Meeting the Needs of the Bright and Gifted Students

Yesterday, we had RTI (Response to Intervention) meetings all day. I attended three of the four meetings, the ones for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students. The district asked one of the people that work in curriculum development to facilitate the meeting. What an intelligent, articulate, and knowledgeable young woman! Through a series of activities and discussions, she led each group to consider what they already do for the students on the higher end of the learning scale and what they could be doing. We began by considering the profile of many of our gifted students. Almost every group concluded that many of these students prefer to work independently, often challenge the teacher in multiple ways, sometimes lack social skills, and frequently have problems with organization.

The facilitator then asked teachers to consider a list of ways that they differentiate to meet the needs of these students. Most of the teachers were already doing several things on the list such as meeting in small groups, providing alternative assignments, and providing enrichment work. Of course, many of the teachers are used to modifying instruction for struggling students. Conversation revealed that teachers often spent so much time meeting the needs of the struggling learners, that little was left for those students who require a challenge. The facilitator provided several simple, practical ways to provide more balance in this area:

• Talk frankly with gifted students. Let them know you realize they are smart, but that you still have things you can teach them. Let them know that you will work with them to determine ways they can demonstrate mastery and move on with more challenging work.
• Use pre-assessments. If students already understand and have met the objectives of your lesson or unit plan, consider ways to enrich or move them into a new study.
• Allow students to develop projects; Once you approve them and create a rubric, they can work on their own.
• Give choices. The areas of process and product can be varied in many ways. For example, students can decide if they want to work independently, with a partner, or in a small group. Students can demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways (products).
• Help students learn good social skills if they are lacking in this area.
• Use Bloom's Taxonomy when planning lessons. It is essential to develop higher thinking skills, especially with bright or gifted students.
• Don't always rely on these students to help others or act as "teacher's aides". These students need to have an equitable learning situation. They should always be engaged in learning, not merely helping others learn things they already understand.

Once again, our RTI meeting was productive and enjoyable. Our facilitator showed ways to manage the needs of the brighter students without spending an inordinate amount of time doing it. In April, we will work together to create lessons that differentiate with these students in mind.