Columbus Group – Institute for Educational Advancement

How Can the United States Better Support Gifted Education?

��Ƶ Staff — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 18:13:28 +0000

By Laurie Mittermiller

In 2016, the Institute for Educational Advancement commissioned . The results of that poll demonstrate that there is “overwhelming support for gifted education” among Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike.¹ While there have been some recent gains in funding for programs that affect gifted students, funding allocated for gifted children specifically remains only a small fraction of the federal budget.² Meanwhile, other countries around the world have also recognized the importance of fostering the development of their gifted youth and have implemented a wide range of policies and programs to support their gifted students.³

Since most Americans agree on the importance of gifted education, the question is not “should we increase funding for gifted education,” but rather how can we effectively support gifted education with increased funding and resources? According to leading advocates for gifted education, some of the most important steps we can take as a country would be (1) to ensure that all qualified students have access to gifted programs and resources, regardless of their zip code, (2) to provide appropriate training for teachers who work with gifted students, and (3) to allow gifted students to learn at their own pace.

Gifted children come from all socioeconomic backgrounds, geographic areas, and cultures, but often culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) gifted students are underrepresented and underserved.⁴ Not only do these students deserve the opportunity to reach their own personal potential, but our country stands to gain more influential scientists, artists, inventors, and entrepreneurs if their talents are identified and fostered. In order to provide the appropriate opportunities and support for these students, the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) makes the following recommendations:

Use culturally sensitive identification protocols
Provide early and continuous advanced curriculum
Provide social and emotional support
Build home, school, and community connections
Focus research on equity issues

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Gifted children are unique individuals and, as such, their academic, social, and emotional needs can be quite different from other student populations. Although giftedness can be difficult to define, in 1991, the Columbus Group wrote: “Giftedness is asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. This asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity. The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching, and counseling in order for them to develop optimally.” Bearing in mind that gifted children often require highly specialized attention due to their unique developmental patterns, it is imperative that their teachers receive the appropriate training so they can best meet their gifted students’ varied and asynchronous needs. Given that most gifted children are currently in general education classrooms, the NAGC recommends that all teachers should be able to:

Recognize the learning differences, developmental milestones, and cognitive/affective characteristics of gifted and talented students, including those from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and identify their related academic and social-emotional needs
Design appropriate learning and performance modifications for individuals with gifts and talents that enhance creativity, acceleration, depth and complexity in academic subject matter and specialized domains
Select, adapt, and use a repertoire of evidence-based instructional strategies to advance the learning of gifted and talented students⁵

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At ��Ƶ, we believe that all children deserve to learn something new every day. This can be a challenge in a general education classroom when a gifted student has already largely mastered the skills and content at that grade level. In these cases, allowing gifted students to learn at their own pace through acceleration of content, or even grade-skipping would ensure that they are finding their “optimal match.” One common misconception is that students will struggle socially if they skip grades, but in fact, the opposite is true. Gifted children thrive when given opportunities to engage with intellectual peers, who, for gifted individuals, are not necessarily the same age. In fact, some of the most influential American leaders had the opportunity to accelerate their learning, from Sandra Day O’Connor graduating from high school at 16 years old to Martin Luther King, Jr. graduating high school at only 15 years old.⁶

John F. Kennedy once said, “All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talent.” When we provide the appropriate support and educational opportunities for our gifted and talented children, we all stand to gain from their success.

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Spreading Peace – Helping Gifted Children Navigate COVID-19

��Ƶ Staff — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 05:48:17 +0000

By Jennifer De La Haye

As the COVID-19 pandemic has developed over the last couple of weeks, I have been struck by my own attachments to simple comforts and small routines – they make me feel safe, and when the grocery stores started feeling post-apocalyptic, I began to feel my sense of safety diminish. I realize that my experience of the pandemic is an incredibly privileged one; many people in our community have not only experienced a shift in routine – their lives have been upended. Some have lost jobs; some are struggling to feed their children, who usually eat breakfast and lunch at school; some are struggling to work full-time from home while trying to navigate emergency homeschooling; and some have gotten very, very sick or lost loved ones to the virus.

