support gifted and talented learners

Hina ShabbirAcademic & Research [email protected]

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Support Gifted and Talented Learners

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Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................2

SUPPORT GIFTED AND TALENTED LEARNER..................................................................................2

2 Needs of Gifted and Talented Learners...............................................................................................2

2.1 Particular Gifts of Children..........................................................................................................3

2.2 Additional Learning Needs..........................................................................................................4

2.3 Sources of support.......................................................................................................................5

2.3.1 Within classroom.................................................................................................................5

2.3.2 Outside classroom................................................................................................................6

SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION.................................................................................8

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................8

1 Importance of Speech, Language and Communication for Children's Development...........................8

1.1 Explain Each of the Terms...........................................................................................................8

1.1.1 Speech..................................................................................................................................8

1.1.2 Language.............................................................................................................................9

1.1.3 Communication....................................................................................................................9

1.1.4 Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN).......................................................9

1.2 Support of Speech, Language and Communication Skills in Children's Development..............10

1.2.1 Learning.............................................................................................................................10

1.2.2 Emotional...........................................................................................................................10

1.2.3 Behaviour...........................................................................................................................10

1.2.4 Social.................................................................................................................................11

1.3 Impact of Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties on Child's Development...........11

2 Importance and Benefits of Adults Supporting the Speech, Language and Communication on Children's Development............................................................................................................................12

2.1 Ways Adults Use to Support the Speech, Language and Communication for Children's Development at Early Years..................................................................................................................13

2.2 Positive Effects of Adult Support on Children and Their Careers..............................................14

2.3 Difference of Speech Levels and Language Development between Children's Early Year's Provision and During Settling and Planning..........................................................................................14

3 Contribution in Maintaining a Positive Environment that Supports Speech, Language and Communication.........................................................................................................................................15

3.1 Importance of Environment in Supportive Speech, Language and Communication Development16

For more details: [email protected]

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3.2 Key Factors to Support Speech, Language and Communication Environment..........................16

CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................17


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INTRODUCTION

It is often said that education could change the fate of any nation and could bring prosperity to

the citizens of a country. This is due to the fact that education empowers individuals to do their

best in their respective fields and bring new levels of achievement with their dedication and

research. Among all these individuals, some students are so bright that they could prove to be

gems of their society. However, there is a need to guide and help even such gifted students so

that they could realize their potential. This essay is about the requirements of such talented

children.

SUPPORT GIFTED AND TALENTED LEARNER

1 Needs of Gifted and Talented Learners

Gifted and talented children are such students who are able to achieve more as compared to their

group fellows with their hard work and dedication. Such students may not be able to do wonders

in all fields of life, but they are definitely able to do a lot in the fields of their interest (NCCA,

2007). It has been known over past years that a person doing well in music may not do well in

mathematics but still he needs to be appreciated for his skills in music.

Similarly, any renowned mathematician may not be good in any science subject like

physics and chemistry. Such talented children need recognition of their respective talents without

degrading them for what they cannot do (Ofsted, 2015). They need to be appreciated for their

talents and skills in a positive manner.

Other than this, such talented children need to be recognized and bought forward from all walks

of life. It is often seen that such children are found in slums rather than any good schools. If they

are recognized properly, they may be able to do much more than their fellow children (Smithers


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& Robinson, 2012). They need to be encouraged so as to work with more dedication. Often such

children need financial assistance in order to fulfil their dreams. This could be done by schools

or by local governments (Ofsted, 2015). Financial assistance should always be provided to such

gems so as to help them defy any financial burden and concentrate on their studies completely.

1.1 Particular Gifts of Children

There could be a number of talents which are shown by such talented individuals. They could be

either from educational field or non-educational field. From the educational fields, children could

be good in chemistry, mathematics, physics or any other particular subject (NCCA, 2007). They

could do wonders and show much more potential than their fellows.

In mathematics field, such talented children could grasp the concept and logic behind a problem

more quickly than others. In any language courses, if a student is talented, they would show good

reading skills and would have a highly developed verbal language as compared to their fellow

students. Such students would also analyze their own work continuously and would try to bring

some improvements on the basis of their analysis (Ofsted, 2015). One factor that all of these

children represented are the confidence in themselves.

In a field of science like physics or chemistry, such talented students would question every fact

and would look out for logical reasoning actively. They would also make relations between

different factors and would try their best to detect a pattern between different findings (NCCA,

2007).

