SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

(sess)

BACHELOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

(Bece)

DED2123

GIFTED CHILDREN & EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

“ Journal review and child with giftedness ”

lecturer: KHAIRUL AZHAR MASRI

PREPARED BY: farah elisa binti sarip

No. Id: 012013111214

Dead Due: 9th January 2014

PICTURES

The second book that Adora wrote is Dancing Fingers and Flying

Fingers.

BIODATA

The name of gifted child is Adora Lily Svitak but well known as

Adora Svitak. Were born on 15 October 1997 (18 years old). She is

an American girl is in a big demand on the world lecture and

classroom circuit. She also an author international known for her

essay, stories, poems, blogs, full-length books, and advocacy

work. She is an activist. Adora first became known to the public

when, at the age of 6, she was recognized on local news in

Seattle for her writing abilities. Since the age of four years

old, she was exploring what she can do with the written word.

Svitak became an object of national, interest at the age of 7

when she appeared with Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. Her

book Flying Fingers describes Adora's long lasting love of language

and writing and contains tips and hints for other inspiring

writers. In 2005, at the age of 7, Svitak began writing blogs and

keeping an online journal, where she comments on matters of both

international importance and subjects of personal interest. Since

November 2005, she has been promoting literacy and interest in

reading and writing. She has lectured before large audiences of

both students and adults across the United States, and in the

United Kingdom. Her mother Joyce has travelled, and all expenses

has paid is to get the name of Dora The Explorer. It is education

television programmed for young children.

AREAS OF GIFTEDNESS

The area of giftedness is leadership. The

child can motivates other people especially target for adults and

organizes others to do activities. This prove can be seen on what

she can do with the written word everything from championing

literacy and youth voice to working with the UN’s World Food

Programmed to raise awareness about world hunger and What Adults

Can Learn From Kids? She assumes responsibility and follows

through by sets their goals to the talk for adults and inspires

children in the world and accomplishes them become succeed. Other

than that is to organize in self and others on their surroundings

to adapt socially into the environment because of being gifted

child differently from normal child that she has high self-

confidence to become a speaker. Adora manage to see problems from

many perspectives taken out through all their books and critical

thinking relate to ideas. She is a teacher in language arts via

video conferencing. Since the age of four years old, Adora has

been exploring to become a writer and speaker. Adora Svitak

specialty are in speaking to give a talk and writing to become an

author of the books that she wrote. From leadership skills she

tend to listen to and respects the opinions from others also can

debates the opinions of others. She as children can lead others

but even though she is gifted, she still needs guidance from

school, parents, world and other community.

Secondly is Creativity. Adora is a student

children and creatively gifted that she comes up with several

solutions to a given problem that shows in online such as Adora

blogs and a talks she explain briefly give tips or hints. A child

creates and invents in unusual and imaginative ways, and has a

dramatic and clear imagination. She love writing in varieties of

literacy from essay, poem, stories and others. The books that she

wrote are Flying Fingers and Dancing Fingers. Flying Fingers is a

collection of short stories which contains tips and hints.

Dancing Fingers is about selecting poem and writing inspiration

with two sisters. There is Adora Svitak went to primary school

with her mother. That day lesson is about poetry and she is

really looking forward to it. But 11 year old Adora is not a

pupil but she is a teacher. When she is a writer of the book, she

has strong visual thinking and higher imaginative skills that

show in her books look colorful and nice to see it. By creating

poem and stories a person should have asks many unusual questions

in the book of Flying Fingers. She also provides so many ideas

and solutions in particular situations.

INTERVENTION TAKEN

What is an intervention?

An intervention is an intentional process by which changes

introduced into people thoughts, feelings and behaviors. A formal

intervention usually involves several people to prepare

themselves, by approaching a person to be involved in some self-

destructive behavior, and talking to the person in a clear and

respectful way about the behavior in question with the

immediately objectives being for the person to listen and to

accept help.

There are several aspects of Respond to Intervention (RTI) that

are important to its development and implementation across

educational range, including students with gifts and talents.

