A classroom has several types of students, some have a high academic interest and others enjoy Co-curricular activities more. Have you ever seen a gifted child in your classroom? You need to first identify them to understand how you can help such talented students, and make the best out of their intellectual values.

As a parent or educator, it’s essential to identify gifted children early on to help them reach their full potential. Gifted children are those who exhibit exceptional abilities and potential in one or more areas, such as academic achievement, creativity, leadership, or visual and performing arts.

While there is no single definition or criteria for giftedness, there are some common signs that can help you identify gifted children. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the most common signs of giftedness and strategies for identifying gifted children.

An institution with its ERP has several provisions for gifted students. The ERP full form is Enterprise Resource Planning- it plans patterns of learning for all levels and types of students in their institution. Let’s read how it can successfully uplift gifted students.

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Why Identify Gifted Students?

Learning new things is an integral part of a gifted student’s life. They must remain involved in one thing or the other to benefit and encourage their talents. Recognizing their talent helps the school administration understand the type of advanced learning suited for the child. For example, a simple learning management system might not stimulate or meet up their learning requirements enough. Supporting advanced learning for gifted students ensures overall development and well-being.

Here are some other reasons why it is a good idea to identify gifted and talented students in the classroom;

  • Parents and teachers can easily plan schedules and activities the students can undertake at home school or daycare.
  • All the learning stakeholders can come together to expand the learning opportunities available for the child.
  • Students don’t end up in boring situations at school or home because having nothing to do is challenging for gifted children.

Children develop more skills and have an accelerated growth rate with constant stimulation.

Identifying Gifted Children Informally

There are several formal analyses such as calculating the IQ of a child and behavior patterns to understand whether they are truly gifted or not. However, parents can try to identify the informal indications about their child’s actions and behaviors for the same reason. Their advanced achievements and development rate must be regularly recorded, given they are exceptional. These records should compulsorily include:

1. Signs of Giftedness

Gifted children often exhibit the following signs:

  1. Advanced language skills: Gifted children may have an extensive vocabulary, excellent verbal reasoning, and a love of reading and storytelling.
  2. Curiosity and questioning: Gifted children are often curious and ask many questions about the world around them.
  3. Creativity: Gifted children may have a talent for creative expressions, such as drawing, writing, or composing music.
  4. High energy and intensity: Gifted children may have boundless energy and an intense focus on their interests.
  5. Love of learning: Gifted children may have a strong desire to learn new things and explore new ideas.

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2. Assessment and Testing

While signs of giftedness can be helpful, formal assessment and testing are often necessary for accurate identification. Some of the most common tests and assessments used to identify giftedness include:

  1. IQ tests: IQ tests measure a child’s cognitive abilities, such as reasoning, problem-solving, and abstract thinking.
  2. Achievement tests: Achievement tests measure a child’s academic skills and knowledge in various subjects.
  3. Teacher nominations: Teachers may nominate children for gifted programs based on their observations of the child’s abilities and potential.

If you suspect that your child is gifted, talk to their teacher or school counselor about the assessment process.

3. Challenges and Misconceptions

Identifying gifted children can be challenging, and there are some common misconceptions and myths about giftedness. Some of these challenges and misconceptions include:

  1. Giftedness is solely based on IQ or academic achievement.
  2. Gifted children don’t need support or enrichment because they can succeed on their own.
  3. Gifted children are always well-behaved and socially mature.

To overcome these challenges and misconceptions, it’s essential to understand that giftedness is a complex and multifaceted concept that goes beyond IQ or academic achievement. Gifted children may still need support, guidance, and enrichment to reach their full potential.

Often, the informal indications about a gifted child lead to an official formal identification by professionals later.

Is Informal Identification Useful?

Parents can accurately make informal identification of whether a child is gifted or not only at the initial stages of learning. Once the child is no longer a preschooler or toddler, the indications might turn out false because the child develops a personality, and their thinking process is now complex.

An IQ test does not provide information about physical, creative, and social values. Hence, informal identification is the only method of recognizing a student’s ability in the broad picture.

Informal identification is economical and cost-effective but needs a lot of time and effort to gather because parents have to constantly monitor their children and record information with complete accuracy. Some parents might be biased, noting misinformation and good inputs that over-exaggerate data.  

Formal Identification

The best way to formally identify whether a child is gifted is to consult an educational psychologist to get a report on the child’s IQ test. The main focus here is academic learning, but emotional and social capabilities can be analyzed personally by the psychologist from experience and other practice tests.

An institution can also provide formal identification through numerous tests or standardized literacy examinations. If they score high, consult the school administrative unit to include some special programs that focus on maintaining the high performance of your child.

An IQ test might be expensive, but it is an accurate measure of the mental abilities of a student. Once you know your child is gifted, appreciate them, keep encouraging them to do well in life, and grab every opportunity they can.