Such children do not accept any fact without evidence and actively look out for patterns so as to

verify any statement. They are always learning from their surroundings and are able to think of

innovative ideas so as to resolve issues being faced in any environment. Their biggest ability is


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their flexibility (Smithers & Robinson, 2012). They do not assume anything is true till they find

evidence and are capable of resolving issues through their approach.

1.2 Additional Learning Needs

Since such children are special, their requirements are special as well. First of all, they need

some activities based learning. This means that that curriculum should revolve around various

activities instead of typical learning terminologies used. These activities should not only fulfil

the innovative nature of these gifted individuals but should also be able to fulfil their thirst of

knowledge (Ofsted, 2015). Their interests need to be recognized and then activities should be

made in accordance with that.

Other than this, gifted children need a multi-dimensional curriculum which could focus on their

interest areas. It is often seen that such children may not be able to do well in other fields but are

able to excel in the field of their interest. A multi-dimensional curriculum would enable the

children to study the subjects of their own choice (NCCA, 2007). In this way, they would be able

to put a special focus on their interests.

Students need to be given independence in choosing their subjects. They should be able to make

decisions for themselves since they are aware of their interests as compared to their parents or

teachers (Smithers & Robinson, 2012). Such independent learning could not only boost

confidence of students but would also push them towards innovative thinking.

Teaching methods need to be revolutionized for such children since they could learn only in an

interactive environment. They learn when teachers conduct lessons in an interactive manner and

assign different activities which could accelerate their learning process (NCCA, 2007). This type

of teaching facilitates students to learn more.


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1.3 Sources of support

1.3.1 Within classroom

Within classroom, teachers could support the learning process of such children by teaching them

in an interactive environment. Such environment could not only increase the effectiveness of

learning, it would also improve the self-learning process of students (Smithers & Robinson,

2012). This type of teaching would definitely improve the problem solving skills of children.

Other than that, it would raise curiosity of students and help them make better decisions in their

careers.

Within a classroom, it is not only teachers who could support students but their fellows could

also help them in learning. Every student has a different mode of learning. Therefore, making

groups of children having same mode of learning could definitely help a student to learn more

effectively (NCCA, 2007). Making a group could definitely help the individual assessment

process of students.


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1.3.2 Outside classroom

Outside classroom, parents could prove to be the biggest support which a student could have.

Parents could help by understanding learning needs of their children and answering any question

which is raised out of curiosity (NCCA, 2007). Often it is seen that parents try to snub the

individual thinking of children which not only damages his personality but also affects the

creativity of children.

Other than children, society could play a big role in helping these children out financially and

morally. Most of the times, such gifted children are unable to pay for their education expenses.

They would be helped out by NGOs or other agencies who work continuously for betterment of

children (Ofsted, 2015). Other than that, such children could be encouraged by helping them in

their learning process and giving them a conductive environment to study.

Conclusion

All in all, the gifted children are always special since they are able to accomplish much more

than their class fellows with their talents and dedication. Since they are special children, their

requirements are also special. They need an interactive environment to learn efficiently. Other

than that, they need to be encouraged continuously so as to help them learn in an effective

manner. They may not excel in every field of education but would exceptionally well in their

field of interest. They have innovative minds and could solve problems through their approach.

For this, they need continuous support not only from their teachers but also from their parents.


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Reference

NCCA. (2007). Gifted and talented pupils. NCCA.

Ofsted. (2015). The most able students. Manchester: Ofsted.

Smithers, A., & Robinson, P. (2012). Educating the Highly Able. Centre for Education and Employment Research University of Buckingham.


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SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

Introduction

This report is about the importance of Speech, Language and Communication in the development

of children. It sheds light on the various facets of the development of school going children

which are affected by speech, language and communication, and suggests how best to tackle

them in the best interest of the children.

1 Importance of Speech, Language and Communication for Children's

Development

There is ample evidence to support the importance that speech, language and communication

have for purposes of the overall development of children. These three factors play a central role

in the development of children because it is through these channels children are taught at school.

If there is a gap in their communication, this might lead to children not being able to learn

effectively or receive academic help that they deserve. Therefore, these factors must be kept in

mind and consideration should be given by the educational institutions or school to grow up and

make students a responsible citizen (Rowe, 2008; Birkett, 2003). Hence, ideas about child

development contribute to parental practices and the developmental outcomes of children.

