WHAT IS A GIFTED PROGRAM?

Gifted education as a special education need has gradually been incorporated into the curriculum of the American school system. The 1990s has seen a critical review of American education, bringing a barrage of demands for excellence. This attention has vitalized development for gifted (academic) education. The recent growth in national interest in gifted education involves not only proper identification methods but also appropriate curriculum and instruction.

Various criteria have been offered as the qualifying characteristics for academically gifted students. Generally accepted descriptors include: "more highly motivated, persistent, responsible (Dunn, 1970), and preference for independent study (Renzulli, Smith, 1978)". Several factors can act as catalysts for actualization of giftedness, particularly motivation (Renzulli, 1978). Many studies characterize the gifted student - motivated, socially adept and academically able, i.e., the "Terman type" (Gallagher, 1970). In 1972, Federal legislation defined gifted as "potential as well as demonstrated ability". For the intellectually gifted, this meant a possession or exceptional potential as a learner of cognitive tasks. These traits, however, describe a composite child. Just as there is no "average child", there is no "composite gifted child".

Besides the issue of proper identification methods, selection of appropriate teaching approaches must also be resolved. One of the basic tenets of education for the gifted today is to provide the academically talented student with opportunity for a qualitatively differentiated education suited to his/her needs. Most programs are either an acceleration (advanced studies) style or enrichment. Acceleration approaches to gifted programming have different short-term objectives for students. Enrichment program designers think of gifted children as having a mix of cognitive strengths and personality attributes. Therefore the focus of enrichment programming is on teaching gifted students how to coordinate and focus their interests and energies into purposeful research, decision-making and action. Assessment of learning in an enrichment program is based more on an evaluation of products than tests results. This program design involves more student directed learning and is based on the assumption that the student can discover which areas he wants to work on extensively. The teacher of the gifted is as much a facilitator as an instructor delivering information for students to learn.