These components include:

(a) Universal for screening, assessments, and progress monitoring

(b) Established protocols for students who need additional

supports and services

(c) Problem solving that includes parental involvement to

determine whether on what the student and child needs

(d) A level system of intervention, based on level of need and

support.

Firstly are established protocols.

Established protocols are based on the standard treatments that

have been shown through the evidence based on studies to be

successful. While these protocols have been designed to promote

gain of new knowledge and skills for most students, they also

need to include curriculum and materials that are differentiated

and respond to students who are ready to learn curriculum that is

beyond their current grade level. Gifted students need to be able

to access flexibly paced, advanced curricula that provide depth

and breadth in their area of strength.

Secondly are screening and assessment issues.

Universal screening is a process through which all students and

their educational performance are examined in order to ensure

that all have an equal opportunity for support. It is our

argument that universal screening is applied for the purpose of

recognizing student strengths and abilities in an effort to

provide appropriate education to students whose development is

advanced. A universal screening process helps to ensure that

access to high - end learning opportunities are open for all

students. Progress monitoring, a key component of RTI, is

appropriate for students who are gifted child. For these children

or students, who learn more easily and quickly catch knowledge

and apply it in their area of strengths. Teacher must observe

children progress by monitoring their abilities and development

in growth either the child ready or not. Teacher can record all

development or skills through observations should be used to put

all documentation such as paper, file or artwork of the most

mastery skills. Once mastery has been documented, students must

be given a lots of opportunities to continue learning with

enriched with proper environment and advanced materials related

to their area of strength gifted children.

Thirdly is problem solving approaches. The

problem solving approach is related to individual student’s

learning needs. When children are not responding to effective

curriculum, then adaptations for individualizations are made.

While problem solving approaches consider mostly students who are

not progressing when compared with their same age of peers, they

also need to know which are they as gifted students who are not

progressing above at all grade levels equal with their abilities.

These further interventions allow students to increase their

levels of knowledge and skills in their areas of strengths and

may include advanced educational options such as continuous

progress learning, curriculum compacting, advanced placement, and

grade or subject skipping, and post-secondary enrollment.

Next is by making the curriculum for student-

centered. It is good engaging gifted students in the curriculum

in decision-making process, giving them an opportunity to learn

how to take responsibility for their own learning experiences.

For example is drawing the curriculum from the student interests

and their educational needs. Teamwork between professionals

guides both approaches because to make the gifted students

abilities or skills was developed appropriately. If the general

education classroom curriculum does not appear to be effective

way, then the professionals and parents can work together to

develop variety of plans for students or children success.

Actually this partnership is particularly important for students

from different backgrounds and whose achievement is not really

achieves. These professionals need to include general, special,

and gifted educators who determine when individualized

adaptations are needed. If the general education classroom cannot

provide a good sufficient improvement in all students learning

then special services through specialist may be considerately.

CURRENT STATUS

Now she is a senior in high school, Adora is active in Speech and

Debate and Model UN. She has spoken widely on youth voice out

loud and feminism, and will be as a panel about ability to

organize one-self (self directed learning) at the South by

Southwest Education conference in Austin last year on March 2014.

Svitak is still doing a lot of education advocacy. She wants to

see more improvement from now. She still going to be an activist

for feminism, liberal politics, and youth adapt causes.

Besides that, Svitak has arranged of awards to her name,

including the National Education Association’s Award for

Outstanding Service to Public Education. In addition, she was a

Fellowship semifinalist, won the National Education Startup

Challenge, and the Women’s Media Center’s Girls State of the

Union video contest. Lastly, she is earning her media training

from the Gloria Steinem founded as non-profit.