1.1 Explain Each of the Terms

1.1.1 Speech

Speech refers to the verbal channel through which communication is made from one person to

another. This consists of two parts, encoding and decoding. Encoding is the process by which a

person chalks out his words and sentence structure to encode the message he wishes to

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communicate. Decoding is the act of interpretation of the message by the listener to reach the

gist of what is being said (Leonard, Weismer, & Mller, 2007).

1.1.2 Language

Language refers to a system of communication that consists of words which are then combined

to make sentences and structure. Vocabulary and grammar are elements of language that are used

for the sake of effective communication. Intonation also has a strong role to play when deciding

upon the meaning of the same words spoken in a different manner. Language provides evidence

about minds to children, (Schick, Villiers, & Villiers, 2007).

1.1.3 Communication

Communication refers to the process by which an exchange of information takes place. There are

many ways in which such an exchange can occur such as in the form of writing, speaking,

gestures, so on and so forth. Communication is the flexible and supportive speech which acts as

the work that needs to be executed for reaching self-definition and interpersonal bonding (Katriel

& Philipsen, 2009).

1.1.4 Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)

SLCN refers to the difficulties that individuals face in communicating their messages to others.

SLCN may include elements such as difficulties in forming sentence structure, in pronunciation,

in speaking fluently, so on and so forth. The term language impairment refers to children

exhibiting a significant deficit in language development (Leonard, Weismer, & Mller, 2007).


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1.2 Support of Speech, Language and Communication Skills in Children's

Development

1.2.1 Learning

Speech, language and communication skills help in learning processes of children by helping

them in grabbing the idea of what is being said to them easily and effectively. These three traits

allow children to tackle their problems easily relatively by being able to find logical solutions to

them. Associations have been found between working memory abilities and learning in children

who have special educational needs (Alloway & Temple, 2007).

1.2.2 Emotional

Speech, language and communication support the emotional aspect of children by allowing them

to understand emotions in the first place and its importance. Besides, they allow children to

accurately convey their own emotions toward others and communicate to the other side what

they feel or like anytime (Beitchman, et al., 2001).

1.2.3 Behaviour

Behaviour becomes positive, if children are able to comprehend speech, language and

communication. It is because, through these mediums, they are able to understand the rules of

engagement. Moreover, they gather knowledge about what is acceptable behaviour and what is

forbidden for them. As a result of this, their stance in different situations changes from when

they were unable to understand speech, language and communication to when they became

aware of it (Dominick, Davis, & Lainhart, 2007).


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1.2.4 Social

The social aspect is definitely supported because socializing is all about communicating,

listening and replying to oral communication. Both extrovert and introvert children are able to

take advantage of these elements to being able to make sense of social situations and how best to

react to them (Beitchman, et al., 2001).

1.3 Impact of Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties on Child's

Development

Speech, language and communication difficulties can pose both short-term and long-term

impacts on the development of children. According to Law, Garret, & Nye (2004), around 6 to 8

percent of all children may be a victim of such difficulties.

In the short-run, children can have anxiety disorders as a result of speech, language and

communication difficulties that they are going through. The anxiety disorders may lead to social

phobia which is detrimental for the growth of any child. In the long-run, one of the adverse

impacts that these difficulties can have is that they can possibly create social as well as

behavioural problems for them. Accordingly, as time passes, the magnitude of these problems

increases (Redmond & Rice, 2002).

In addition, when children diagnosed with speech, language and communication difficulties

might face rejection from their peers continuously and they often opt to withdraw from social

settings. In result, many children therefore choose to live along instead of socially active (Young,

et al., 2002).

Further to this, children with speech, language and communication difficulties may score poorly

in their academics. There is evidence in support of this argument as a study shows a direct


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proportionality relationship with speech, language and communication difficulties and poor

academic performance at school. Moreover, those children are at risk of being the victim of

bullies who take advantage of the shortcomings of such children (Verhoeven & Balkom, 2004).

2 Importance and Benefits of Adults Supporting the Speech, Language and

Communication on Children's Development

The role of adults in supporting the speech, language and communication of children is

paramount and beneficial. This is owing to the fact that if adults take good and proper care of

children, they can help them from avoiding developing speech, language and communication

difficulties or if children have such difficulties, they can help them in managing. Evidence

collected over three decades suggests that if adults take care of the development of children, they

can effectively help them develop as positive, balanced and normal beings as opposed to being

diagnosed with any disabilities relating to speech, language or communication (Kaiser &

Hancock, 2003).

