MODULE 4

Learners with
Educational Needs

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 Module 4- Learners with Exceptionalities

This module contains the following:

• The Learners with giftedness and talent
What does being Gifted and Talented mean?
Educational Adaptation
• The Learners with difficulty hearing
The Deaf and the Hard of Hearing (DHoH)
Types and Causes
Educational Adaptation
• The Learners with difficulty
seeing Definition of Visual
Impairment Types and Causes
Educational Adaptation
• Learners with difficulty communicating
Speech and Language
Types and Causes
Educational Adaptation
• Learners with difficulty in moving and walking
Physical Disabilities- What are they?
Physical Disability: Types and Causes
Educational Adaptation

This module provides an overview on learners with exceptionalities such as learners with giftedness
and talent, learners with difficulty hearing, seeing, communicating, walking and moving and discuss
educational approaches including classroom and instructional accommodations and adaptations as well
as related services that will help learners with exceptionalities to learn easily and independently that
will help you build foundational knowledge and basic understanding needed to teach learners with
exceptionalities in inclusive setting.

Once you complete this module, you are expected to:

✓
define giftedness and talented, hearing impairment, visual impairment, speech
and language disorder and physical disability
✓
identify the salient characteristics of learners with giftedness and talented, hearing
impairment, visual impairment, speech and language disorder and physical disability
✓
differentiate types and causes of hearing impairment, visual impairment, speech and
language disorder and physical disability.
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✓
discuss the curricular programs and instructional systems for gifted and talented learners.
✓
create a learning plan with application of Universal Design for learning.
✓
interpret fingerspell words and names through sign language alphabet.
✓
transcribe words using phonetic alphabet to teach proper pronunciation of words.
✓
demonstrate orientation and mobility in assisting learners with difficulty seeing.
✓
write short-story using basic braille.
✓
apply instructional strategies in teaching students with giftedness and talent.

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 LESSON Learners with Giftedness and Talent
1

OBJECTIVES:
• Define gifted and talented.
• Identify the salient characteristics of gifted and talented learners.
• Discuss the curricular programs and instructional systems for gifted and talented
learners.
• Apply instructional strategies in teaching learners with giftedness and talent.

Introduction

Welcome to lesson 1 Learners with giftedness and talent of this Module 4. The lesson
provides you different definitions of giftedness that have emerged during the last 100
years and the different educational adaptations for you to learn the overall goal of
educational programs for gifted and talented students which is, to the fullest possible
development of every student’s actual and potential abilities and further understand the

Instruction
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Gifted”
Write the key word or idea inside the box.

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 Gifted

Analysis

• Is giftedness inherited, or does the environment play a larger role?

• In what way do you think giftedness is related to academic success?
• Based on the activity above, define giftedness.

Intelligence, creativity and talent have

been central to various definitions of
giftedness.

Abstraction
Giftedness and Talent, what is it?
Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an
exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement
in top 10% or rarer) in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity with
its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensorimotor skills (e.g.,
painting, dance, sports,).
A child who is talented is often seen diligently working in an area he or she enjoys, such
as music, until he or she becomes good at it. For example, a child has been taking piano lessons
and practicing daily since he or she was five years old, and by the time he or she reaches high
school, he or she has become talented beyond anyone in his or her peer group.
A child can be both talented and gifted, meaning that he or she has innate ability and applies
that ability significantly beyond what would be expected from a child his or her age. Or a child can be
gifted but not talented, meaning that he or she has potential to use his or her gift, but he or she does not
apply him/herself. These students are also known as underachievers. Additionally, a child can be
talented without being gifted. This means that a child has an interest in a particular

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area and works diligently until he or she achieves a level beyond what would be expected from a
child his or her age.
Federal definitions
The first federal definition of the gifted and the talented was contained in the 1972 Marland Report.
"The term 'gifted and talented,' when used with respect to students, children or youth, means
students, children or youth who give evidence of high performance and demonstrate potential
achievement capability in any of the following areas:
➢ ▪
General intellectual ability
Has a superior memory
▪ ▪
Highly inquisitive
Very observant
▪
Exhibits sustained attention and concentration
➢
Specific academic aptitude
▪
Learn quickly with little or no drill about the concept
▪
Acquire large vocabulary in a specific subject area
▪
Read intently and enthusiastically about the subject area
▪ ➢
High academic success in special/ interest subject area
Creative or productive thinking
▪
Shows originality in written or oral expressions
▪
Has the ability to generate many ideas
▪
Flexible and has the ability to switch categories of ideas
▪
Has the ability to elaborate or provide details to ideas
➢
Leadership ability
▪
Has a good decision making skills
▪
Assumes responsibility
▪
Initiates activities to reach goals
▪
Charismatic
➢
Ability in the visual or performing arts
▪
Display exceptional talent in art, music, dance or drama
▪
Demonstrate original work in the area
▪
Good motor coordination
▪
Sensitive to aesthetic characteristics
➢
Psychomotor ability
▪
Enjoys participation in various athletic opportunities.
▪
Challenged by difficult athletic activities.
▪
Exhibits precision in movement.
▪
Good manipulative skills.
▪
Excels in motor skills.
▪
High energy level
▪
Well-coordinated
The Gifted and Talented Children’s Act of 1978 defined gifted and talented children as
those “possessing demonstrated or potential abilities that give evidence of high performance
capability in such areas as intellectual, creative, specific, academic or leadership ability or in the
performing or visual arts, and who, by reason thereof require services or activities not ordinarily

