Tips for Teachers of Higher Achieving Students

High achieving students are the most likely to be identified as gifted. They are accustomed to being in control and to being considered “bright.” Their achievement is easily measured because their work is complete, accurate and punctual. They enjoy school and like to please their teachers and parents.

Teachers of high achievers would do well to:

• Understand that acclimation to classroom procedures and dedication to high performance is not the same as giftedness.
• appreciate them for their high-level modeling and never create a “teacher’s pet” scenario.
• watch for signs of paralyzed perfectionism (in which case students fear making a mistake, so work grinds to a halt).
• consider encouraging them to think outside the box and come up with more original ideas.

From Professional Learning Board’s online continuing education course for teachers: Differentiation for Gifted Learners in the Classroom