THE THEORIES RELATED

Child giftedness by relating through theories

firstly is Lev Vygotsky theory because it contains Psychology of

Play by young children to discover children development. The

abilities that the child shows are related by language, cognitive

and social development. In my opinion, Adora have the ability to

talk in front of people confidently. Adora starting career in

public speaking with presentations on literacy and writing to

local elementary school assemblies in 2005. Vygotsky in social

development theory is when the child have good in socialize

children clever to adapt to new environmental conditions and

exposed to the social development of all ages, as already mothers

or fathers, men and women who are working to teach others while

giving lectures though he never had his own experience of

motherhood and parents to educate their children succeed in the

future so he also gives useful tips to parents, teachers,

economic status and worldwide.

Secondly is John Locke theory more on self

discipline when to give a talk about educating parenthood

including the theory of consciousness or awareness trough

influences on Political Philosophy in Human Capital. Children

also have the right thing to say by expressing their feeling.

Thirdly are this theory can relate to communication affective in

Jean Piaget theory to think in cognitive to express new ideas, to

add information by predicting or summarizing or hypothesizing

way. The evidence are Adora she taught her first class at a local

elementary school the year her first book, Flying Fingers, debuted

since then, she has spoken at hundreds of schools, classrooms and

conferences around the world. She writing skills is good to

seeking as experienced people.

Thirdly is Howard Gardner suggested in

Frames of Mind that intellectual giftedness may be present in all

areas. The concept of multiple intelligences (MI) makes the field

aware of additional potential strengths and proposes a various

method of curricular to make children interest in knowledge.

Gardner suggests MI in the following areas it is linguistic,

logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, kinesthetic,

interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic and existential.

Nine Intelligence of Multiple Intelligence by Howard Gardner is:

1. Verbal-linguistic intelligence means well-developed verbal

skills and sensitivity to the sounds, meanings and rhythms of

words

2. Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to think

conceptually and abstractly, and capacity to perceive logical and

numerical patterns.

3. Spatial-visual intelligence aimed children that have potential

to think about images and pictures, to visualize correctly and

abstractly.

4. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence ability to control one’s body

or parts of body to move and to handle objects skillfully.

5. Musical intelligences is an ability to produce and appreciate

such as rhythm, pitch and timber.

6. Interpersonal intelligence ability to detect and respond

appropriately to the moods, motivations and desires of others

7. Intrapersonal are the ability to be self-aware and in tune

with inner feelings, values, beliefs and thinking processes.

8. Naturalist intelligence is the ability to recognize and

categorize such as plants, animals and other objects in nature.

9. Existential intelligence is sensitivity and ability to tackle

deep questions about human existence such as what is the meaning

of life? Why do we die? How did we get here?

Apart from all intelligence that shows, I

think Adora Svitak as gifted children mostly used Linguistic

intelligence and Interpersonal intelligence. Firstly are

linguistic Intelligence refer as the child biography as a

journalist, novelist, poets and writer. Secondly are

Interpersonal skills used mostly in carrier as a teacher,

educator, and politicians.

REFERENCES

http://www.ted.com/talk/adora_svitak/transcript?language=en

http://www.cms4schools.com/btsd/5areasofgt.cfm

Notes Sir Khairul Azhar Masri, Chapter 2: The Importance of

Education for Giftedness (5 Areas of Talented and Gifted).

http://aryhermawan.weebly.com/gardners-multiple-

intelligences.html

(Source: Thirteen ed online, 2004)

http://www.education.udel.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/

GiftedStudents.pdf

http://www.psmag.com/navigation/books-and-culture/30-top-

thinkers-30-aspiring-princess-wants-see-major-changes-americas-

education-system-77619/

http://www.manzanitaschool.org/adora-svitak/

http://www.intervention.com/faqfintv.html#what

http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/clarzim1.html

http://cal.dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/cal/pdf/rti-

gct.pdf

Clark, G. A., & Zimmerman, E. (1992). Issues and practices related to

identification of gifted and talented students in the visual arts (RBDM 9202).

Storrs, CT: The National Research Center on the Gifted and

Talented, University of Connecticut.

Renzulli, J. S. (1976). The enrichment triad model: A guide for

developing defensible programs for the gifted and talented. Gifted

Child Quarterly, 20, 303-326.