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provided by the school”. The definitions encompasses almost all of the areas where a person can
demonstrate outstanding performance.
In 1991, a revised definition of gifted and talented children was motivated by new cognitive
research and concerns. “Report on National Excellence: A Case for Developing America’s Talent,
the word gifted was eliminated and the terms outstanding talent and exceptional children were
embraced. The definition proposed that giftedness or talent occurs in all groups across all cultures
and is not necessarily revealed in test scores but in a person’s “high performance capability” in the
intellectual, creative and artistic realms. Giftedness is said to connote “a mature power rather than
a developing ability” while Talent is to be found by “observing students at work in rich and varied
educational settings.”

Here is how the new

federal definition goes:

• Children and youth with outstanding talent perform or show the potential
for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishments when compared with
others of their age, experience, or environment.
• These children and youth exhibit high performance capability in intellectual, creative,
and/or artistic areas: possess in unusual leadership, capacity or excel in specific academic
fields.

What are the other contemporary and complementary definitions?

The following four definitions of gifted and talented students are widely cited:
Renzulli’s Three-Trait Definition
Renzulli’s (1978) definition of giftedness is based on three components important for
the development of gifted behavior:
• Above average general intellectual ability
• A high level of task commitment
• Creativity
Gifted and talented children are those possessing or capable of developing this composite set
of traits and applying them to any potentially valuable area of human performance. Renzulli
understands the fluency, flexibility, and originality of thought, an openness to experience,
sensitivity to stimulations, and a willingness to take risks.
The figure below shows how the three components of ability, task commitment and creative
expression are jointly applied to a valuable area human endeavor.

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Piirto”s Concept of Talent Development
Piirto(1999) defines gifted as those individuals who, by way of having certain learning
characteristics such as superior memory, observational powers, curiosity, creativity and the ability
to learn school-related subject matters rapidly and accurately with a minimum of drill and
repetition, have a right to an education that is differentiated according to those characteristics.
Piirto’s pyramid model is composed of (1) a foundation of genetic endowment; (2)
personality attributes such as drive, resilience, intuition, perception, intensity and the like: (3) the
minimum intelligence level necessary for function in the domain in which the talent is
demonstrated; (4) talent in a specific domain such as mathematics, writing, visual arts, music,
science or athletics and; (5) the environmental influences of five suns: the sun of home, community
and culture, school, chance and gender. Which talent is developed depends on the “ thorn” of
passion, calling or sense of vocation.

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Maker’s Problem-Solving perspective
Another definition of giftedness and talent advanced by Maker in 1996 incorporates high
intelligence, high creativity and excellent problem solving skills. He enumerates the following
characteristics of a gifted person: a problem solver- one who enjoys the challenge of complexity
and persists until the problem is solved in a satisfying way. Such an individual is capable of :
• creating a new or more clear definition of an existing problem;
• devising new and more efficient or effective methods, and;
• reaching solutions that may be different from the usual, but are recognized as being
effective than previous solutions.
Based on the different definitions of giftedness, what talent do you have? Would you consider
yourself to be gifted, or did you have to practice in order to achieve success?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

What are the traits and characteristics “No gifted individual is exactly the
that make gifted children stand out from same, each with his own unique
their peers? patterns and traits”

When discussing characteristics of gifted children, we must understand that any one of
these characteristics may be present or not present—there are so many variables at work. This list
of traits may help you better understand whether or not the student is gifted.

