There have been many definitions of giftedness throughout the historical development of the field. Gifted and Talented Students are “...children and youths who give evidence of higher performance capability in such areas as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership, or in specific academic fields, and who require services or activities in order to fully develop such capabilities.”
-Title XIV, U.S. Public Law 103-382
Characteristics and Traits of Gifted
Cognitive
Creative
Affective
Behavioral
(Webb, et al., 2007)
Creative Characteristics
Creative and inventive; likes new ways of doing things
Keen sense of humor
Affinity for fantasy and toying with ideas
Independence in attitude and social behavior; risk taker
Determination; persistence in affirming own point of view
Behavioral Characteristics
Spontaneity; boundless enthusiasm; impulsive actions; eager; "spirited"
Fascinated with learning everything; has "a million questions"; follows up with related questions
High levels of frustration, particularly when having difficulty meeting standards or performance (self-imposed or imposed by others)
Idealism and sense of justice which appear at an early age
High expectations of self and others, often often leading to high levels of frustration
Cognitive Traits
Questioning attitude, intellectual curiosity
High energy, alertness and eagerness
Diverse interests and abilities
Powers of concentration, long attention span
Interest in cause-effect relationships, in the "why" of things
Affective & Emotional Characteristics
Easily wounded; need for emotional support
Unusual emotional depth and intensity
Heightened self-awareness, accompanied by feelings of being different
Idealism and sense of justice which appear at an early age
High expectations of self and others, often often leading to high levels of frustration
ACADEMIC TRAITS OF THE HIGHLY ABLE
| Academic Characteristics | Strengths of Academic Characteristics | Challenges of Academic Characteristics |
| Highly curious | Intellectually curious and inquisitive; asks lots of questions; remembers details. | May ask inappropriate questions; easily diverted from task. |
| Abstract thinker | Makes generalizations; tests out ideas. | Questions others; questions authority. |
| Flexible thinker | Employs a variety of strategies to work something out. | May manipulate people and situations by using a variety of strategies. |
| Original and creative thinker | Vivid imagination, varied interests, always asking questions which enhance the ability to come up with original ideas to resolve problems. | Trouble following ideas to completion; can often appear off-task or daydreaming; unconventional thinking can make group work difficult. |
| Immersion learner | Wants to know everything about a topic; becomes an expert on a topic by reading widely or talking to people. | Focuses on topics of interest to them, at expense of classroom work; shows off knowledge to prove others wrong. |
| Highly developed memory skills, retention of knowledge, fast learner | Quickly retains, recalls and uses vast amounts of knowledge to reason, deduct and solve challenges; moves beyond core content and skills quickly; detailed recall of facts. | May rely heavily on doing work “in my head" rather than making thinking visible; sometimes hyper-focused on one thing and can prove overly forgetful in something else; rushes work, then disrupts others. |
| Long attention span | Concentrates and focuses on an area of interest for a long period of time. | Easily distracted unless the task is an area of passion or interest. |
| Advanced verbal-linguistic skills | Enjoys sophisticated and complex literature due to superior verbal, reading comprehension and writing skills; enjoys adult-like discussions; advanced sense of humor - gets teachers’ jokes. | Frustration when peers don't understand them based on advanced vocabulary; difficulty finding content-appropriate reading materials when student reads years above age-level peers. |
(Compiled from: Clark, 2008; Colangelo & Davis, 2003; Gagné, 2003: Gross, MacLeod, Drummond & Merrick, 2001)
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL TRAITS OF THE HIGHLY ABLE
| Social and Emotional Characteristics | Strengths of Social and Emotional Characteristics | Challenges of Social and Emotional Characteristics |
