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Critically review evidence of genetic and environmental influences on intelligence
Classification of gifted child
Critically review evidence of genetic and environmental influences on intelligence
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Often in our society, and in our educational systems, approximately 3 million gifted children in the United States of America-accounting for “approximately 6% of the student population” -get overlooked and do not receive the guidance that they need to flourish in the world today. These unusually gifted children can be categorized as children with “special needs…not covered by federal laws for the disabled.” To accommodate these special needs, parents, and teachers must understand how these children, and how to deal with their ups, and downs.
To begin, a vital part of gifted children can be found in between their ears. At age 7, kids with higher IQ’s (121-145) have a thinner cortex layer in their brains, and reached peak thickness much later (age 12 compared to 8 or 9 for the average and above average children), then matures more rapidly than the brains of others. A possible explanation of why this pattern of brain development ensues is to provide a larger window of opportunity for brain to grow, and develop other parts of the brain more fully by delaying development of the prefrontal cortex. Gifted minds work a little bit differently from the brains of others. Brock and Fernette Eide described the gifted brains that they studied using functional brain magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as “brains on fire”. They were described this way because the brain scans showed “bright red blazes of high metabolic activity [that] burst out all over the scan.” fMRI measures brain activity “by detecting the changes in blood oxygenation and flow that occur in response to neural activity.” In addition to these brains activity in brains, a study from the UC Irvine College of Medicine found that “intelligence levels are correlated with the amoun...
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...er, and be facilitated in applying their skills, and learning higher levels of thinking. Learning alongside others who are around their level, along with regular classes can help children grow; although alternative options exist. Testing, and qualifications for these programs, along with the funding of them can prove difficult, but can be a great asset in the future of these children.
In conclusion, gifted, and talented children do have special needs, as every child has specific needs. However, the nature of this need requires action to help the millions of children who are above average flourish in their learning. The way that the brains of these children work can reveal ways in which they are growing, and the ways in which they could receive guidance. Gifted children are in no way superior to others; they could just use an extra challenge for their eager minds.
In R. J. Sternberg & J. E. Davidson (Eds.), Conceptions of giftedness (pp. 201-216). New York: Cambridge University Press. Runco, M. A. (2005). Creative giftedness. In R. J. Sternberg & J. E. Davidson (Eds.), Conceptions of giftedness (pp. 295-311).
More food made larger populations possible. Larger populations caused larger villages, which combined into real cities. A true city had real power, including alliances, bargaining, and trading.
Gifted and talented programs are intrinsically valuable to many children’s education as they provide a system in which all students involved are engaged, challenged, and intellectually stimulated. In "How People Learn", Donovan, Bransford, and Pellegrino (1999) stress the importance of each student being given reasonable and appropriate goals based on his or her level of understanding and competency (p. 20). Gifted and talented programs help institutionalize the attempt to meet all student’s needs by providing uniquely appropriate challenges which aim to keep every student engaged, thus receiving the best chance at success. Although there are many valuable and important aspects of gifted education, there are also significant issues rooted in the base of America’s gifted and talented programs, one of which I will address throughout this paper. In my opinion, the most notable problem which troubles gifted and talented programs is the system by which students are selected to join their school’s gifted and talented program.
Whitney, C. S. & Hirsch, G. (2011). Helping Gifted Children Soar. A Practical Guide for
Kuttler, Ami Flam. “Gifted/IQ Evaluations.” Ami Flam Kuttler, Ph. D 2011. Web. 31 October 2011.
During time, as it developed more powerful and more well known, “it became one of the most urbanized societies in the pre-industrial world.” During the peak of its empire, it had one of the largest inhabitants on the planet. The empire had an abundance of cities such as the city of Rome. These cities had features such as: overcrowded slums, busy streets, plazas, imposing public administrative buildings, and so on. The Roman Empire controlled around 2000 "cities". The cities all had they’re own communities which meant they looked after themselves without need from a higher power. The majority of the cities formed a grid like pattern. In these blocks would be located homes for the rich and the poor. Also on the streets would be shops, cafes, workshops and
Some people work hard their whole life to achieve success and others just seem to be born talented in a certain field that they prevail in. One of the ways an individual can attempt to become successful is by working diligently in school to obtain a proper education. Access to advanced education is key if you would want to become very intelligent and furthermore the so called “gifted programs” in these advanced education systems are supposed to make you even smarter.People have wondered if going through gifted programs would make you more successful in your adult life.There was a man named Richard Terman, who wanted to take a group of kids in these gifted programs, his “Termites”, and track how successful they were later in life. He was hoping to find that the kids that were in advanced classes would in fact become very successful adults and he was right. When his Termites were adults many of them became experts in different fields. Terman measured the success of the chosen people by looking at awards they have achieved and all of the writings that they have published and the amount of these achievements was fairly
Runco, M. A. (2005). Creative giftedness. In R. J. Sternberg & J. E. Davidson (Eds.), Conceptions of giftedness (pp. 295-311). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Donovan, M. Suzanne and Christopher T. Cross (2002, August). Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/lib/drexel/-docDetail.action?docID=10032383.
Lovecky, D. V. (1995). Highly Gifted Children and Peer Relationships. Counseling and Guidance Newsletter. Retrieved March 10, 2003, from http://print.ditd.org/floater=74.html.
Heward, W. L. (2013). Exceptional children: An introduction to special education (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Parke, B. (n.d.). Challenging gifted students in the regular classroom. Retrieved March 1, 2004, from http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/Challenging_gifted _kids.html
Gifted Child Today, 2004: 2000-. Willis Web. City U of New York Lib. 1 Dec
The Oxford Dictionary defines intelligence as “the ability acquire and apply knowledge and skills.” Many people are born naturally intelligent, able to grasp and understand concepts easily, with little work. In children, it is easy to separate those born with higher intellectual ability from the rest, because they easily excel in learning. This skill is often lost by those born with it, and through a great deal of work others attain it. In order for an individual to have true intelligence into her adult years, she must foster what gifts she is given, and strive to better her self academically. Even as early as elementary school, many who are born with natural talent begin to fall behind intellectually. These students are often not
Turnbull, R., Turnbull, A., Shank, M., Smith, S.J. (2004). Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today's Schools. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.