Renzulli, J. S. (1977). The enrichment triad model: A guide for developing

defensible programs for the gifted and talented. Mansfield Center, CT:

Creative

INTRODUCTION

The title of the journal issue that I choose is The

Identification of Gifted and Talented Students. The studies based

on Pusat PERMATApintar Negara, National University Malaysia.

Faculty of Education from National University Malaysia. The

authors of the journal are Siti Fatimah Mohd Yassin, Noriah Mohd

Ishak, Melor Muhd Yunus dan Rosadah Abd Majid. Siti Fatimah Mohd

Yassin et al. / Procedia – Social and Behavioural Sciences 55

(2012) 585 – 593.

(Siti Fatimah Mohd Yassin, 2012)

DISCUSSION

a) IMPLICATION OF THE STUDY

In the journal Gifted and Talented Education in Malaysia for

acceleration program such as grade skipping is not appropriate

because it can lead social problems and academic failure. He

reminds the parents that if accelerated, the child would be the

last in her class to reach puberty, the last to be able to drive.

Other than that is the children or student will skip for one year

ahead of school and interact with the seniors. So, the student

will feel different sociology far ahead of knowledge advanced

learning.

From my understanding, the weakness of the study

are the number of students who sat for UKM1 online test in 2010

was higher than 2011. The main problem is internet and ICT

facility in school. Because of that, school administrators and

teachers not sure enough so they took students only high academic

achievers to take the UKM1 online test that they might be gifted

students.

Next is the methodology are not detailed enough

because it is too simple. In this study, another concerned matter

is how well the individual’s or students to response to do UKM2

research is reliable on online test compared to paper and pencil

test. However, I found that there is no bad implication in the

context of quality of responses using online method. Online

method is proven to have advantages on reducing the time of

collecting data and is timely effective. Moreover, an evaluation

of the UKM2 online test can be performed to increase the

effectiveness and usability [1, 2, 6, 15].

There are some parts of gifted underachiever who

state that the students did not perform well in standardized

academic examinations Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) before

entering the school. This is because several students do not

achieve a great achievement in academics but more students show

interest and focus on other areas. Certainly, is not in the

academic field for example in arts and robotics.

b) DISCUSS ANY FLAWS WITH THE ARTICLE

From the discussion about Gifted and Talented Education in

Malaysia explained regarding The Ministry of Education (MoE) is

the system that has put much effort to educate also in special

children with disabilities but it has not fully admit the needs

of gifted students. These students need exploration and discovery

through challenges that suitable on their abilities in hands on

experience and IQ Test Intelligence. Provide good environment in

order to illustrate their full potential to the field of gifted

and talented education is not well specified throughout in the

Malaysian system of education.

Students explore the current policies and

practices with regard to defining, identifying, and educating

this population. It really help to ensure that students who are

gifted and have learning disabilities receive the intervention

needed to help them achieve their full potential. When educators

first began describing children and who showed the evidence of

having learning disability (LD) nevertheless, it also has

appeared to be gifted and many thinks this as stereotype. The

stereotype that has exists since Terman's (1925) is the time was

that gifted children score at the same score of high on

intelligence tests and perform well in school.

The curriculum is organized using particular

concept of approaching to give children opportunity to see the

relationship content of the knowledge among various subjects and

real life situations. In my point of view it really good using

The National Philosophy of Education and National Principles of

Malaysia that provide holistically, creativity, logical thinking,

and innovative in academic talented students approach . The

school started using the Development Model for Gifted and

Talented (DMGT) by Gagne in 2010. It is one of the most popular

theories that explains model in such a holistically developed.