Cognitive Creative Affective Behavioral

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 • Spontaneity
• Keen power • Creativeness and • Unusual emotional depth • Boundless enthusiasm
of abstraction inventiveness and intensity
• Intensely focused on
• Interest in problem- • Keen sense of • Sensitivity or empathy
passions—resists changing
solving and applying humor to the feelings of others
activities when engrossed in
concepts • Ability for fantasy • High expectations of self own interests
• Voracious and early • Openness to and others, often leading • Highly energetic—needs
reader stimuli, wide to feelings of frustration little sleep or down time
• Large vocabulary interests • Heightened self-
• Constantly questions
• Intellectual curiosity • Intuitiveness awareness, accompanied • Insatiable curiosity
• Power of critical • Flexibility by feelings of being
different • Impulsive, eager and
thinking, skepticism, • Independence in
spirited
self-criticism attitude and social • Easily wounded, need
for emotional support • Perseverance—strong
• Persistent, goal- behavior
determination in areas of
directed behavior • Self-acceptance and • Need for consistency
importance
• Independence in work unconcern for social between abstract values • High levels of frustration—
and study norms and personal actions
particularly when having
• Diversity of interests • Radicalism • Advanced levels of
difficulty meeting standards
and abilities • Aesthetic and moral moral judgment
of performance (either
commitment to self- • Idealism and sense of
imposed by self or others)
selected work justice
• Volatile temper, especially
related to perceptions of
failure
• Non-stop talking/chattering

Research indicates that giftedness also is associated with intellectual, emotional,

imaginational, sensual, and psychomotor "over-excitabilities". Gifted individuals tend to be
emotionally sensitive and empathic, making the normal rough and tumble of the playground
stressful for them. Because they often feel they are held to higher standards than their peers, they
can find it difficult to accept criticism (anything short of perfection is felt as failure). Their over-
excitability can make them stand out from peers (and not in a good way), leading them to feel
isolated and misunderstood as children and as adults

Classroom Behaviors

This sampling of characteristics and concomitant problems points to the need for you to
heighten your awareness of issues related to gifted students in the classrooms. Because of the
unique characteristics gifted students possess, teachers need to be aware of the ways in which these
attributes manifest themselves in observable classroom behaviors. Some behaviors can be
troubling to the classroom teacher; however, being aware of their root causes will help teachers
more fully meet gifted students’ needs and build positive relationships vital to meaningful
classroom experiences.

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 Here are the following classroom problem .
situations for consideration:
• Unfinished work may be the result
of varied interests and inability to narrow down a topic. Poor work habits might also reveal student
feelings that he or she already knows about a particular topic and does not feel the need for
practice.

• Poor class work by gifted students is often a sign of disinterest in subject matter. Gifted children
may question the appropriateness of classroom activities to their needs, but will work diligently
and well on topics of high interest.

• Sensitivity to the attitudes and perceptions of others may cause gifted students to fall into the
perfectionism trap or to fear failure. These feelings can lead to unfinished work, procrastination,
or underachievement.

• Poor group work often is the result of gifted students’ feelings that they will have the burden of
the group’s work. Gifted students also may prefer to work alone because of feelings that their ideas
will be misunderstood or unappreciated by the group.

• Bossiness in group work could be an indicator of younger students practicing their leadership
abilities to find the most effective leadership style. Overbearing behavior also may stem from
gifted students’ desire for control in their lives and their characteristics of independence and
nonconformity.

• Slow workers who are gifted may be ensuring that their work is perfect.

• Behavior problems in gifted students could be a result of boredom or the feeling that class work
is too easy or beneath them.

• Being the “class clown” may be the result of the gifted student’s keen sense of humor being
exhibited in unacceptable ways. The behavior also might be an attempt to gain acceptance among
peers who may perceive the student negatively because of his or her “gifted” label.

• Emotional outbursts or periods of withdrawal in gifted students may be due to their highly
sensitive natures.
It is important that educators look hard to
discover potential and support gifted children
Differentiating Curriculum as they reach for their personal best.

The practice of educational acceleration has long been used to match high-level students’
general abilities and specific talents with optimal learning opportunities. This approach provides
instruction that meets the needs of each learner. It refers to the modification of the learning
experiences for different students by giving instruction with a variety of learning modalities,
appeal to the interest of the student, varied teaching rates and challenging curriculum.

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There are two ways of differentiating curriculum:

1. Acceleration is modifying the pace at which student receives learning opportunities to match
his readiness to learn more complex materials.

Several ways to observe acceleration in school. The following are some of the examples given by
Southern and Jones as cited by Heward (2009).
• Early admission in Kindergarten
• Early admission in Grade 1
• Grade skipping
• Subject matter acceleration
• Continuous progress
• Combined classes

Telescoping Curriculum

• Early graduation
• Dual Enrollment
• Correspondence courses
• Credit by examination
• Acceleration in college
• Early entrance to high school or college

2. Enrichment. The most common method of differentiating the curriculum in general education
to provide additional learning for gifted and talented students. It involves adding new, different,
more complex and advance activities in different subject areas that are not found in a typical
curriculum.

WHAT ARE THE METHODS OF DIFFERENTIATION IN GENERAL

EDUCATION CURRICULUM?