Whatever your experience has been during this time, I know that a loss of routine can feel foreboding. Children rely on their routines for their own sense of stability, and while transitions are difficult for all of us, they are especially unsettling and scary for children. Even a transition as simple as shifting from park time to get-in-the-car time can yield a reaction so intense that you might feel compelled to hide behind the twisty slide until the volcano in the middle of the wood chips ceases its erupting.

Gifted children experience a heightened awareness that is “qualitatively different from the norm,” (Columbus Group), and your child’s response to a shift in routine (no matter how slight the shift may seem) might manifest as intense anxiety, stomach aches, outbursts, reclusiveness, or all of the above, even if this extra time spent together has felt like a gift. My own child sat in the middle of the sidewalk during her scooter ride yesterday and wailed, WAILED, because a chirping bird in a tree, whom she had named “Baby Tweetie” did not come down to play with her. I was baffled. I thought the moment would pass quickly, but she cried about Baby Tweetie for hours: “BAAABY TWEEEEETIE! I LOVE HER AND SHE LOVES MEEEEE!” Her routine hasn’t shifted as dramatically as others’ have, but she is one of the most social people I know, and not playing with friends every day has been difficult for her. She longs for connection, and she was full of despair when her friend Baby Tweetie couldn’t offer it to her.

During my time working with Yunasa campers, I noticed that many gifted children feel intense anxiety relating to their perceived inability to affect change in a world of suffering. Younger kids might feel anxiety pertaining to their inability to affect change in their own, much smaller worlds. And when their lives have seemingly turned upside down, when their stabilizing routines have vanished, that anxiety might feel really big.

As we craft new routines during this time of transition, we might also provide tools for our kids to affect change in little ways. ��As I read Peace is an Offering by Annete LeBox to my daughters today, it occurred to me that it is completely within our power to spread peace right now, and we can empower our kids to do the same. What is peace, exactly? I think it is a sense of serenity, a feeling of acceptance, a knowing that we are ok, even when things are crumbling around us. We might experience peace as our anxieties calm down, our anger subsides, or our feelings of restlessness diminish. And as we work to spread peace in our little worlds (or in the world at large), we experience a greater measure of peace, too.

“Peace is an offering. A muffin or a peach. A birthday invitation. A trip to the beach. Peace is gratitude for simple things. Light through a leaf, a dragonfly’s wings. A kiss on the cheek, raindrops and dew. A walk in the park, a bowl of hot stew.”

We spread peace by putting forth little offerings of grace and kindness into our communities. We keep our eyes open and meet needs where we can. We remain attentive, looking for beauty everywhere.

“Peace is holding on to another. Peace is the words you say to a brother. Will you stay with me? Will you be my friend? Will you listen to my story till the very end?”

We help others experience peace when we offer them our presence and attention.

“And even in the wake of tragedy, even then, you might find her. In the rubble of a fallen tower. In the sorrow of your darkest hour. In the hat of a hero. In the loss of a friend.”

Peace can coexist with sorrow and turmoil.

“So offer a cookie, walk away from a fight. Comfort a friend through the long, dark night.” Sing a quiet song. Catch a falling star.”

I think this book is saying that peace is something we can all work to spread. It is something that each of us can offer. When we find needs and meet them, when offer kindness, when we provide our undivided presence (from a safe distance, of course), we are affecting change.

This week, someone sent me flowers for no reason, my neighbor offered to drop off lemon turmeric cake, and my daughter’s cousin sent her a postcard. All of these little offerings helped to spread peace because they got me thinking how we could spread some love too. And if this trajectory continues, peace ought to spread even as the coronavirus continues to disrupt our lives and harm people we love. These are tangible tools we can offer our children, who might be feeling especially powerless and uncertain: 1. Let’s find a need and meet it. 2. Let’s send someone something that will make them feel special. 3. Let’s offer each other our complete attention. 4. Let’s find beauty in every corner of our lives. 5. Let’s provide comfort for someone who is hurting.

