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Articles from
September 2008
Anatomy for Gifted Kids
There are a couple of great anatomy Web sites available for kids. The first two listed here are interactive and suitable for bright, middle to late elementary school kids. The sites can be used either at home or at school and are both entertaining and educational.
At this Website from the BBC, you will find interactive computer activities that teach about the organs, muscles, skeleton, senses, nervous system, and puberty. Students use drag-and-drop to place various parts of the body and learn about the function of each.
At this site, students can participate in virtual hip replacements and virtual knee replacements. Viewers also have the opportunity to diagnose different patients who might need knee or hip replacements. There are also videos of real people who have had the replacements, explaining what it was like before and after the surgeries. In addition, students can learn about “interesting people” who have jobs that are related to hip and knee replacements. This feature of the Web site introduces students to possible career paths.
At this site, there are numerous links to biology resources, several that relate directly to anatomy.
Teaching Foreign Language to Gifted Students
All research points to the virtues of beginning foreign language early in life—as early as preschool. Both parents and teachers appreciate ways to enrich foreign language instruction for their students who are gifted in this area.
As we become more and more global-centric, multilingual skills become even more important. We need to move beyond learning the traditional one foreign language to being comfortable speaking several languages.
The following include some helpful resources for teaching or learning a foreign language.
This Web site comes from the U.K. It contains ideas for enriching and extending pupils' experiences in foreign languages that include
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using everyday classroom events as an opportunity for spontaneous speech;
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expressing and discussing personal feelings and opinions;
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using a range of resources, including games, songs and poems;
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using the target language imaginatively and creatively (i.e., creating newspapers, quizzes and tongue-twisters);
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listening, reading, or viewing for personal enjoyment short stories, short novels, poetry, fairy tales, and plays.
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writing short stories and poetry.
Here you will find an extensive list of language camps for students of all ages.
This is an article in the Duke Gifted Letter, which reviews a couple of software programs that teach foreign languages.
If you do an Internet search on “Foreign Language Online,” you will find many free resources, including games for learning languages.
Courses and Degree Programs for Teachers of the Gifted
Do you want to have a more thorough understanding of gifted education so that you can better serve the needs of your students and their parents? Have you considered taking a class or two or perhaps working on a degree in gifted education? Here is a great resource for you.
The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) has put together a University Directory of Programs and Services in Gifted Education. At this site, you will find lists of
- universities and colleges offering coursework or degree programs in gifted education by state.
- coursework by university that leads to a certificate or endorsement, an undergraduate degree with an emphasis in gifted, an M.S., an Ed.D., or a Ph.D.
- universities that offer online courses in gifted education.
By using this information, you can find out if there is a program close to you, and if there isn’t, where you can take online classes.
The Use of Praise and Reward in Motivating Students
Over the years, we have run the gamut with the role of praise and reward when working with students. When I was a young child I can remember hearing adults say, “Don’t tell him he did too good of a job or he’ll get a swelled head.” Praise was not readily given. At least in my environment, reward for tasks completed was never even considered. We were expected to do well without praise or reward.
When my children were young, self-esteem became a big issue. Adults became very sensitive to building the good feelings that children had about themselves. Praise, and often reward, was lavished upon these young people.
Today, we are offered a middle ground.
Both teachers and parents often are eager to motivate their kids in school. In two articles,
Daniel T. Willingham, at University of Virginia, discusses the role of praise and the role of reward in motivating students. The emphasis of Willingham’s research is the application of cognitive psychology to K–12 education.
Research indicates that praise can motivate and guide children—but there are circumstances under which praise is not beneficial. If you try to use praise for your own ends or even in a conscious attempt to help the student, it is likely to go wrong. If, on the other hand, praise is an honest expression meant to congratulate the student, it will likely be at least neutral or even helpful to the student. Whether or not praise is beneficial depends on when and how it is used. For praise to be helpful, it must
- be sincere—In order to receive praise, the child must have done something praiseworthy. The content of the praise should express congratulations (rather than express a wish of something else the child should do).
- emphasize process, not ability—The target of the praise should be not an attribute of the child, but rather an attribute of the child’s behavior.
- be immediate and unexpected—Praise should immediately follow the praiseworthy act; however, praise that comes like clockwork presents a potential problem: The student may start to work with the expectation of being praised.
Here the author tackles the question of creating an atmosphere in which students want to learn vs. one in which they do minimal work to earn a promised reward.
Are rewards immoral and dehumanizing? What happens when rewards stop? How can rewards decrease motivation? What makes rewards more or less effective? Are rewards worth it?
Willingham likens using rewards to taking out a loan. You get an immediate benefit, but you know that you will eventually have to pay up, with interest. He suggests three guidelines to the use of rewards:
- Try to find an alternative—The obvious alternative is to make the material intrinsically interesting.
- Use rewards for a specific reason, not as a general strategy—One example is when a student has lost confidence in himself to the point that he is no longer willing to try.
- Plan for the ending—If students are told at the start of the rewards program when it will end, there may be fewer complaints when the goodies are no longer available.