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Children who are gifted in one area tend to be gifted across subject areas including athletic ability, barring a specific physical or learning difference that prevents them from excelling.
No, they really don't.
Even Terman, who linked health with giftedness, did not go so far as to claim gifted ability went with intellectual giftedness. And his work had some major assumption problems in that regard.
Children who are gifted in one area tend to be gifted across subject areas including athletic ability, barring a specific physical or learning difference that prevents them from excelling.
This is not to say, however, that physical ability should be a requirement when evaluating giftedness.
Yes, just look at all these "gifted" college football and basketball players.
Yes, just look at all these "gifted" college football and basketball players.
Should have provided more information. I did not mean to imply that every athlete had extraordinary intellectual ability.
Gifted students do not always perform well in school. As well, some are very well adjusted socially, and others fade into the woodwork. We can all think of very bright adults who did not necessarily get the highest grades.
Indices that help teachers identify giftedness are meant to assist in identifying those children who have exceptional abilities that may not show through regular classroom assessments alone. To quote from Learning to Teach, a common education textbook by Richard Arends:
"Students who are gifted and talented can have a wide range of characteristics, particularly if we accept the concept of multiple intelligences [bodily-kinesthetic is one the multiple intelligences as defined by Gardner]. These include extraordinary cognitive functioning, the ability to retain lots of information, felxible though processes, creative problem-solving skills, large vocabularies, extensive knowlege of particular subjects, advanced artistic or physical talents, excellent metacognitive skills, and high standards for performance (58)."
As well, from my own observations, I've noticed that children who are GT tend to excel across subject areas; if a child is above grade level in reading, for example, he might also be doing well in math, science, and/or history. As well, really driven kids also tend to have the time-management skills, the focus, and the interest to develop themselves athletically. However, though this can be true, it is not always true.
That said, when observing a child to see if he is exceptional (either signficantly above or below the normal curve), it helps to take into account all indications about that child's performance and behavior across subject areas.
To quote from Learning to Teach, a common education textbook by Richard Arends:
"Students who are gifted and talented can have a wide range of characteristics, particularly if we accept the concept of multiple intelligences [bodily-kinesthetic is one the multiple intelligences as defined by Gardner]. These include extraordinary cognitive functioning, the ability to retain lots of information, felxible though processes, creative problem-solving skills, large vocabularies, extensive knowlege of particular subjects, advanced artistic or physical talents, excellent metacognitive skills, and high standards for performance (58)."
Without getting into the issue of "what is an intelligence?" or any specific reaction to Gardner, I'll merely note that both the Marland Report for the U.S. Dept. of Education and Thorndike's research touched on the broad variety of ways in which giftedness express themselves.
"Can have" is not even remotely the same as "tend to have."
That said, while I recognize that you are speaking from personal experience, research does not support the bolded areas below - the second, rather strongly:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrs. 14th & You
As well, from my own observations, I've noticed that children who are GT tend to excel across subject areas; if a child is above grade level in reading, for example, he might also be doing well in math, science, and/or history. As well, really driven kids also tend to have the time-management skills, the focus, and the interest to develop themselves athletically. However, though this can be true, it is not always true.
There are some broadly gifted kids, but more of them tend to have areas of particular strength rather than being gifted broadly.
And athleticism is not a matter of drive. Yes, drive will let you develop whatever you have, but it will not let you create athletic ability.
It's also very unclear that "really driven kids tend to have time management skills." Those who don't sure do seem to suffer a lot, though!
These posts are interesting... I'm no expert on this - just a parent.... But the gifted Math program (cannot comment on other subject areas) at our school does seem to have a high percentage of athletically achieving kids. I don't know the reasons for this. Is it that there is correlation between mathematical ability and athletic ability (due to kinetic learning/timing/repetitive patterns, etc.)? Is it that these kids tend to be highly focused on one sport (e.g. swimming) which leads to athletic achievement? Is it that their parents are able to financially support their training in both athletics and academics? Is it that their early childhood athletic activity improved brain functioning?
BTW, our gifted programs are based almost entirely on several tests given in the Fall. Usually, only children who test in the top 1% nationally qualify for the program. E.g. Some years, 6 kids out of 150 qualify. Other years, no child qualifies.
These posts are interesting... I'm no expert on this - just a parent.... But the gifted Math program (cannot comment on other subject areas) at our school does seem to have a high percentage of athletically achieving kids. I don't know the reasons for this. Is it that there is correlation between mathematical ability and athletic ability (due to kinetic learning/timing/repetitive patterns, etc.)? Is it that these kids tend to be highly focused on one sport (e.g. swimming) which leads to athletic achievement? Is it that their parents are able to financially support their training in both athletics and academics? Is it that their early childhood athletic activity improved brain functioning?
BTW, our gifted programs are based almost entirely on several tests given in the Fall. Usually, only children who test in the top 1% nationally qualify for the program. E.g. Some years, 6 kids out of 150 qualify. Other years, no child qualifies.
I suspect that kids who are involved in group sports are just more open to applying themselves. Plus they have to maintain a certain GPA to play.
I think that some people are physically or athletically gifted and that might be something to look for. I also think that some people who are gifted might be extra clumsy or perform poorly when it comes to athletic feats. Some kids are twice exceptional-- they are gifted in one or more areas and also special needs in one or more areas. So a kid could have a physical challenge and a learning disability and still be gifted in some other areas. But as other posters mentioned, the criteria are not set in stone. One place might be looking for kids that excel in everything.
I suspect that kids who are involved in group sports are just more open to applying themselves.
That makes sense... Maybe it has something to do with risk-taking traits? The kids I know in the gifted program seem to very precocious, confident, and able to take risks in the classroom... Maybe this also translates to the sports field resulting in improved performance? I'd be interested in any reasearch regarding risk-taking traits and giftedness.
Children who are gifted in one area tend to be gifted across subject areas including athletic ability, barring a specific physical or learning difference that prevents them from excelling.
This is not to say, however, that physical ability should be a requirement when evaluating giftedness.
I totally disagree with you. Many of the most highly gifted people have learning disabilites, processing problems etc. It is very rare to find a person that is gifted across the board. A well rounded talented bright person would be more of what you described. Truly gifted people almost always need a special program to suit their unique learning style because of their differences. Just look at historically gifted people like (please ignore spelling) Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo and Thomas Edison.....three very strong examples of truly gifted people all three had distinct difficult learning disabilties.
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