Social-Emotional Adjustments for the Gifted The iSpark Consortium 26 January 2011

Giftedness… General intellectual ability Specific academic aptitude Creative or productive thinking Leadership ability Visual or performing ability Psychomotor ability MY SON???

Affective Traits of the Gifted (Davis & Rimm 1998) Tendency for high emotional excitability and sensitivity Tendency for high emotional excitability and sensitivity High expectations of self and others High expectations of self and others Generally high level of independence, self-confidence and internal control Generally high level of independence, self-confidence and internal control Higher sensitivity to moral thinking and empathy Higher sensitivity to moral thinking and empathy Questionable Manifestations Indifference to conventions and courtesies CynicismUnderachievement

Creative Traits of the Gifted (Davis & Rimm 1998) Creative consciousness Creative consciousness Confidence, risk-taking Confidence, risk-taking High energy, adventurousness High energy, adventurousness Unusual and versatile imagination Unusual and versatile imagination Idealism and reflectiveness Idealism and reflectiveness Attraction to the novel, complex and mysterious Attraction to the novel, complex and mysterious Tolerance for ambiguity Tolerance for ambiguity Artistic and aesthetic interests Artistic and aesthetic interests Questionable Manifestations Indifference to conventions and courtesies Stubborn, perfectionism, uncooperative Egocentrism Low interest in details

Intellectual Traits of the Gifted (Davis & Rimm 1998) Precocious language and thought Precocious language and thought Logical thinking Logical thinking Intellectually curious Intellectually curious Motivation and persistence Motivation and persistence Excited by new ideas but can’t carry them through Excited by new ideas but can’t carry them through Wide-ranging interests Wide-ranging interests Sees relationships and higher levels of conceptual abstraction Sees relationships and higher levels of conceptual abstraction

Managing these Traits stimulate and discuss topics of current interest provide multi/inter-disciplinary experiences/perspectives inculcate values education build social awareness, skills, contributions develop meta-cognition ethical reasoning over and above critical thinking