Students who are gifted have a unique set of social and emotional characteristics. Listen to Max’s story:
Max has not only been highly gifted all of his life, but also somewhat adolescent all of his life…at 14, he can display a ferocious insistence for justice with the passions and tenacity of a 3-year-old…this gets confusing! At age 9 he displayed cognitive reasoning skills way beyond his years. “I wish he came with a blinking sign on his forehead to let me know just who I am dealing with: the 3-year-old, the 14-year-old, or the 25-year-old” says his mum. (Estes, 1991, p.3)
To successfully accommodate for the needs of gifted students, both the cognitive and social emotional domains must be considered. Cognitive characteristics such as intensity, curiosity, inquiry and fast paced learning are often mirrored by social and emotional needs. Teachers may be equipped to support gifted learners academically, but are often unaware of their unique social emotional characteristics.
Therefore I have developed a unit comprised of ten lessons that focuses on some of the social and emotional characteristics of gifted students and strategies supporting these unique qualities. Click here to access the unit: Who Am I Unit
So what are these unique social and emotional characteristics? How are gifted students different to their same aged peers in the social and emotional domains?
1. Perfectionism: Gifted students are often perfectionists, which can be quite suffocating and debilitating. Therefore they need to embrace healthy perfectionist tendencies to use this characteristic as a motivation for achieving at a high standard.
2. Underachievement: Many gifted students are underachievers due to peer pressure, boredom, frustration and lack of encouragement and support. It is critical that teachers inspire gifted students to take risks and achieve their full potential.
3. Overexcitabilities: Overexcitabilities in gifted students are categoriesed in Dabrowski’s five domains; intensity of experience, thought, physicality, imagining and emotion. These intensities must be embraced as areas of giftedness, supported through opportunity and encouragement.
4. Asynchronous Development: For many gifted students cognitive, emotional and physical development does not progress at the same rate. This is defined as asynchronous development. Therefore gifted students need strategies to understand and manage the difference between their cognitive and emotional development, which surpasses their physical development.
5. Deep Friendships: Due to advanced cognitive, social and emotional development gifted students often seek deep friendships with like-minded peers. This can be particularly complex in primary schools where friendships are transient and one-dimensional. Thus, gifted students need strategies to plan for developing friendships with like-minded peers.
6. Heightened Moral Consciousness: Gifted students frequently display heightened sense of justice moral consciousness. This can be mistaken for intolerance or emotional immaturity. Gifted students need guidance in navigating this strong moral consciousness, affirming their sense of justice whilst also understanding how to navigate this passion in friendship with same aged peers.
7. Forced-Choice Dilemma: Gifted students are faced with the desire to excel in a talent area but also be accepted by their same aged peers. This tension is called the forced-choice dilemma. Teachers therefore need to encourage gifted students in their area of strength to achieve full potential rather than moderating standards in pursuit of intimacy.
These social and emotional characteristics must be considered when teaching gifted students. I hope this unit of work in helpful in providing opportunity for teachers to engage with gifted learners to develop skills and strategies in relation to their unique social and emotional traits.
