What is Gifted? Differences between gifted learners and high achievers
Welcome to Vanguard Gifted Academy's educational blog. If you haven't gotten a chance to, please look back at some of our previous blogs. I'm Elizabeth Blaetz, the Head of School at Vanguard Gifted Academy, and today I want to talk with you about the difference between the gifted learner and the high achiever. I want to assure you, one is not better than the other, they're just different.
Gifted children are often confused with high achievers. These are two types of thinkers who have really different personality types. The gifted learner is often not a high achiever. The easiest way for me to present the differences to you is to talk about how each looks in the classroom.
In the classroom, you have a mix of children working at all different levels. When you ask a question the gifted learner’s hand is immediately up in the air, but he doesn't really want to answer your question. He wants to tell you something that's really important! It might be related to the question, but it might not. He's so engaged in what he is thinking about and he wants to share it with you. So you redirect him to the question and you call on the next person. This student is a high achiever. The high achiever tells you exactly what you want to hear because this child has been listening very carefully and is really eager to retell everything you taught him.
And then you say, “Does anybody else have anything to add to the answer?”
Another gifted child’s hand goes up faster than you can believe. She has a story to tell. Gifted learners tell stories like crazy because there's so much going on in their minds. The story might add a little bit of the information that you're looking for from the lesson, but if you're trying to get a lesson finished in 45 minutes, the storytelling is really challenging.
Because the teacher has to complete the lesson in a limited time, gifted learners often feel shot down. They need a learning place where they can narrow down their thoughts. One way they do that is they'll go under their desk, or they'll find another comfortable private space. The gifted learner is one who really has to find her own comfort zone so she can produce the ideas she’s thinking of. This is a very different type of student who doesn’t always “fit” in the classroom.
When I say I teach gifted children everybody says, “Oh, you're so lucky.”
I am really lucky! I know I'm lucky, but I also know they're thinking of a classroom of high achievers. They're not thinking of a classroom of gifted learners whose minds are exploding and expanding curriculum in a way that is far beyond the grade level or learning expectations.
I’d like to share with you a little bit about Dr. Bertie Kingore. She is an amazing woman who has spent her career talking about giftedness and the differences between high achievers and gifted learners. Below is a link to her list comparing the attributes of gifted learners and high achievers. It also includes creative thinkers! This is a guideline, not a tool to identify which kind of learner your child is going to be. It is interesting how she has identified the traits of these different learners and how hard it is for these different learners to be in the same classroom.
Thank you for being with us today. I want to reiterate that this blog is for everyone! Especially those who are parents, teachers, and individuals who are interested in gifted education and gifted learners.
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References:
Bertie Kingore, Ph.D. http://www.kingore.com/articles.htm