Opening Quotes

“What you pay attention to will define, for you, what reality is.” – Oliver Burkeman

“The sailor cannot see the north, but knows the needle can.” – Emily Dickinson, 1862

What is giftedness? While many of us think we know giftedness when we see it, it’s not an easy question with an obvious answer. In fact, there are over one hundred different definitions of giftedness. These definitions depend on:

  • The different ways people can be gifted (visual thinking, verbal abilities, athletic prowess, leadership, early artistic or musical drive…)
  • The fact giftedness means different things to different people in different environments (for example, different strengths shine in different economies and cultures)
  • There are a lot of different ways to be gifted (Is giftedness fast processing speed? Is it insatiable curiosity and drive? Is it high achievement or just potential for achievement?)

When I work with students, I often present these dilemmas and ask them to come up with a definition of giftedness on their own before presenting the top definitions that guide many researchers. Please give this exercise a try on your own right now if you are interested.

Giftedness is…

To take this exercise further, think about answering this question from the point of view of many different people.

  • A well-informed teacher thinks giftedness is…
  • A misinformed teacher thinks giftedness is…
  • My grandparents thought giftedness was…
  • Settlers of the American West thought giftedness was…
  • Modern day Aboriginal Australians think giftedness is…
  • People during the Renaissance thought giftedness was…  

A complex picture gets painted pretty quickly.

Now, bring this back to our modern culture, and consider these definitions used by various researchers and institutions. 

Official Definitions

The Columbus Group: 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.

Anne-Marie Roper’s definition of giftedness: A greater degree of awareness and sensitivity paired with a greater ability to understand and transform perceptions into intellectual and emotional experiences.

The U.S. Department of Education: Gifted learners are children and youth with outstanding talent who perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience, or environment.

The National Association of Gifted Children: Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer) in one or more domains.

Dr. Joseph Renzulli’s Three Ring Model provides a foundational framework for understanding giftedness. According to Renzulli, gifted behavior arises from the interaction of three key factors: above-average ability, creativity, and task commitment. He also states, “Gifted behavior occurs in certain people, at certain times, under certain circumstances.” A little bit vague, but true!

In addition, The Davidson Institute has a video for explaining giftedness.

As we look at these various definitions, we can look for an overall pattern and common thread.

They all highlight certain strengths: high potential, advanced problem-solving abilities, strong cognitive skills, creativity, and high motivation. But they also reveal common challenges, such as overexcitability, high-sensitivity, perfectionism, and potential social isolation.

Is it a simple balanced equation: giftedness = high potential?

Most of us with a little life experience have found, the world doesn’t want our potential. The world wants our “actual.”

In other words, is giftedness what I do or who I am? 

Even if the definitions are murky, you have a right to learn about your giftedness, in whatever shape it may take. 

Part 2: “Underachievers” and “Selective Consumers”

Guiding Questions

What about when giftedness doesn’t equal achievement? What about “underachievement” and selective consumption of academic content? What about people without support in disadvantaged environments? What about those using their gifts for something not measurable by society yet, like visionaries?

These questions from a DYS parent made me think of the following quote from the book When Gifted Kids Don’t Have All the Answers by Judy Galbraith, M.A. and Jim Delisle, PhD (2016):

At present, only slightly over one-half of the possible gifted learners in the United States are reported to be receiving education appropriate to their needs. There is physical and psychological pain in being thwarted, discouraged, and diminished as a person. To have ability, to feel power you are never allowed to use, can become traumatic. Many researchers consider the gifted as the largest group of underachievers in education.

The largest group of underachievers in education? That is a fascinating claim. As for visionaries and people on their own extremely unique path, biographies of eminent people throughout history can show us a lot about that. The twice-exceptional flower, in particular, can take a while to bloom. 

Concerning underachievers and selective consumers. When Gifted Kids Don’t Have All the Answers explores this useful breakdown: 

Selective Consumer

  • Mentally healthy
  • Can explain both problem and possible solutions
  • Independent and proactive
  • See teachers as adversaries and are contentious
  • Frequently satisfied with accomplishments
  • Sees self as academically able
  • Counseling needs are minimal
  • Requires little structure, needs breathing room
  • Performance varies relative to teacher and content
  • Can be dealt with within school resources
  • Change may occur overnight

Underachiever

  • Psychologically at risk
  • Does not understand causes or cures
  • Dependent and reactive
  • Respects or fears authority figures
  • Often perfectionistic, nothing is ever good enough
  • Poor academic self-esteem
  • Strong counseling program needed
  • Needs both structure and imposed limits
  • Performance uniformly weak
  • Requires family intervention
  • Change is long term

While both these groups may evade the gifted label unless they are under a discerning eye, there are approaches to use while working with them once you figure out what is going on (why their “potential” rarely reaches their “actual”).

Delisle’s Strategies for Improving Performance

Intrinsic Strategies

  • Tactics devised to develop intrinsic motivation. Using the person’s discovery of rewards available when they make an effort to learn, achieve, and participate.

Supportive Strategies

  • Show that you see their potential and that you look forward to their future (even if they don’t). Show how potential is something to be discovered and enjoyed. Affirm the worth of the student.

Remedial Strategies

  • These are especially useful for twice-exceptional individuals. While simultaneously affirming strengths, improve the student’s academic performance in specific areas leading to struggle, repeated failure, or feeling left behind. 

A Further Breakdown:

Intrinsic Strategies

Selective consumer

  • Practice and model reflective listening (help the student hear the voice inside themselves)
  • Co-create daily/weekly/monthly goals
  • Include student in formation of class policy
  • Assign responsibilities for classroom tasks

Underachiever

  • Reward small successes on a daily schedule
  • Encourage student to evaluate their own work before commenting
  • Maintain positive contact with family about progress
  • Praise out loud for self-initiating behaviors

Supportive Strategies

Selective Consumer

  • Eliminate any mastered work
  • Encourage independent study (especially on topics of interest)
  • Create a non authoritarian environment
  • Allow time to prove competence via various methods
  • Include problem solving exercises versus memorization

Underachiever

  • Make room for students to discuss their concerns
  • Make it clear who is in charge and when
  • Co-create student contracts
  • Create a daily schedule (include free choice and relaxation)
  • Be predictable with your methods

Remedial Strategies

Selective Consumer

  • Have the student choose goals for improvement (weekly basis works well)
  • Individual instruction and tutoring in areas of concern
  • Use personal examples, biographies, and humor to address academic weaknesses
  • Introduce students to cognitive diversity and the impacts on strengths/weaknesses

Underachiever 

  • Straightforward routine where the student grades themselves first
  • Have them teach younger students when it comes to areas of high aptitude
  • Small group tutoring for areas of need
  • Facilitate and encourage personal projects with no grades or external validation

While using these tactics, hopefully the student starts to feel as though they are in charge of their own education. Innate fast processing speed will only take a person so far. A connection between effort and success (even if only in hobbies or areas of interest at first)? That’s a form of giftedness someone can respect inside themselves. 

Optional Activity/Journal Questions:

  • Is there a definition of giftedness from the professional resources that resonated with you the most? Why do you think that is?
  • What does giftedness look like to you? How would you define it?
  • Is it a problem that educators and professionals around the world can’t settle on a single definition of giftedness? If so, why?

Resources/Go Deeper: 

Books: 

  • The Gifted Kids/Teen Survival Guide by James R Delisle and Judy Galbraith
  • When Gifted Kids Don’t Have All the Answers by Judy Galbraith, M.A. and Jim Delisle, PhD
  • Hidden Potential (the work of Adam Grant)
  • Ungifted by Scott Barry Kaufman

 



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