Domains of giftedness acquire natural abilities only is known as

categorized,

c) SUGGESTION HOW YOU THINK IT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER

In my point of view, I will recommended to do test in Malaysian

Emotional Quotient Inventory (MEQI) used not only in leadership,

empathy, communication, persuasion, and perceptiveness inventory

we can also to build their self confidence, self esteem,

creativity through role play, singing, dancing and have an

abilities to play music instruments. We can test the abilities of

young children or students gifted and talented students to make

suitable approach that can use to apply it in the real world

according to the Howard Gardner theory it is Multiple

Intelligence. There is a rules and policy to follow the

curriculum. Using all the Intelligence not only test in paper and

pencil but also to experience it.

At that time teacher assistance and instructors

will record and keep all documentation each of the students to

analyze the total number of studies. A recommendation form, which

may be combined with the referral form, consisting of an

assessment such as rating scale, observations, time sampling,

standardized test, checklist and so on is to assist with

identifying the gifted artistic student will be completed by the

dance teacher, the physical education teacher, the classroom

teacher, the drama teacher (or the classroom teacher in the

elementary school or middle school if the middle school does not

have a drama teacher), the music teacher, or the visual arts

teacher. Districts may choose to use a separate recommendation

form with either general descriptors of artistic behaviors or

specific descriptors of behaviors associated with a particular

arts discipline. The review teacher or parents must ensure that

all locally developed forms are reviewed for bias and that they

accurately assess the student’s abilities, skills, and potential

in the arts. The ongoing curriculum will enhance teacher to

develop to their child.

Other than that is to specified the

students giftedness or talented to have a good environment that

had mention of not really good by existing model to ensure that

every child achieves as highly A’s they can, creating a culture

of high expectations and aspirations, in which it is ‘cool to be

clever’ and where all sorts of talents and abilities are valued

recognize and build on what the learners already know, setting

out clear objectives for each lesson and sharing them with

pupils, make learning interesting and real, developing

understanding through enquiry, creativity, e-learning and problem

solving, within and beyond the classroom, make learning an

enjoyable and challenging experience, using a variety of teaching

styles and matching tasks to learners maturity. Students had

learned fast when learning about new advance knowledge and

skills. The activity given should be more exploring and engaging

in their learning process through socializes with their peers and

interacts with and helps each other.

d) WHAT YOU THINK IT ALL MEANS

Talent search programs had done in many

countries around the world. They were using different types

of testing strategies and intervention to enhance students

or children capabilities in many areas. We do not only

focusing on academic performance but we also encourage

children to know and apply humanity to communicate with

other people. For example like self esteem, self

independence, and self concept are all having connections

between own self. By using effective process to identify

gifted students must involve one of the ways is through

standardize test that have been enthusiastically to come out

with a lots of research. It means that other researches had

give recommendation to identification process that must take

consideration to developing the criteria. The criteria are

teacher or instructors must clearly understand the

definition of the giftedness. Then, avoid using a single

cut-off scoring, be aware of giftedness may come different

characteristics, and by repeating the assessment over time

manage to identify quickly for additional gifted students.

It means that the studies is to identify

whether the students is gifted or talented. So, this

research provides methodology of variety of assessments and

test to prove it the evidence. Firstly is three standardized

assessments are used to measure the naturals abilities

without learned it first. Natural abilities requires

intellectual, creativity, and socio-affective. The aims are

to identify students with high academic potential ability.

Secondly is screening process using UKM1

online intelligence test. It is to get the interests and the

potential students from different family background and

types of school in the every country in Malaysia. It is to

assessing the students at the age of 8 until 15 years old

with non verbal and verbal abilities. Students can choose

either Malay or English language.

Thirdly is by using screening approach UKM3

comprehensive assessments. It contains pencil and paper test

for subjects academic like science, mathematics and

language. It requires testing for The Torrance Test of

creative thinking more in colouring, arts and craft,

movement, talents and emotional expressions. For another

testing is Malaysian Emotional Quotient Inventory (MEQI) is

to cover social affective abilities of the students it was

measured among students perceptiveness, empathy, leadership,

communication skills and persuasion. The method use is

pencils and paper. It was also testing in presentations

projects by individual and cooperation among their friends.