| Heightened Sensitivity | Compassionate, empathetic, protective, nurturing, insightful. Forms strong attachments; observant in reading non-verbal cues, and considerate of others’ viewpoints. Aesthetic sensitivity, able to interpret and appreciate complexity. | Sensitive to injustice, criticism, pain and easily moved to tears; high anxiety, difficulty with social relationships (confrontational, overly reactive), can speak out without tact. |
| Heightened Intensity | Energetic and enthusiastic; intensely absorbed in pursuits; vivid imagination; need for mental stimulation; driven to understand; long attention span; self-directed. | Emotionally reactive, high expectations of self and others; difficulty with social relationships and group work. Easily distracted unless task is an area of interest |
| Perfectionism | High standards and expectations for self. Need for precision and logic. High level of responsibility and commitment to a task/others. | Unrealistic expectations for self or others, procrastination, underachievement. Critical or intolerant views of others, excessive self-criticism. Fixed mindset, low frustration tolerance. Heightened competitiveness. |
| Introversion | Reflective introspective, deep feelings and focus on inner growth through searching, questioning and self-corrective judgment. | May withdraw into self, difficulty with social relationships, hiding talents to fit with peers; risk-averse. |
| Superior humor | Capacity for seeing the unusual, uncommon emotional depth and exceptional sense of timing in words and gestures. | Sense of humor that may be gentle or hostile, at the expense of others. |
| Moral sensitivity and integrity | Innate sense of right and wrong. Early ethical concerns, heightened awareness of the world and advanced moral reasoning and judgment. Tolerant and just attitude, truthful, authentic, altruistic. Stands up for others less fortunate, or those perceived to have been treated unfairly. | Difficulty with being practical and worry about humanitarian concerns, deeply concerned with personal powerlessness, overly focused on rules of the game and things being 'fair'. Can become frustrated with others and self. Questions authority. |
(Compiled from: Clark, 2008; Colangelo & Davis, 2003; Gagné, 2003: Gross, MacLeod, Drummond & Merrick, 2001)
CREATIVE TRAITS OF THE HIGHLY ABLE
| Creative Characteristics | Strengths of Creative Characteristics | Challenges of Creative Characteristics |
| Divergent thinking | Thinks beyond the obvious; expresses ideas which are often very different to others; can manipulate abstract ideas or concepts; asks 'what if?' questions. | Can appear that they are attempting to undermine other ideas or deliberately being obtuse/awkward; can't always articulate complex ideas into more simp forms. |
| Original and creative | Comes up with 'out of the box’ ideas; sees problems as a whole; sees connections between seemingly unrelated ideas. | Does not accept the status quo; absent-minded or daydreamer; asks unrelated questions; disorganized or 'scatterbrained'. |
| High energy and motivation | Energetic and excitable, intrinsically motivated; perseveres to achieve mastery, works beyond assigned task. | Impulsive, hyperactive, inability to sit still. |
| Initiates ideas | Can add complex and unique ideas to a task. Generates a wealth of ideas. | May not always be able to articulate ideas fluently to peers or extract important meaning from a range of ideas. Task completion is not aways of concern. |
| Independent thinker | individualistic, non-conforming, sets own rules, unconcerned with impressing others, tolerant of ambiguity, risk-taker. | Poor group participant, prefers to work alone; irritated and bored by routine and obvious; stubborn, argumentative. |
| Imaginative | Resourceful, comes up with new or original uses for toys or other objects; constructs elaborate fantasy worlds for play, may have imaginary friend in childhood. | Vivid imagination may lead to anxiety, anticipating all possibilities of what might be. Loses track of time. |
| Sense of humor | Playful, plays with ideas, childlike freshness in thinking. | Indifferent to conventions, may use humor at expense of others. |
| Heightened sensitivity | Perceptive, uses all senses in observing; aesthetic sensitivity; attracted to beauty and order; feels deeply, empathetic. | Easily moved to tears, emotional, temperamental; may 'over-react' to perceived criticism. |
(Compiled from: Clark, 2008; Colangelo & Davis, 2003; Gagné, 2003: Gross, MacLeod, Drummond & Merrick, 2001)