Parenting and Teaching Young Gifted Children

In her article, Differentiated Instruction for Young GiftedChildren: How Parents Can Help, Joan Smutny does an excellent job of explaining strategies that can be used in the classroom to address the needs of young gifted children, including

• Compacting—Children skip content that they already know and move to more advanced work.
• Learning Stations—Areas of the classroom where students can work on different tasks within a unit. Each station may represent a higher level of complexity than the one before it. Students move freely from one task to the next.
• Tiered Activities—A classroom of children may focus on the same, broad learning goal, but at different levels of depth and complexity.
• Clustering—Students who are significantly ahead are grouped and provided with more advanced content.

The best parts of Smutny’s article, though, are the many quotes and stories about children she uses to illustrate her points. She not only explains the strategies that might be used in the classroom to differentiate instruction, but also shows parents how they can enhance their children’s learning at home and also support and get involved with student learning at school.

From this article, both parents and teachers will get ideas about ways they can form better partnerships to enhance the learning of young gifted students.

Smutny has made young gifted children one of her specialties. If you like her article mentioned here, you will probably also enjoy some of the many books that she has written on the subject. You will find these by going to web sites such as Amazon and typing in her name or doing a general Internet search using her name.

Alternatives for Gifted High School Students

Some high school students are ready to move on academically long before their peers. As stated in High School Alternatives for Gifted Teens, “It’s easy to find stories of 13-year-olds going off to college, but many gifted kids just aren’t ready to leave the nest early.” At the same time, they may have already finished or tested out of the regular high school curriculum. Author Suki Wessling suggests that students in this situation investigate

• Alternative schools
• Community college classes
• Private schools, if they can be flexible with your student
• The book, Serving Gifted Learners Beyond the Traditional Classroom: A Guide to Alternative Programs and Services 
• Online high school courses
• Homeschool 

In addition to the suggestions above, check out the OpenCourseware Consortium, which is a collaboration of higher education institutions and associated organizations from around the world creating open educational content that is free to the public.

A student who finishes high school early might also take a year or two to pursue her passions in a very focused manner, furthering her studies in music, theatre, art, dance, language, cultures, science, etc.

The best solution for finding answers to any education dilemma is often a combination of possibilities.

Free Guidebooks to Help Exceptionally Bright Children

The Davidson Institute serves profoundly gifted young people under the age of 18. As part of its mission, Davidson Institute professionals have written a series of guidebooks designed to assist families in finding the most appropriate educational settings for their exceptionally bright children. The guidebooks are excellent resources and can be downloaded at no cost. While the guidebooks are written for parents and students, teachers should also become familiar with them so that they can effectively advise families.

• Advocating for Exceptionally Gifted Young People—What should you know about your child? What should you know about gifted education? How should you formulate a plan? How should you approach your child’s school? How can you monitor your child’s education?
• Investigating Early College Entrance: A Guidebook for Parents and a Guidebook for Students—How does one assess whether a student is ready for early college entrance? How might early entrance impact the family? What about scholarships and other financial aid?
• Investigating Gap Year Opportunities—A gap year is a “break from formal education to become more immersed in another culture, to volunteer domestically or abroad, to gain experience and maturity…” It is becoming more common in the U.S., especially for students who graduate early from high school. This guidebook discusses possible options for a gap year, the pros and cons of taking a gap year, and what colleges think of students who pursue this option.
• Volunteerism and Community Service—This guidebook provides resources, strategies, and valuable information to think about when considering the who, what, where, when, how, and why questions associated with volunteering.
• Considering Homeschooling—Readers will find information on homeschool curriculum, applying to college, cost considerations, networking with other families, homeschool laws and more.
• Mentorships—How does one search for a mentor? What types of mentoring relationships are available? What characteristics should a great mentor have?

Online Math Program Comparison for Gifted Students

Online math programs may be used during school hours or after school. They may serve as enrichment or acceleration and may offer classes in areas that are not readily available elsewhere. An online math program may also be a good choice for a student who is homeschooled. The Davidson Institute has put together an Online Math Program Comparison. The information provided is a one-stop shopping experience when considering an online class. This database presents a table of ten of the most popular online math programs used by Davidson Young Scholars. Included are Internet links to each program’s website, prices (one is free), topics offered, enrollment periods, whether or not the program is self-paced, financial assistance, levels/grades offered, and age/grade requirements.

In Tips for Parents: Parenting Math-Talented Students, author Lupkowski-Shoplik advises parents that

One of the major benefits of studying math via an online mathematics program is the opportunity to study a subject at the right level of challenge. The student can work at his or her own pace and at the right level. One of the most difficult aspects of online math programs is that the student should be highly self-motivated and an independent learner. Some students thrive in this atmosphere, others feel isolated and find that they prefer being in a classroom setting.

If you are considering an online class for your math student, be sure to look at the comparison table offered by The Davidson Institute.