In addition, adults who approach children in a friendly way with an intention to develop speech,

language or communication skills would be able to safeguard the children from being exploited

in any way in school for their shortcomings. In effect, they would have prevented the disabilities

from arising instead of seeking for a cure once they have set in the children’s personalities. If

adults become sensitive to the communication abilities of children, they can help them in

improving their language development (Aldred, Green, & Adams, 2004).

Finally, children can better avoid developing disabilities at an early stage in life instead of at a

later stage. This is because they would be able to skip the long years of pain and trauma that they


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go through even if they are successful at freeing themselves of their disabilities at some later

stage in life (Young, et al., 2002; DCSF, 2008).

2.1 Ways Adults Use to Support the Speech, Language and Communication for

Children's Development at Early Years

Adults can play a proactive role in supporting and extending the speech and communication

development of children during the early years. One of the ways in which adults such as parents

can do that is by communicating routinely with their children. No one knows children better than

their parents; so they can help in diagnosing the problems they face and think of solutions to

them (Chow & McBride-Chang, 2008).

Children can be more comfortable revealing the problems to their parents as compare to their

teachers or peer. It is the reason due to which problem can be identified and resolved in effective

manner. According to a study, parent child reading allows children to be able to learn new words

that they might not necessarily encounter in daily life (Chow & McBride-Chang, 2008).

Parents can take their children to early intervention programs so that disabilities can be avoided

and even if disabilities are present, they can be rooted out at an early stage and prevented from

further development. The intention behind designing early intervention programs is to try to

improve outcome (Kaaresena & Ronning, 2008).

Finally, parents can even hire the services of a speech pathologist that can help them to sort out

the problems that the children are facing and the solution to them based on his expertise. The

pathologist can suggest some solid solutions to overcome the problems from observations and

solutions tested on other children. Hence, the importance of phonological awareness in children

development has been established very well in the past two decades (Spencer & Lee, 2008).


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2.2 Positive Effects of Adult Support on Children and Their Careers

The effects of adult support for their children are definitely positive. Since, children facing

learning difficulties require careful planning to realize educational success. Adult support instils

confidence on children and they feel more confident to deal with their problems instead of being

bogged down by them (Simpson, Boer-Ott, & Smith-Myles, 2003).

Another is that children would become well versed with communication and would learn to trust

their abilities better. This would result in gaining higher levels of self-esteem for which would be

very beneficial for their career (Redmond & Rice, 2002; Birkett, 2003).

Moreover, increase in academic performance would be another result of the counselling that

children receive from adults. This would bring high advantage when they go out to search for

jobs and build their career at a later stage in life (Kaiser & Hancock, 2003).

Finally, increased sociability would be another result of the support that children receive from

adults which would up their friendliness level and help then befriend more people. This also

would have an effect on their professional career and help them in making the most out for them

when they start working (Chow & McBride-Chang, 2008).

2.3 Difference of Speech Levels and Language Development between Children's

Early Year's Provision and During Settling and Planning

The levels of speech and language development can vary from one child to another. There are

many possible factors that contribute to this. According to a study, children can differ in their

cognitive abilities (Duschl & Shouse, 2007).


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One difference would be the intellectual level of parents who provide them support as all parents

have a style and idea of a support that can be different from the other. Parents of intellectually

disabled children often report anxiety and depression symptoms (Gallagher & Phillips, 2008).

Second difference would be related to the children themselves, their personalities and the way

they react to the support given to them. Every child is unique in himself and so this is a variance

that would be natural and inevitable (Schick, Villiers, & Villiers, 2007).

The way to take this into account during settling in and planning would be to study every child

and observe his person. This would lead to insights into how best to deal with him, how best to

give him support and educate him about the problems that he is facing and show him a way out

of them (Rowe, 2008).

3 Contribution in Maintaining a Positive Environment that Supports

Speech, Language and Communication

There are several benefit of maintaining a positive environment that supports speech, language

and communication. This is because such an environment would be very helpful for the children

and they would be able to avoid catching any difficulties relating to speech, language or

communication (Redmond & Rice, 2002; DCSF, 2008).

