Nurturing the Potential of Gifted Students (Part 1): Academic Potential - Mathematics, Chinese, Science, High-level Intelligence

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Nurturing the Potential of Gifted Students (Part 1): Academic Potential - Mathematics, Chinese, Science, High-level Intelligence | Understanding Giftedness | HKAGE

While gifted students possess unique talents, it is crucial for parents and teachers to provide attentive cultivation to unleash their full potential. By understanding and harnessing the specific qualities, abilities, and interests of these students, parents and teachers can effectively guide and inspire them. This article explores the diverse traits exhibited by gifted students in various areas and offers practical tips for nurturing their potential. These insights empower parents and teachers to tailor their approaches and foster the growth of gifted students.

Table of Contents:

Children who are gifted with a high level of intellectual ability
Gifted children who excel in a particular academic field and share many high intellectual traits

Further Reading: Non-Academic Focus: Visual and Performing Arts, Leadership Abilities, Physical Fitness

Nurturing the Potential of Gifted Students: Non-academic Potential

1) Gifted children with high levels of intellectual ability

They learn more rapidly than their peers and may have high achievement in most, but not necessarily all subject areas
Have a wide range of interests
Have intellectual passions
- are inquisitive and curious
- are likely to ask a lot of questions, especially the “why” questions
- can be passionately interested in learning about something
Have an awareness and understanding of their own thought processes — metacognition
Use an extensive vocabulary
Good at drawing inferences
Enjoy problem-solving and hypothesising
Capable of handling complex and abstract materials
Creative in new ideas, seeing associations and pursuing innovations
Have keen observations
Have the ability to memorise a large amount of factual information
Possess unique insights, do not easily conform to others' opinions, or follow conventions
Have high self-expectations or strive for perfection

Tips for Parents/Teachers
A never-ending stream of questions may be exhausting to parents and teachers, but a lack of encouragement and nurture may lead to an individual’s gifted abilities not being stretched.

You may

guide the children to raise questions at the right time and place, instead of discouraging them from asking questions
provide or point them to resources, such as the internet or library, where they can obtain information to satisfy their curiosity

Further Reading: Nurturing Gifted Students: How do Parents Get Along with Their Gifted Children?
Related information: Parent Education Programme／Workshop／Other Support

2) Gifted children who excel in a particular academic field and share many high intellectual traits

Nurturing the Potential of Gifted Students: Non-academic Potential

a) Gifted children in the mathematics domain:

Interested in problem solving in mathematics and working with appropriately challenging problems
Interested in mathematics related games, such as geometry or puzzles
Enjoy logic problems that require deductive thinking skills

Tips for Parents/Teachers

Encourage the children to

get into the creative process in mathematics, including problem finding and problem solving
develop spatial skills and concepts through geometry, measurement, and estimation
read books about famous mathematicians
try solving some situational problems in daily life by using mathematical applications
participate in mathematics-related challenges such as mathematics games and puzzles

Nurturing the Potential of Gifted Students: Non-academic Potential

b) Gifted children in the language domain:

Skilled in verbal communication, rich in vocabulary, and strong in expressive abilities
Articulate confidently
Use complex sentence structures
Use language creatively
Interested in the cultural elements of the language

Tips for Parents/Teachers

Encourage the children to

Read
- choose the types of books based on their interests
- read books of different genres, such as fiction, non-fiction, biography, poetry, etc.
- join the activities held by the libraries
- learn more about particular authors and make comparison
Write
- keep a journal for “word of the day” or “word of the week”
- develop word bank of antonyms, synonyms, or near synonyms
- write reflections of a piece of music, a picture, or a poem
- write a comic book and think of a title for it
- learn to keep a diary and journal or submit written work for publication
- create poetry, prose, fiction, etc.
Speak
- read their written work out loud to you and/or other family members and friends
- learn storytelling, debate, or oral presentation skills
- join role-playing or drama club
- learn foreign languages

Nurturing the Potential of Gifted Students: Non-academic Potential

c) Gifted children in the science domain:

Ask “how” and “why” about things and phenomena around them
Able to analyse and reason well
Able to handle abstract concepts
Enjoy challenging problems and have creative and investigative ideas

Tips for Parents/Teachers

You may

take them to museums of science and natural history
provide reading materials that contain a good balance of texts and activities, such as books containing simple experiments
help them develop a scientific hobby like shell collecting, astronomy or electronics
take them outdoors to places such as beaches, nature reserves, country parks, etc.
encourage them to participate in activities, web courses, or workshops held by the space museum or science museum
encourage them to make observations, ask questions, collect information, and draw inferences
discuss controversial science issues such as cloning, environmental protection, etc.