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In the State of Missouri,: “gifted children” mean those who “exhibit precocious development of mental capacity and learning potential as determined by competent professional evaluation to the extent that continued educational growth and stimulation could best be served by an academic environment beyond that offered through a standard grade level curriculum.”
Lafayette County C-1 Definition: We define giftedness as a combination of factors that produce special behavior. These factors include superior ability and achievement, task commitment and creativity. Superior ability and achievement are indicated by test data. Task commitment involves the student’s willingness and ability to carry through on responsibilities and projects. In other words, to stay with a job until it is complete. Creativity involves planning, and often producing, something unique and unusual.
This model demonstrates Joseph Renzulli's Three Ring Concept of Giftedness.
Why is there a need for gifted education?
Gifted students experience a sense of isolation. One of the biggest advantages of gifted programming is peer identification. Two significant needs children experience between the age of six and twelve are the need for inclusion and independence. Gifted children, specifically, will often compromise their talents to “fit in” with the group while struggling with the conflict of thinking differently. One consequence of the isolation children feel is disruptive behavior: Gifted students may act out due to conflict and frustration in the form of manipulation or passive aggressive behavior.
Placing gifted children with others who have similar abilities and talents may help students experience a sense of well-being. It can also be an extremely humbling experience. For many it is a good experience to be nose-to-nose with others as intelligent as or more intelligent than they are.
The purpose of identifying gifted students is to provide differentiated experiences commensurate with their needs. Most of these students are capable of mastering the curriculum more quickly than other students. They benefit from greater breadth in their educational experiences and delight in the opportunity to explore a wide variety of enrichment topics outside the scope of the regular curriculum. In addition, they are able to go much deeper into their areas of special ability and interest than other students. Their needs are such that, when motivated and guided, they can pursue learning on their own.
The gifted student needs to be permitted to demonstrate that basic learning has been mastered and go beyond this basic learning. These students need to be encouraged to select alternate learning activities at a higher level or a faster pace. The gifted student needs to be challenged with activities requiring higher level thinking skills and sustained persistence. They need to develop the skills and knowledge to proceed independently in special learning activities. Most important, the gifted student needs the opportunity to work with and interact with other gifted students. RISE is designed to help meet these needs.
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