Tips for Teachers of Gifted Learners

The gifted learner thrives on challenge, complexity AND choice. This student looks and listens to content in a different way and might wonder if the teacher considers the multiple nuances and different perspectives that could be “essential” to the lesson.

It is common for gifted learners to want to do more but to have strong feelings about what that should look like. They like to take concepts to a higher level and to study things in depth. Students who are gifted learners enjoy the company of intellectual peers and will seek out adult company if they sense that their thinking is not valued or encouraged among classmates.

It is important for the classroom teacher of a gifted learner to:

• show appreciation for the student’s abstract references .
• prepare for questions which the teacher has no answer.
• understand that most repetition is a source of frustration.
• remember that this child prioritizes understanding over knowledge.

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