After that are instructor rates to calculate all abilities

of sensory motor by strength reflexes and endurance of the

students using behavioural observations. Teaching assistance

will record the daily assessments. The lastly is instructors

to analyze the data produce by weekly assessments and final

evaluations for about three weeks.

e) SUGGESTION FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

In my opinion, I suggest for future research is the analysis part

in UKM3 comprehensive assessments can be put fully content in a

computer as a decision support system. It can also be integrated

to electronic portfolio system. This system can help

administrators, teachers, instructors and counselors to plan a

suitable intervention taken and to enrich variety of programs,

monitoring students and observe children progressing through

academic and non academic activities and also by assessing

students and young children performances formatively learning in

many aspects in school and outside the schools.

Nowadays, Standardized art tests should not be

used to identify students with high abilities in the visual arts.

Student's backgrounds, personalities, values, and age need to be

studied as factors in identification of art talent. Multiple of

the criteria identification systems are recommended in all

identification programs for creative gifted and talented

students. Other than that, is various aspects of these issues are

discussed in regard to their uses and misuses in current gifted

and talented visual arts programs in relation to identification

procedures.

SUMMARY OF THE JOURNALS

The research was conducted of PERMATApintar High School at

National University of Malaysia (UKM). It is a school for gifted

and talented students in Malaysia. It is an action research

approach has been employed to get in-depth understanding and

establishment of the identification and by selecting of system.

The data are collected and analyzed based on reflections,

observation, online intelligence tests, and comprehensive

assessments. The participations were 15 years old students in

PERMATApintar school holiday camp for three week from November

until December in 2010 and 2011. It has been 2 years of study in

the Model of Blended Assessment. The screening process tests the

students of online test UKM1, UKM2 and UKM3 Comprehensive

Assessment, The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking and Malaysian

Emotional Quotient Inventory (MEQI). It was a research to

developed and provide ongoing studies to identify of gifted and

talented students for this school. This system can enhanced and

develop and can be integrated to electronic portfolio system.

f) DISCUSS HOW KNOWLEDGE IN THE AREA COULD BE EXPANDED

Knowledge can be expanded in any area. The

students were from various types of schools such as regular, full

residential, religious, Mara junior college science, arts school,

and private school. Malaysia has multi-racial, ethnic and

religious groups. So to do research in areas such as motivation

camp conducted during the school holidays is very nice and

helpful. This is because students get more knowledge through

experiencing cooperating with their friends to making close

relationship. The attitude of the student will be able to change

to be better than in students and children through social aspect

and the nature of humanity. Environment is also important to

develop children and gifted students interest about knowledge.

Next is Enrichment Learning and Teaching

which based on the Enrichment Triad Model, it is enrichment

learning and teaching which has begins starting from the roots in

the ideas of a small but it is really influential the number of

philosophers, theorists, and researchers such as Jean Piaget

(1975), Jerome Bruner (1960, 1966), and John Dewey (1913, 1916).

The best way to expanding the knowledge is to know the concept in

terms of the four principles which are every learner is unique,

and therefore all learning experiences must be examined in ways

that take into account the spiritual, behaviours, abilities,

interests, and learning styles of the individual. Moreover,

learning is more effective when students feel enjoy what they are

doing to achieve their goal, and therefore, learning experiences

should be constructed and assessed with as much concerns for

enjoyment. Furthermore, learning would be more meaningful and

enjoyable when the knowledge process of cognitive for example is

thinking skills, methods of inquiry that they are learned within

real context and presents problems and therefore, children or

students tend to seek attention so they should be given more

opportunities to personalize student for making choices in

problem solving, the relevant of the problem for individual

students at the time the problem is being addressed, and

authentic strategies for how to overcome the problems. Lastly is

several formal order may be used in enrichment in process

learning and teaching, but a major goal of this approach to

learning is to enhance knowledge and thinking skill acquisition

that is gained through formal instruction with applications of

knowledge and skills that result from students own construction

of meaning (Renzulli, 1994, p. 204).