“Sing a quiet song. Catch a falling star. May peace walk beside you wherever you are.”

We hope that you will share this blog with others who may find it helpful. If you are able, please consider to help our organization continue to provide exceptional programming during this difficult time.��

Gifted 101

��Ƶ Staff — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 14:16:35 +0000

Whether you have a child or student who has recently been identified as gifted, know a child who may be gifted, or have encountered a child who is gifted and have questions, you may need a place to start, a place that gives you the most basic information about what giftedness is and what it means. Here are some of the essentials we think you should know when embarking on this journey to learn more about the gifted child.

Defining “Gifted”:

There are many , none of which are universally agreed upon. However, ��Ƶ advocates for this definition:

“Giftedness is asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. This asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity. The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching and counseling in order for them to develop optimally.” – Columbus Group, 1991

Similar to how students can experience gaps in learning (for example, a student enrolled in calculus who is unable to solve basic geometry problems), children who develop asynchronously may experience “gaps” between their intellect and other parts of self. One such occurrence is found in learners who encounter psychomotor setbacks with coordination or writing skills, despite their deep intellectual capacity. Often, gifted learners experience frustration and a widening gap between their intellect and their social and emotional behavior. Because asynchrony often creates these developmental gaps, it is crucial to provide appropriate resources and opportunities that best identify, challenge, and assist each gifted child’s specific needs.

is an extremely common characteristic in gifted children and adults. Children who feel things with great intensity experience the world in a different way. Gifted young people are often more aware of, stimulated by, and affected by their surroundings. Emotional or physical reactions to events can last longer than expected and are often replayed in the child’s mind. Kazimierz Dabrowski coined the term “overexcitabilities” to describe intensities in five domains: intellectual, imaginational, sensual, psychomotor, and emotional.

More than Achievement

It is a common myth that gifted children automatically perform well in traditional school environments. ��Gifted children are not intrinsically motivated by good grades; they are more passionate about the acquisition of knowledge than performing rote tasks. This causes a problem when the school structure and grades rely on repetition and memorization. Bored, unchallenged students may disengage from��the learning process, which can lead to ��or��academic failure.

More than a Test Score

Though testing can be a helpful source of information to assess students’ abilities, it does not give a full picture of who the students are, what they care about, and what they are capable of accomplishing. Many factors, including learning disabilities and developmental asynchronies, can profoundly affect a student’s scores. It is important to look beyond GPAs and IQ scores when assessing a child’s gifts.

Feeding their Minds

Gifted students learn differently from their age mates: they learn at an accelerated pace; delve into topics of interest with greater complexity, scope, and depth; and approach learning from a more intuitive and sensitive point of view. They thrive on discovery for learning and the flexibility for exploration to feed their ravenous hunger for knowledge. Just as the human body needs nourishment to survive, the gifted child’s mind needs to be fed. When gifted kids are not learning, they often become anxious, worked up, and tired.

Highly gifted kids will typically change educational environments several times over the course of their K-12 education in an attempt to find the right accommodations or fit between the school system and the student. When a highly gifted child is successful in a single school system, it is often thanks to acceleration.

is an extremely viable option for students who need additional challenge in the classroom. This can take several forms, including grade-skipping, single-subject acceleration, or classwork performed in more depth or at a quicker pace. are also becoming a more viable option. If your child’s school will allow use of such resources, take them up on it.

Needs beyond the Academic

Gifted children are more than their minds. While intellectual challenges are necessary to keep one engaged, gifted children need more than intellectual stimulation to thrive. Along with advanced intellectual capacity, these individuals also have social, emotional, spiritual, and physical needs. Children with unusually advanced intellectual abilities are uniquely vulnerable to social and emotional challenges stemming from their asynchronous development, which can make it difficult to navigate a world that does not readily understand them.

Gifted students not only think differently, they feel different from their age-level peers. Children who are significantly different from the norm are in need of differentiated programs designed specifically to meet their unique needs.

