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T.A.L.E.N.T.Maryann Woods-Murphy, Ed.D

Benjamin Franklin International SchoolOctober 8th, 2019

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TogetherAchieving

LastingEngagement

NurturingTalent

My role...

● To support the BFIS community goal of enhanced Talent development

● To draw from multiple stakeholders’ perceptions● To be a resource, thought partner, researcher,

colleague● To foster design, connect across barriers● Be an insider/outsider - rich perspective

THANK you for the warm welcome!

Together

Grow the culture of talent development

at BFIS

Quick Bio: When I was 22, I left the U.S.A.

I agree to a pact to speak only Spanish....a

language I didn’t know...

I am in

love

and love

needs no

language!!

Ahhhh!!! All

Spanish!

To live in Spain, teach English, learn a new culture

and language…

When I came back, I taught in the U.S.A.

After 20 years of teaching, I became the NJ Teacher of the Year in 2010 and in 2011

I worked at the US Dept of Education

I had many experiences including visiting schools all

around the country

Then...working with high ability learners

From out of the box personal experiences, to out of the box teaching

Our plan

• Maryann’s introduction

• What are 6 profiles for the exceptionally able?

• How can WE do to support these students every day?

• What do exceptionally able students need to succeed?

• Recommendations for our students

• Reflect: How we are growing a talent development program at BFIS? What is MY role?

Joe Renzulli – UCONN – Director of The National Research Center on Gifted and

Talented

Who’s gifted?

Dr. Françoys GagnéTalks about types of natural abilities

that differ from the norm = outstanding

IntellectualCreativeSocialPhysical

Dr. Françoys Gagné Université du Québec à Montréal

Neither Renzulli & Gagné

see human talent development as something static that you simply have…...One’s abilities need to be developed.

Let’s think about talent by playing...Guess who?

• This man died in 1642 and was accused of heresy.

• Before this thinker, most people believed in the geocentric view of the universe, not the heliocentric view that he proclaimed.

Galileo

Born in 1898

He was weak and he didn't walk until he was 4. He wasn't a very good student - he took 9 years to finish high school. Then, he dropped out of Law school and he moved into this crazy residence with a bunch of his artist friends.

Federico Garcís Lorca

This person

• Spoke at 4, read at 7

• Uncomfortable with the principles of absolute obedience in his elementary school.

• Wanted to go to a tech school, but failed the exam to get in.

• Had great strategies about physics and he was a wonderful visualizer.

Albert Einstein

Close your eyes….

● Picture someone - as vividly as you can - YOU know (can be YOU) who did not Do school well.

● Starting with “I wonder if schools could have….”

Maybe you notice these behaviors in your students...

Janice Szabos discussed some of the most common “gifted” behaviors and she compares them to the behaviors of the “bright” child.

Bright vs. Gifted

Bright vs. Gifted

But, we cannot think of these exceptionally able (gifted) students as one group

• They may have different behavior, talents and needs

• They are influenced by their families, education and personal development

• Emotions and intellectual development intertwine.

Six Profiles of the Gifted & Talented

The following profiles are quoted directly from a classic study called “Profiles of the Gifted and Talented,” by Neihart & Betts (2010)

*original study 1988, revised in 2010

Type 1: The Successful…

• 90% of identified gifted students in school programs are Type I's.

• Have learned the system, appropriate behavior, seek approval from adults

• Have listened closely to their parents and teachers and know what "sells" at home and at school,

• Score high on achievement tests and tests of intelligence.

Type 1: The Successful…

• Teachers say they will "make it on their own.”

• May get bored with school, but may use the system to get by with little work

• Go through the motions of school, seeking structure from instructors

• Liked by peers, included in social groups

• May not be aware of deficiencies because of high reinforcement from adults, but may become unimaginative adults without creativity or autonomy.

Type 2: The Creative

• Divergently gifted.

• Creative and may appear to be obstinate, tactless, or sarcastic and sometimes frustrated with school.

• Question authority and may challenge the teacher in front of the class, non conformists.

• They receive little recognition and few rewards or honors. Their interactions at school and at home often involve conflict.

Type 2: The Creative

• School doesn’t affirm their talents and abilities.

• Struggling with their self-esteem.

• May or may not feel included in the social group – may challenge peers.

• May have a sense of humor and creativity that is very appealing to peers.

• Spontaneity may be disruptive in the classroom.

Type 2 – The Creative

• Often possess negative self-concepts.

• May be "at risk" as eventual dropouts for drug addiction or delinquent behavior if appropriate interventions are not made by junior high.

• Parents of gifted high school students who drop out of school note that their children exhibited Type 2 behaviors in upper elementary school or junior high.  

