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Giftedness

Case study

In the learning team, Demi regularly surprises you with remarks in which she is good at explaining theory to others. Yet she fails to pass her exams. In a conversation, she says she has doubts about studying, as she likes everything very much but finds real learning difficult. She indicates that her previous supervisor started talking about giftedness. Could that be it?

What do we mean by giftedness?

General

Giftedness is a concept with no clear definition because it is not a disorder. It generally refers to people with exceptional intelligence, creativity and thinking skills. Despite gifted people having exceptional intelligence, it is not the same as being highly intelligent.
Gifted people are about thinking differently, as well as feeling and experiencing differently. They often have a wide range of interests, a special sense of humour and a high degree of empathy and engagement. They may also have striking use of language, a critical attitude towards adults (teachers included), and sometimes gifted people are also highly sensitive.

Important characteristics IQ

Someone with an IQ of 130 is considered gifted, although this is not always a hard limit. This is the case for about 2.5% of the population. A high IQ does not guarantee exceptional performance, by the way.

Failure

Gifted people have usually had no experience of failure, doing your best and learning to learn at a young, and sometimes older age. They sometimes go through primary and secondary school (too) easily. The moment there is a real challenge, they lack executive functions to deal with a problem/challenge properly. After all, they never developed a good study method.

What are executive functions and what’s in it for you?

Executive functions are thought processes that allow you to direct your behaviour, feelings and thoughts. This is how you develop goal-oriented and social behaviour at school as well as outside. Executive functions are the basis for self-management and learning to learn. Think, for example, about an adequate learning and working attitude.

Underachievement

Insufficient stimulation can lead to underachievement in gifted children/students. They become bored, resulting in a severe lack of motivation. Underachievement also occurs when the student does not want to stand out among peers. In the classroom, you see this when a student asks extraordinary questions and has ideas one-on-one, for example, but does not show this during lessons and group assignments. Gifted students try not to stand out in the group. They want to be accepted as an equal.

Another frame of reference

Cooperating or persevering with studies can also be a problem. Gifted people have a different frame of mind. This often does not fit well with the subject matter or with their peers. They make quick thinking moves that other students see as threatening or arrogant. These are gifted students not, their frame of reference is simply different.

Collaboration is hampered by the fact that a gifted student, for example, already has a very clear picture in mind before the assignment has been explained. He/she/they then wants to get started and has it all figured out. The rest, however, need a moment to think for themselves as well. Because of this different way of communicating, there is a chance of friction and irritation. The gifted student may start to feel misunderstood and therefore lose motivation. If this happens often enough, interest in the study disappears and the gifted student fails to complete it.

How can you support as a tutor?

DOs

Show that giftedness is more than exceptional intelligence.
*At the bottom of the article are a few book tips you could refer students to. It really is a different kind of experience, not just being very smart, as we tend to think in society.

Give students customisation, which is an important solution:

  • Some collaborative assignments could perhaps be completed in a different way.
  • If the lesson material is understood, but the questions on the exam are not, perhaps a different format can be found with a teacher. Sometimes it can help if an assignment is done alone, or if a gifted student is given an in-depth assignment. Be careful here that it is not more work, but different kind of work.
  • Acknowledge that the gifted student does indeed think differently, but that not everything can be adapted. Doing every assignment alone is not possible, nor taking every exam orally. Tell honestly how that is in the system, and use good arguments. Can’t you actually justify it properly? Students are happy to think with you, and usually have 100 other solutions themselves.
  • The best thing you can do is to listen to the gifted student and facilitate him/her.
  • In addition, it is important for these students to connect with peers (like-minded people). This can be done through the support group we offer from the SSC, but also through groups and foundations (see below).

Follow-up case study

Back to Demi. Executive function training could be valuable: How do I plan? How do I actually learn? How do I engage in disciplined work? How can I adjust my communication so that working together is better? The HU provides training for this student, but the support group also pays attention to this. Take the student aside and mention what you see: ‘I think you can do more than you are showing here, shall we think of another assignment for you together?’ Supervise gifted students well; they often need help to get out of their learning pitfalls. But you will see how quickly they blossom when they really start to grow.

Extra support for the student:

Models of giftedness:

  • This site features models of giftedness that show that IQ is only a small part of giftedness.
  • The Side Hatch by Tessa Kieboom
  • Delphi model of giftedness
  • Multiple factors model Giftedness
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