Therefore, the children would feel safe and be able to concentrate on their studies as well as

other aspects of their school and social life. All this would be possible because of positive

environment provided by their parents. So, the parents play a helpful role by proving one such

environment to their children to maintain balanced in their life (Simpson, Boer-Ott, & Smith-

Myles, 2003).


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3.1 Importance of Environment in Supportive Speech, Language and

Communication Development

The importance of environment in supportive speech, language and communication development

is high as it helps children to develop skills effectively. This is because if the children get the

right environment at the right time, they are more probable to excel (Katriel & Philipsen, 2009).

If the environment is not supportive, then it can have disastrous effects on children just as the

positive effects that it can entail. A non-supportive environment would hamper the abilities of

children in speech, language and communication development and stop them from developing

such skills essential for them (Gallagher & Phillips, 2008).

This would ultimately be disadvantageous to the children in various ways. The children would

go through a very tough time in their lives and be at risk of maintaining such communication

difficulties in the longer run if care in not taken to check them and reverse the trend (Gallagher &

Phillips, 2008).

3.2 Key Factors to Support Speech, Language and Communication Environment

There are a number of key factors that provide a supportive speech, language and

communication environment. One, resources, such as toys can provide for a supportive

environment for the children where feel comfortable. At the places, where the objects are

available as per according to the children interest, there is a higher chance for them of

understanding the messages sent across to them (Katriel & Philipsen, 2009).

The second is the noise level as it should be low in the environment so that children can easily

understand what is being taught to them. This would allow them to take an active role in the

overall learning process (Leonard, Weismer, & Mller, 2007).


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Three, the session between instructor and children should be an interactive one so that they fully

participate in the proceedings of the training session. Without the involvement of children with

the instructor, there is little chance of them learning what they are supposed to in the correct

manner (Leonard, Weismer, & Mller, 2007).

Four, helping the children to practice the communication exercises would be the best way

forward. This is because then the children would be able to master the skills and reach a solid

level of understanding with the trainer. This way they would almost perfect their communication

skills with the repeated practice exercises they are asked to undergo (Alloway & Temple, 2007).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, what can be said is that speech, language and communication skills are essential

to all children. Therefore, it is imperative that care be taken to build them from the early school-

life years that the children spend. Taking stock of the situation early would allow parents to help

build solid foundations of speech, language and communication in children which would pay

them off their entire lives. Therefore it would be a wise idea for parents to intervene early and

help children avoid any disabilities concerning speech, language and communication.


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Reference

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Alloway, T., & Temple, K. (2007). A Comparison of Working Memory Skills and Learning in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder and Moderate Learning Difficulties. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 473-487.

Beitchman, J., Wilson, B., Johnson, C., Atkinson, L., Young, A., Adlaf, E., et al. (2001). Fourteen-Year Follow-up of Speech/Language-Impaired and Control Children: Psychiatric Outcome. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry , 75–82.

Birkett, V. (2003). How to Support and Teach Children with Special Educational Needs. LDA .

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DCSF. (2008). Inclusion Development Programme Supporting children with speech, language and communication needs: Guidance for practitioners in the Early Years Foundation Stage. DCSF.

Dominick, K., Davis, N., & Lainhart, J. (2007). Atypical behaviors in children with autism and children with a history of language impairment. Research in Developmental Disabilities , 145-162.

Gallagher, S., & Phillips, A. (2008). Predictors of Psychological Morbidity in Parents of children with intellectual disability. Journal of Pediatric Psychology , 1129-1136.

Kaaresena, P. I., & Ronning, J. (2008). A randomized controlled trial of an early intervention program in low birth weight children: Outcome at 2 years. Early Human Development , 201-209.

Kaiser, A. P., & Hancock, T. B. (2003). Teaching Parents New Skills to Support Their Young Children’s Development. Infants & Young Children , 9-21.

Katriel, T., & Philipsen, G. (2009). What we need is communication: “Communication” as a cultural category in some American speech. Journal of Communication Monographs , 301-317.

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Redmond, S., & Rice, M. (2002). Stability of Behavioral Ratings of Children with SLI. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research , 190-201.


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Rowe, M. (2008). Child-directed speech: relation to socioeconomic status, knowledge of child development and child vocabulary skill. J. Child Lang. , 185-205.

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Young, A. R., Beitchman, J. H., Johnson, C., Douglas, L., Atkinson, L., Escobar, M., et al. (2002). Young adult academic outcomes in a longitudinal sample of early identified language impaired and control children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 635-645.
