
empathy and identification skills to develop cooperative rather than competitive
spirit.
• A sense of acceptance of mistakes, resulting in pride in learning from errors and
reduction in fear of failure.
• Development of problem-solving skills, especially as they relate to real life problems.
• Assertive behaviors in communicating with others about differences and concerns
without being aggressive and obnoxious.
• Methods of using frustration and stress in creative ways to avoid burnout.
• Ability to accept help as well as give it, to learn something from all persons,
regardless of their level of intelligence, talent or skill.
• A sense of humor about themselves and events outside their control, allowing them
not to take everything so seriously as to be debilitating and self-defeating.