Models of Gifted Programming Services in Ontario

Each school board in Ontario is responsible for developing its own models for fulfilling the programming requirements for students who are gifted. One popular model that continues to receive a lot of attention in Ontario is:

School Wide Enrichment Triad - A model that incorporates three levels of activity: 
General Exploratory Activities - Students are exposed to a wide variety of experiences that may or may not be available in the essential curriculum. Guest speakers, demonstrations, field trips, documentaries and other resources are available to expose students to a wide variety of disciplines, topics, occupations, and hobbies. The goal of general exploratory activities is to stimulate new interests that individuals or small groups of students may choose to pursue through intensive study.
Group Training Activities - Students learn and develop advanced research skills and thinking skills such as critical inquiry, problem solving, and creative thinking. Activities or lessons usually occur in the classroom or in small group settings. These learning activities encourage high-level thinking and reasoning skills.
Individual or Small-Group Investigations - Individual students or small groups of students engage in research investigations in an area of personal interest. These learning activities allow students to think, feel, and act like practicing professionals. Students conduct research, gather data, solve problems, and create a final product that is shared with an appropriate audience. 

               For example:  Ball Institute 

Designed for students in Grade One

Balls, balls, balls. Let’s play ball and come have a ball!

Multiple Intelligences: Logical-Mathematical, Spatial, Kinesthetic, Interpersonal
Driving Question: Given what we discover about balls, what conclusions can we make about the qualities of balls to create a ball demonstration for children in other classrooms?

Which ball bounces higher: a small ball or a large ball?
How many different kinds of spheres can you list and what are their functions?
If we roll a ball on the carpet how far might it roll? What about on other surfaces?
Did you ever examine the surface of footballs, basketballs, or softball? How do they compare to one another? How can they be used in a game?
Can balls be used to paint?
What is the relationship between a ball and a hoop?
What is the circumference of a marble? How does it compare to the size of the earth?
Balls, balls, balls. Let’s play ball and come have a ball!

For more information, see:
http://www.casenex.com/casenex/cecReadings/revisitingTheSchoolwide.pdf

How Students are Nominated for Gifted Programs

In Ontario, most school boards rely on a combination of elements to determine students who might be eligible for the distinction of giftedness.  The elements include:

• IQ tests - 130 to 135 or above on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale 

• Tests of Creativity - assessment of creative behaviours
• Achievement Tests - often used as initial screening tools; student must score significantly above his/her age level to be considered a potential candidate
• Portfolio - providing a collection of the student's work over time and across situations
• Teacher Nomination - requiring teachers to complete a rating scale or inventory checklist to substantiate a nomination
• Parent Nomination - based on the assumption that parents know their children best
• Peer Nomination - nomination by one's peers is considered a good idea in theory but there is little research data to substantiate its reliability
• Self Nomination - particularly effective when used with older students; students are often encouraged by a parent and/or a teacher to put their names forward for consideration

Special Education in Ontario Schools

Association for Bright Children of Ontario

The Association for Bright Children in Ontario supports the welfare of all bright and gifted children.
* Membership open to families and professionals who are concerned with the education of bright and gifted students.
* Provides advice and advocacy support for parents on issues for gifted children from pre-school through secondary in Ontario

Help parents on:
* identification and placement processes
* in-school discussions
* individual education plans, and many other issues
* Supports available whether or not the children have been formally identified as gifted
* Representatives of the Chapters of ABC Ontario are on the mandated Special Education Advisory  Committees
* Work with other parent associations so the interests of all children with special needs are understood and met within publicly funded school boards across the province

www.abcontario.ca

How to Turn on the RIGHT HEMISPHERE

1.Use humor whenever possible: Humor gets the right hemisphere into the act.

2. Present it visually. Draw pictures. Show—don’t just tell them. Have them picture it.

3. Use computers. Computers show rather than tell. They teach visually with no time limits.

4. Make use of fantasy. Provide lots of opportunities for students to use their imaginations!

5. Use hands-on experiences: manipulatives, construction, movement, action.

6. Make it challenging. Challenge integrates the two hemispheres.

7. Use discovery techniques: finding patterns, inductive learning, inquiry training.

8. Put it to music. Sing it! Dance it! Chant it! Rhythm it!

9. Get their attention! Talk louder, talk faster, be more animated, use gestures. Do something silly.

10. Make individuals winners. Involve them in competitions they are guaranteed to win.  For example, read one more book than last week or beat your best time on reciting the times tables or move the ping pong ball down the hall without using your hands or feet.

11. Teach to their interests: find out what turns them on and do it! 

12. Emotion works wonders. Use emotionally charged material. Show them you care. 
 

Linda Kreger Silverman, Ph.D.

