Gifted and Talented Education Research Paper -- essays papers

Gifted and Talented Education Research Paper It is important to understand the many different methods of educating gifted and talented students. Most people, whether as teachers, students, or parents, will at some point be faced with the many options of educating the gifted and talented. In the United States today, 3-5 percent of students are considered gifted. Defining whether or not a student is gifted can be quite difficult, but many would agree that gifted students â€Å"are able to learn material rapidly and understand concepts deeply† (Lynch, 1999). Within this paper I will discuss the process of identifying gifted and talented students and the different methods of educating them including tracking, grade advancement, and cooperative learning. Of these three methods I believe the most effective method used to teach gifted and talented students is tracking. One of the most controversial things about gifted and talented education is the criterion educators use to identify the gifted and talented. In the past, a student’s intelligence, based on an I.Q. score, was considered the best way to determine whether or not they qualified as gifted. As a result of using this method of identification, many gifted and talented students are not discovered nor are they placed in the appropriate programs to develop their abilities. Talents in the arts or an excellent ability to write are not measured on an I.Q. test but are abilities that may certainly qualify a student as gifted or talented. This method of identification is accused of being biased because it results in the identification of a group of people that is mostly white and upper middle class (Sternberg & Williams, 2002). This occurs because minorities often lack the c... ...delines for Acceleration (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2003, from http://www.austega.com/gifted/acceleratoinguidelines.htm Lovecky, D. V. (1995). Highly Gifted Children and Peer Relationships. Counseling and Guidance Newsletter. Retrieved March 10, 2003, from http://print.ditd.org/floater=74.html. Mathews, M. (1992). Gifted Students Talk About Cooperative Learning. Educational Leadership, 50. Retrieved March 10, 2003, from http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/edlead/92101mathews.html. Author unkown (2003, March 9). In gifted classrooms is diversity lacking?. Salisbury Daily Times. Retrieved March 10, 2003, from http://www.dailytimesonline.com/new/stories/20030309/localnews/1142640.html Author unknown (2003, February 24). Schools seek gifted among minorities. The Washington Times. Retrieved March 10, 2003, from http://washingtontiems.com/metro/2003224-14635946.htm