Type 3: The Underground

• Often, are middle school females although males may also want to hide their giftedness.

• If a gifted boy goes underground, it tends to happen later, in high school, and typically in response to the pressure to participate in athletics.

• They begin to deny their talent in order to feel more included with a non-gifted peer group.

Type 3: The Underground

• Highly motivated and intensely interested students may undergo a sudden radical transformation, losing all interest in previous passions.

• Frequently feel insecure and anxious.

• Changing needs are often in conflict with the expectations of teachers and parents.

Type 3: The Underground

• Adults react to them in ways that only increase their resistance and denial – push children no matter how they feel

• Seem to benefit from being accepted as they are at the time.

Type 4: The At Risk

• They are angry with adults and with themselves because the system has not met their needs for many years and they feel rejected.

• Acting depressed and withdrawn or by acting out and responding defensively.

• Have interests that lie outside the realm of the regular school curriculum.

Type 4: The At Risk

• School seems irrelevant and perhaps hostile to them.

• Mostly seen in high school students

• Are frequently gifted children who were identified very late, perhaps not until high school.

Type 4: The At Risk

• Require a close working relationship with an adult they can trust.

• Traditional programming is no longer appropriate for Type 4s.

Type 5: The Double Labeled (Also, Twice Exceptional, 2e)

• Handwriting or disruptive behaviors that make it difficult for them to complete work,

• Seem confused about their inability to perform school tasks.

• They show symptoms of stress; they may feel discouraged, frustrated, rejected, helpless, or isolated.

Type 5: The Double Labeled (Also, Twice Exceptional, 2e)

• May deny that they are having difficulty by claiming that activities or assignments are "boring" or "stupid."

• They may use their humor to demean others in order to bolster their own lagging self-esteem.

• They urgently want to avoid failures and are unhappy about not living up to their own expectations.

Type 5: The Double Labeled (Also, Twice Exceptional, 2e)

• May use intellectualization as a means of coping with their feelings of inadequacy.

• May be impatient and critical and react stubbornly to criticism.

Type 6: The Autonomous Learner

• Few gifted children demonstrate this style at a very early age although parents may see evidence of the style at home.

• Have learned to work effectively in the school system. Use the system to create new opportunities for themselves.

• They are well respected by adults and peers and frequently serve in some leadership capacity within their school or community.

Type 6: The Autonomous Learner

• They do not work for the system; they make the system work for them.

• Strong, positive self-concepts because their needs are being met; they are successful, and they receive positive attention and support for their accomplishments as well as for who they are.

• Are independent and self-directed. They feel secure designing their own educational and personal goals.

Type 6: The Autonomous Learner

• Accept themselves and are able to take risks.

• A strong sense of personal power. They realize they can create change in their own lives, and they do not wait for others to facilitate change for them.

• They are able to express their feelings, goals, and needs freely and appropriately.

Type 6: The Autonomous Learner

• Traditionally, these students are either ignored because they are perceived as average or referred for remedial assistance. School systems tend to focus on their weaknesses and fail to nurture their strengths or talents.

The task: Review your table’s profile

The Successful

The Creative

The Underground

The At-Risk

The Twice/Multi exceptional

The Autonomous Learner

Using the matrix

Write the name of the profile type

What can we do to help?

What does this learner look and act like at home

Visit ONE more table…One more profile

Walk over and add an idea or two to the “what can we do to help? section.

Gallery Walk

References

• Betts, G., Neihart, M. (1988). Profiles of the Gifted and Talented. Gifted Child Quarterly. Retrieved from http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10114.aspx

• Betts, Gl, Neihart, M. (2010). Revised Matrix – Profiles of the Gifted and Talented. Retrieved from http://www.ingeniosus.net/archives/dr-george-betts-and-dr-maureen-neihart-share-revised-profiles-of-gifted

• Renzulli, J. S. (2005). The three-ring conception of giftedness: A developmental model for promoting creative productivity. New York: Cambridge University Press.

• Szabos, J. (1989). Bright child, gifted learner. Challenge, 34. Good Apple

• True Colors Test: http://www.maranausd.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/42019

• Woods-Murphy, M. (2017). We need to keep our most advanced students engaged: Here’s how. https://edexcellence.net/articles/we-need-to-keep-our-most-advanced-students-engaged-heres-how

Resources

• Projects to Go – Data bases of free advanced math projects. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uQrQxneElwqCats-wGhZ1ydKAH62goUST2GLVT808Gs/edit?usp=sharing

• Masks of the Gifted. https://drive.google.com/drive/search?q=gifted

• Myths of the gifted https://drive.google.com/drive/search?q=gifted

Discussion