1. Curriculum Compacting. The teacher will first evaluate what the student already knows by
including all the content and skills based on the curriculum set by the Department of Education
and their school curriculum guidelines and assessment. The next step is to remove the content or
skills already mastered by the gifted and talented students by designing and giving replacement
lessons and activities that are challenging and advance.
2. Ability Grouping. Student are group and composed of their intellectual equals. Some examples
of ability groupings are honor, and advance class, special schools, cluster groupings, tracking and
cross grade groupings.
Some examples of ability groupings are honor and advance placement class, special schools,
cluster grouping, tracking and cross grade grouping.
Honor and Advance Placement Class
• Appropriate for students who are ready to learn in advance level

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 • Students in this group will find their environment challenging and intellectually
stimulating since they are learning in their classmates who share their interest sand
have the same abilities
• Usually here in the Philippines, they call it as star section, cream section, pilot
section or special sections

• There are several special schools that cater to the gifted and talented students in our
country. To name a few: Philippine Science High School, manila and Quezon City
Science High School. These schools have an intensive math and science program for
youngsters who excel in these areas.
Cluster Grouping
• Students are grouped according to their achievement.
• Promotes challenging growth for the students and helps them explore different
study materials based on their levels for further studies.
Tracking
• Students have the same curriculum and use the same textbooks but they are grouped
according to their achievement levels.
• They may be categorized into high, middle and low ability based on their test scores
or overall performance.
• Basis for giving advance instruction to the high performing students and remedial
classes for the low performing students

• Children from 4th to 6th grade were grouped into second grade to ninth grade Reading
class. They went to reading class at the same hour but to the level of instruction at
which they were achieving (Heward, 2009).
• In this approach you can see a 6th grade student in a 3rd grade reading class or a 4th
grade student in a 6th grade reading class.
Before going further, Is it possible to meet the needs of gifted in the regular education (inclusion)
classroom?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

WHAT ARE THE METHODS OF DIFFERENTIATION OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM?

➢
RESOURCE ROOM OR PULL-OUT PROGRAM
• Gives opportunities for the gifted and talented students to be part of an inclusive
education and at the same time have an intensive training in areas of their interest.
• Students can receive a rigorous training that requires critical and creative thinking in
the area of his expertise. They are allowed to execute special projects that would not
be possible in a regular classroom set-up.
➢
INDEPENDENT STUDY
• Expose students in acquiring research skills that they can use in the field of their interest.
➢
INTERNSHIP AND MENTORING PROGRAM

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 • Students who are gifted and talented should be exposed to different settings such as
science laboratories, theater, museums, medical and law libraries with a guidance of
a mentor who shares his passion in a particular line of interest.
• Hands-on experience can further enhance the students’ conceptual and performance
skills for exploring future careers.
➢
SPECIAL COURSES OR SUMMER PROGRAMS
• Brief but intensive learning experience in the area of interest of the student. This
maybe in the area of academic content or a specialized workshop in sports, music,
visual and performing arts.
➢
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES
• Exchange program is a fun way to know the culture of other countries interact with
the different types of people and learn new language and to try new things in a foreign
land. It is great opportunity to develop the students’ global interaction skills.
➢
COMPETITION
• Competitions in and outside of the school setting can provide motivation and
challenge from students who are gifted and talented.

A gifted and talented classroom should not be like all of the other classes students attend.
While the reading and lecturing models are necessary for large classes and standardized learning
programs, the gifted program must evolve outside the box and challenge students in new and
interesting ways. A gifted classroom allows children to explore specific interests that may not be
appropriate for a large classroom setting.

I encourage you to think of designing activities using

universal strategies that will enhance and support learning
for gifted students..

Here, are some activities that you can try in your gifted and talented classroom:

• Complexity: Provide materials and information at varying levels of complexity

according to reading level, vocabulary, and information. (Content and process)
• Acceleration: Determine concepts and skills that extend beyond grade level material.
Small group or individual instruction and assignments can be given on new concepts, while
the rest of the class is working on independent assignments. (Content, process, and
product).
• Questioning: During instruction, pose questions that focus on asking “how” and “why,”
followed with pushing the student to support their answers with evidence. Asking gifted
students to dig deeper into the material activates critical thinking. (Process)

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 • Research: Providing opportunities to do research related to content topics or on self-
selected topics is an excellent way for students to be actively engaged in new learning.
(Content, process, and product)
• Problem-solving: Provide real-world problems related to content and have students seek
solutions through research, interviews, experiments, and developing conclusions. (Content,
process, and product)
• Presentations: Visual or oral presentations of research conducted that relates to whole
class content. (Process and product)
• Technology: Find programs that will challenge and support learning that results in
developing products that showcase new learning from research or experimentation.
Collaborating with the school media specialist or tech teacher will reap benefits for all.

Application
1. Design an instructional activities for a specific topic and grade/year level for students with
giftedness and talent and apply all the insights that you have gained in this module.

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