Before you go any further you must understand the affective (social and emotional) and cognitive (academic) needs of your students. It is not always enough to deliver a strictly cognitive based curriculum to a gifted student. They often go above and beyond the basic two plus two – they are thinkers, ponderers, dreamers. They are sensitive, aesthetically aware, more concerned about world events that are way beyond their years and chronological understanding.
Many students experience asynchronous develop- meant between their cognitive abilities and their affective characteristics (uneven maturity level – academically soaring while socially inept for their chronological age!). In her article, Giftedness as Asynchronous Development, Stephanie Tolan, award winning young adult author, describes what you “see”, the observed characteristics of this uneven development. “Giftedness is asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. This asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity. The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching and counseling in order for them to develop optimally."
When reading the rest of her article, think about a few of the students in your classroom. Do their affective characteristics developmentally align with their cognitive abilities? Tolan, Stephanie S. Giftedness As Asynchronous Development. Retrieved September 24, 2007, from Stephanie S. Tolan
As a designer of curriculum for these talented students, a teacher has to take all of this into consideration. Lessons must provide the challenge needed to encourage them to grow academically while providing the motivation to blossom affectively. The question is then – how do we do this?