LEARNING AND THE

GIFTED CHILD

Lee Marsh
Indigo Assessment & Counselling

OVERVIEW
THE GIFTED CHILD AND LEARNING
CHALLENGES
BARRIERS TO LEARNING
EMOTIONAL OVERLAYS
MOTIVATION

THE WAY FORWARD - SUPPORTING THEM APPROPRIATELY

SELF-REGULATED LEARNERS
MEDIATED LEARNING EXPERIENCES
SHIFTING TOWARDS DEEP LEARNING

Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

SOME DEFINITIONS
Giftedness is a complex constellation of behaviours that can be
expressed in various ways, and there are honest differences of opinion
concerning how much of which behaviours are needed for a child or
an adult to be considered gifted.

Olenchak, F. Richard; Goerss, Jean; Beljan, Paul; Webb, James T.; Webb, Nadia E.; Amend,
Edward R. (2005-01-15). Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger's, Depression, and Other Disorders (Kindle Locations 233-235). Great
Potential Press. Kindle Edition.

Giftedness is more than intellect - has an emotional depth

Definitions that consider giftedness as potential to be developed
make a distinction between what a child is capable of achieving and
what the child will achieve. The fact that a child has exceptional
potential is part of what makes him or her gifted. The childs
environment determines whether potential leads to achievement.
Carol Bainbridge

Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

CHALLENGES

Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

The Average Student

Limited motivation
Limited volition
Limited engagement
More engaged students
Students who are owning their learning journey
Deeper learning and meaning making
Critical thinking

Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

EMOTIONAL OVERLAYS

Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF SOCIAL &

EMOTIONAL DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING

Two schools of thought on whether gifted children are particularly at risk for social and
emotional difficulties.
1. Gifted and talented children as being prone to problems and in need of special
interventions to prevent or overcome their unique difficulties
high potential children not identified as gifted often not in special school
programs because of social and emotional difficulties that may develop in first
few years of formal schooling, when there are few attempts made to search out and
provide assistance to these children (Ballering & Koch, 1984; Webb, 1993).

2. Gifted children as generally being able to fare quite well on their own, and gifted
children with problems needing special interventions are seen as a relative
minority.

research on students from academic programs specifically designed for gifted

children. Such children, by the very nature of the selection process, are usually
functioning well in school, and are not experiencing major social or emotional
problems (Webb, 1993; Whitmore, 1980).

Bottom line: social and emotional difficulties can mask giftedness and also influence
school performance
Gifted children risk factors such as perfectionism or asynchronous development
(Olenchak, F. Richard; Goerss, Jean; Beljan, Paul; Webb, James T.; Webb, Nadia E.; Amend, Edward R, 2005)

Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

BARRIERS TO LEARNING

Generally, twice-exceptional students are those who meet the eligibility

criteria for both giftedness and learning disabilities.
Giftedness usually pertains to high intellectual abilities or potential rather
than students' specific accomplishments. Gifted students are commonly
depicted as having exceptional abilities or potential for learning and
problem solving. It is important to understand factors that hamper this
potential.
Learning disabilities are defined as problems in learning due to a cognitiveprocessing difficulty in which the dysfunction affects one or more cognitive
processes instead of obstructing overall intellectual ability.

Dawn Beckley
University of Connecticut
Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF

SENSORY AND PERCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT
LEVEL 4
ACADEMIC READINESS
Academic Skills, Complex, Motor Skills, Regulation of Attention,
Organised Behaviour, Self-Esteem & Self-Control.
LEVEL 3
PERCEPTUAL MOTOR SKILLS
Auditory Discrimination, Speech & Language, Visual Discrimination,
Eye-Hand Coordination, Purposeful Activity
LEVEL 2
SENSORY-MOTOR
SKILLS
Body Awareness, Hand Preference, Motor Planning
LEVEL 1
PRIMARY SENSORY SYSTEMS
Touch, Balance & Movement, Body & Position, Other Senses
including visual and auditory
Lee
Marshfrom
(Cayzer)
(Adapted
Dr. Jean Ayress Four levels of Sensory Integration Stock-Kranowitz, 2005:67)

SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT

DIAGNOSIS

10

It the situation or setting perhaps inappropriate. Behaviours that fit in

one environment may be seen as problematic in another setting.
Unspoken assumption that everyone should function equally well in
every circumstance.
We see many children who have been referred with
diagnoses/suspected ADD/ ADHD, OCD, Aspergers Disorder, ODD, or
Bipolar Disorder. Assessment might reveal misdiagnosis/overlooking
asynchronous development and giftedness (behaviours inherent to
gifted children not sufficiently understand or accepted).
Can be a combination of factors - how to help children not feel so
very different
Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

11

DISCREPANCIES
Emerick (1988) suggested this discrepancy might include any of the following
combinations:
high IQ score and low achievement test scores;
high IQ score and low grades;
high achievement test scores and low grades;
high indicators of intellectual, creative potential and low creative productivity;
or
high indicators of potential and limited presence of appropriate opportunity for
intellectual and creative development.

Siegle, Del (2012-10-01). Underachieving Gifted Child: Recognizing, Understanding, and Reversing Underachievement (Kindle Locations 167-173). Sourcebooks, Inc.. Kindle
Edition.

Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

12

ACKNOWLEDGING ASSETS

Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

MOTIVATION

Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

13

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THE WAY FORWARD

SUPPORTING THEM APPROPRIATELY

Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

SELF-REGULATED LEARNING

15

Self-regulated learning emphasizes:

autonomy and control by the individual who monitors, directs, and regulates actions
toward goals of information acquisition, expanding expertise, and self-improvement
(Paris & Paris, 2001:1)

Self-regulation refers to:

refers to self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions that are planned and
cyclically adapted to the attainment of personal goals (Zimmerman, 2000:14)
Self-regulated learning - relies on learners being motivated and being able to exert
self-control in attending to tasks:
Sustaining attention/not giving in to distractions
Setting attainable goals scaffolding!! TRAJECTORIES!!
Persistence when challenged

Core principles:
Autonomous learning
Reflective learning & teaching becoming engaged in their own learning process
Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

MEDIATED LEARNING EXPERIENCES

Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

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http://wordplay11.wordpress.com/tag/vygotsky/

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COMING BACK FULL CIRCLE

SHIFTING TOWARDS DEEP LEARNING

Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

18

The Average Student

Limited motivation
Limited volition
Limited
engagement
More engaged
students
Students who are
owning their learning
journey
Deeper learning and
meaning making
Critical thinking
Lee Marsh (Cayzer)

SOURCES

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http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/newsletter/spring98/sprng984.html

Olenchak, F. Richard; Goerss, Jean; Beljan, Paul; Webb, James T.; Webb, Nadia E.; Amend, Edward R. (2005-01-15). Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses
of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger's, Depression, and Other Disorders (Kindle Locations 142-144). Great Potential Press.
Kindle Edition

Kozulin 1998, Chapter 3, The Mediated Learning Experience and Psychological Tools

Kozulin, A. 1985. Vygotsky in context. Chapter 1 In: Vygotsky, L. 1986. Thought and Language. Cambridge, MIT Press

Van der Westhuizen, G. J. and Lewis, H. 2004. The space for emancipatory learning in outcomes-based education. Paper presented at the International
Conference on OBE, Pretoria, HSRC.

Paris, SG & Paris, AH. 2001. Classroom Applications of Research on Self-Regulated Learning. Educational psychologist, 36(2), 89101.

Magano, MM, Mostert, P and van der Westhuizen G. 2010. Learning conversations. The value of interactive learning. Johannesburg, Heineman.

Siegle, Del (2012-10-01). Underachieving Gifted Child: Recognizing, Understanding, and Reversing Underachievement (p. 20). Sourcebooks, Inc.. Kindle
Edition.

Schunk, DH. Motivation. Chapter 14 in: Schunk, Learning theories, an Educational Perspective. New York, Pearson.

Lee Marsh (Cayzer)