Learning Style

It is certainly fair to say that gifted students, like all students, have their own learning style.

As I have written many times, gifted students cannot do it on their own. In order to really excel, they need help. The first step, of course, is identifying them. This sounds straight forward but in some school districts it can be complicated.

You cannot challenge or help these students without first recognizing who they are and how they learn. Gifted students require more then what is offered in the regular classroom. They need program modifications and a different learning environment.

They are several types of learners including:

Visual Learners:

~like to see what they’re learning

~often sit in front of class

~take lots of notes

~find color presentations helpful

Auditory Learners:

~like to sit where they can hear but generally not up front

~like to read aloud

~remember by articulating lessons

Kinesthetic Learners:

~like to be active

~speak with hand gestures

~like hands-on work

~activities such as cooking and constructing things helps them to understand and learn

~sit near door so they can move about easily

Gifted students are different from their peers in several ways. They include such things as:

~They quickly recognize a problem and see the steps needed to solve it.

~They are generally well organized and can retrieve information they know readily.

~They are better able to set priorities.

There are many others. This just shows how gifted students would benefit from less repetition and revision and more challenge and independent work.

This modification of the regular school curriculum is often referred to "Differentiated Instruction". Ultimately, it falls to the teacher in the regular classroom.

The first question that comes to mind is how can one teacher identify each student's different learning style and implement a program for each one? That can be overwhelming.

Students with special needs require an adapted program. This seems to be readily accepted. However, the idea that gifted students need an adapted program within the classroom is often met with doubt.

All children have a right to learn at their own rate. Those who learn faster should be able to move through the material quicker. Those who learn at a slower pace should be able to take the time they need to learn the material.

More emphasis should be placed on achievement and ability level and not grade level. So that the student in grade three that reads at a grade six level should be given books at his reading level not grade level.

In classrooms where little or nothing is being done for gifted students, where their learning style and ability is not given consideration, this can lead to underachievement and behavioural and emotional conflicts in some cases.

From Learning Style to Challenges