Definition of Gifted and Talented
Pupils who give evidence of high performance capability in intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership, or specific academic areas, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided in a regular school program in order to fully develop such capabilities, may require gifted and talented programming (from s. 118.35(1), Wis. Stats.).
Areas of Giftedness
Giftedness falls into one or more of the following areas: intellectual, academic, creative, artistic and leadership.
- A student may be intellectually (cognitively) gifted if he or she uses advanced vocabulary, readily comprehends new ideas, thinks about information in complex ways, or likes to solve puzzles or problems.
- A student may be academically gifted if he or she shows unusual abilities in one or more area (math, reading, etc.), has exceptional memorization ability, acquires knowledge quickly, or enjoys talking with experts in the field of his or her interest.
- A student may be creatively gifted if he or she comes up with several solutions to a given problem, creates and invents in unusual and imaginative ways, and/or has a vivid imagination. In addition, creatively gifted children
- A student may be artistically gifted if he or she has an unusual ability for expressing self, feelings, or moods through art, dance, drama, or music, exhibits creative expression, or has an unusual ability for seeing and observing things in detail.
- A student may be gifted in the area of leadership if he or she assumes responsibility and follows through, uses judgment in decision making, sets goals and accomplishes them, can organize self and others, and has self-confidence.
Not all gifted children fit a typical profile, such as a child who is underachieving, lacks confidence, etc. It is critical that these children are identified and receive appropriate programming to meet their needs.
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