Benefits/Challenges/Tips for Using Adaptive Learning with Students who are Gifted/Talented

Video Transcription

In this tutorial, we'll explore some of the benefits and challenges of using adaptive learning with students who are gifted and talented. First, we'll identify some of the characteristics of gifted and talented students. We'll then identify some of the challenges that these students face. And finally, we'll explore the benefits of using adaptive learning with gifted and talented students. Let's get started.

First, what are some of the characteristics of gifted and talented students? These students may show extraordinary ability in one of six areas, general intellectual ability, or a specific intellectual ability, creative thinking, leadership skills, psychomotor skills, or the visual or performing arts. Some common characteristics of gifted and talented students include a tendency towards perfectionism, high sensitivity to expectations-- both their own expectations and the expectations of others-- a tendency towards either sequential learning or spatial learning, academic progress that is significantly ahead of that of their chronologically aged peers, and strength in abstract thinking and problem solving.

Along with the augmented abilities of gifted and talented students come some challenges. These students may tend to be frustrated and bored at school. They may not be adequately challenged academically because they're so far ahead of their peers. Ironically, this frustration and boredom in school may lead to chronic underachievement, especially if it goes to the extreme that the student checks out mentally of traditional classroom instruction.

Also, gifted and talented students may suffer from social challenges. They may have difficulty making and maintaining social relationships with their peers. Because of this, teachers should exercise caution when using technology with these students because it may tend to be overused as a result of it being a comfort zone for students that allows them to avoid social interactions instead of focusing on building their collaborative social skills.

Here are some benefits of using adaptive learning technology with gifted and talented students. First, acceleration. In the adaptive learning environment, these students are able to move at a quicker pace, which may help to combat that boredom and frustration that they feel in the traditional environment. These students may require less practice than their peers on individual skills. So being able to move through the skills at their own pace helps them to stay engaged.

Second, this technology offers inherent adaptability. If a student is gifted in one area but not others, the technology can provide individualized pathways for each of these areas of content, supporting the learning in both the advanced area and in the content in which the student is more aligned with his or her peers.

And finally, the adaptive learning technology may provide students with access to advanced content with more complex concepts. These students don't have to wait until their peers are ready to access the concepts. Rather, they can access these concepts when they are ready.

In this tutorial, we learned about using adaptive learning with students who are gifted and talented. We discussed the characteristics of gifted and talented students, and we explored some of the challenges that they face. Finally, we identified benefits of using adaptive learning with these students.

So, take a moment to stop and reflect. Would the gifted and talented students in your classroom benefit from adaptive learning technology? As you reflect on how this new information can be applied, you may want to explore the Additional Resources section that accompanies this video presentation. This is where you'll find links to resources chosen to help you deepen your learning and explore ways to apply your newly acquired skill set. Thanks for joining me today. Have a great day.