Two Sides of the Same Student: Positive and Negative Characteristics of Giftedness

Gifted students possess some common characteristics.  Some characteristics make teaching and interacting with the student rewarding and pleasurable.  Others may cause both parents, peers and educators frustration.  The two sides of each coin are identified below:

The Gifted Student 
...asks many questions, is very curious, possesses a large amount of information & has a good memory
BUT
...easily gets 'off task' and 'off topic'
...is impatient when not called on in class

The Gifted Student
...learns new information quickly, retains information easily and finishes classwork quickly
BUT
...is easily bored
...can become disruptive in the classroom
...shows resistance to repetitive activities and memorization
...completes work quickly and sloppily

The Gifted Student
...is interested in many things, becomes involved in many activities, enjoys a challenge
BUT
...may resist working on activities apart from areas of interest
...leaves projects unfinished
...takes on too much and becomes overwhelmed

The Gifted Student
...thinks independently, expresses unique and original opinions, and is self-motivated
BUT
...challenges authority
...does not handle criticism well
...does not work well in groups

The Gifted Student
...uses higher level thinking skills, makes connections that other students don't see, is a good problem solver
BUT
...tends to be absent minded regarding practical details
...forgets homework assignments

The Gifted Student
...has a strong sense of justice and likes to debate current issues and real life problems
BUT
...can be very critical of self and others
...is a perfectionist and expects others to be perfect as well

The Gifted Student
...has a sophisticated sense of humor, enjoys plays of words and satire
BUT 
...easily gets carried away with a joke
...has a tendency to become the 'class clown'

The Gifted Student
...demonstrates strong expressive skills, is sensitive to the feelings of others, & shows skill in drama, art, music and language
BUT
...sometimes comes across as a 'know it all' by peers
...sometimes is perceived to be bossy by peers

TeachersFirst.com

Is the student GIFTED or BRIGHT?

A Student Demonstrating GIFTED Behaviours:

• Asks the questions
• Is highly curious
• Is mentally and physically involved
• Has wild, silly ideas
• Plays around yet tests well
• Discusses in detail and elaborates
• Beyond the group
• Shows strong feelings and opinions
• Already knows
• 1-2 repetitions for mastery
• Constructs abstractions
• Prefers adults
• Draws inferences
• Initiates projects
• Is intense
• Creates new designs
• Enjoys learning
• Manipulates information
• Inventor
• Good guesser
• Is keenly observant
• Is highly self-critical 
• Thrives on complexity

 A Student Demonstrating BRIGHT Behaviours:

• Knows the answer
• Is interested
• Is attentive
• Has good ideas
• Works hard
• Answers the questions
• In the top group
• Listens with interest
• Learns with ease
• 6-8 repetitions for mastery
• Understands ideas
• Enjoys peers
• Grasps the meaning
• Completes assignments
• Is receptive
• Copies accurately
• Enjoys school
• Absorbs information
• Technician
• Good memorizer
• Is alert

http://www.lincolnparkboe.org

Growing Up Gifted: Differences in Gifted Students Observed at Home and at School

Cognitive characteristics of the gifted student may include:

• extraordinary quantity of information;     
  
• unusual retentiveness;
• advanced comprehension;
• unusually varied interests and curiosity;
• high level of language development;
• high level of verbal ability;
• unusual capacity for processing information;
• accelerated pace of thought processes;
• flexible thought processes;
• heightened capacity for seeing unusual and diverse relationships;
• ability to generate original ideas and solutions;
• early ability to use and form conceptual frameworks;
• persistent goal directed behaviour.

Creative characteristics of the gifted student may include: 

• tries to do things in different, unusual, imaginative ways;
  
• has a really zany sense of humour;
• enjoys new routines or spontaneous activities;
• loves variety and novelty;
• creates problems with no apparent solutions and enjoys asking you to solve them;
• loves controversial and unusual questions;
• has a vivid imagination;
• seems never to proceed sequentially.

Affective (or emotional) characteristics of a gifted student might include:

• large accumulation of information about emotions that has not been brought to awareness;
• unusual sensitivity to the expectations and feelings of others;
  
• keen sense of humour;
• may be gentle or hostile;
• heightened self-awareness, accompanied by feelings of being "different;
• idealism and a sense of justice that appear at an early age;
• advanced levels of moral judgement;
• high expectations of self and others, which often lead to high levels of frustration with self, others and situations;
• unusual emotional depth and intensity;
• sensitivity to inconsistency between ideals and behaviour. 

GROWING UP GIFTED: DEVELOPING THE POTENTIAL OF CHILDREN AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL,  Second edition, by Barbara Clark, Merrill, 1983