. They��notice��differences between themselves and their classmates; they have different vocabulary, different interests, a deep passion for learning, and endless curiosity that they don’t see often in their age mates. This can be confusing to them, especially during��the early years of school. It is important, therefore, for them to be with other gifted children and understand that they are not alone.

Understanding and acceptance of giftedness – and the unique joys and challenges that accompany it – is crucial during childhood and adolescence, as these are critical stages of development.

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This post is part of . Check out all of the other great blogs participating in Hoagies’ August��Blog Hop!

Leaving Behind Normalcy: Asynchrony and the Gifted Child

��Ƶ Staff — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 06:18:49 +0000

By Brianna Safe

Brianna has worked at ��Ƶ since 2011 and with gifted students since 2009. She graduated from Biola University with her BA in Humanities and English and is particularly interested in how literary art can inform issues in human psychology about how individuals conceive of themselves and make decisions.��

The word “normal” is often casually batted across the field of developmental psychology, and I shudder at the implicit limitations of such a word. Sure, “normal” is a practical point of reference for understanding how children grow, in what ways and at what ages. When used descriptively, it can be a useful tool for seeing general patterns of physical, cognitive, and emotional development. The harm seems to come when we choose, often without realizing, to see normative development through a prescriptive lens. To prescribe “normal” as the measure of a healthy, happy child may confine us to a definition too narrow to allow the perspective that each child is a unique instantiation of life, and therefore will develop in his or her own unique way.

For those parenting a child at either end of the bell curve, the normalcy lens can cause more trouble than not. Any parent of a gifted or special needs child (or in some cases, the twice-exceptional child) can attest to the fact that, if normal is the rule, their child is indeed the exception. For these parents, it can be a challenge to let go of normative expectations and accept their child’s distinctive development.

These variations from the norm can be hard to define. Gifted has often been conflated with achievement and accolade, with success being the primary identifier of a truly gifted child. This seems a narrow perspective, considering the thousands of across America, to give one example. It also fails to account for the notion that gifted children don’t develop in a linear, synchronous way. Parents often speak of their gifted child embodying many ages at once, oscillating from an “old soul” to an emotional 3-year-old from one minute to the next. Imagine, for instance, the gifted child who spends her weekends learning computer languages like Java and C++ but who falls to pieces if asked to perform a repetitive task like copying vocabulary words ten times. How can we best define this simultaneous abundance and lack, which to us can appear so out of the norm?

In 1991, a group of gifted education specialists (both parents and professionals) came together to ask the��question – “What is gifted?” They gathered in Columbus, Ohio, (giving them the name “Columbus Group”) to search for��an answer to this deceptively simple��question. One member, Stephanie Tolan, recalls: “…we agreed that in almost every way these children were out of sync with expectations, norms, and averages” (Off the Charts, 14). Indeed, the gifted child will no doubt disappoint or confuse the parent who prescribes to normative expectations.

From their discussion, the Columbus Group conceived of the concept “asynchrony” to describe the basic features of the gifted child. Their child-centered – not product or achievement centered – definition has been adopted by many gifted organizations (��Ƶ included), schools, and educators as the most inclusive explanation of the gifted individual.

“Giftedness is asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. This asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity. The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching and counseling in order for them to develop optimally” (Columbus Group, 1991).

For young gifted people, the pressure for normalcy can easily sneak its way into their self-perception, either through internal or external influences, or both. Acceptance of their giftedness as an integral part of self is crucial during childhood and adolescence, as they are in the most critical stages of development. Asynchrony, not normalcy, should be the lens through which we understand the growing gifted individual, and should provide educators and parents alike a better framework for helping them to learn and grow into their best possible self.

If you are interested in learning more about asynchrony, I strongly recommend . Among the contributors are ��Ƶ Senior Fellows, Dr. Michael Piechowski, Stephanie Tolan, and Dr. Patricia Gatto-Walden, as well as Yunasa Fellow, Dr. Shelagh Gallagher. We are honored to have an ongoing relationship with some of the most renowned experts in the field today. To learn more about it or order it online, please visit .

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