GIFTED AWARENESS WEEK 2022

 Gifted Awareness Week runs each year in the week of 17 June. This particular week is chosen as it is the birthday of George Parkyn, a NZ researcher who looked at gifted children in his studies. He was a founding member of the NZ Association for Gifted Children. The 'George Parkyn Centre' was named after him when it was set up in 1995- the name of the first organisation in NZ to start up 'One Day School' (later becoming the Gifted Education Centre, now The NZ Centre for Gifted Education). 

The theme for this year's 'Gifted Awareness Week' is 'Like minds'.

What are like minds?

People who learn, think and feel in a similar way.  

How do our gifted children find like minds?

• Interest groups (eg scouts etc, sports teams, clubs, volunteer groups, cultural /religious groups, music groups, drama groups etc) - follow your child's interests or introduce them to new ideas - they might just find something they love!
• Giving them opportunities to work with both age peers and intellectual peers (schools can group students in various ways)
• When parents find like-minded friends they can often have like-minded children - don't overlook the importance of these casual catch-ups for both children and parents.
• Online groups - for older children / teens online chat groups can be useful if they are all respectful of each other's thoughts and feelings

Why is finding like minds important?

We know that often our gifted students can feel different as they often learn, think and feel differently to many of their age peers. It's important on a basic psychological level to feel that you belong and are accepted (see Maslow's hierarchy of needs, below). So finding like minds helps support this emotional and social need. 

Once that need is met it is then possible for tamariki to work towards 'self-actualisation' - being the best they can be, being creative and working towards heir potential. Like minds can help support challenge as children bounce ideas off each other or encourage each other to learn more if they have similar interests or learning ethos. 

A little of the research backing up the importance of time with like minds

"Coleman (2001) suggested that peer groups may impact gifted adolescents’ talent development because of the importance of social relationships for adolescents. Riley and White (2016) observed that opportunities for gifted students to spend time with like minded others increased opportunity for challenge when students engaged in thinking and learning with intellectual peers, thus positively influencing academic development. According to Clark (2008) gifted students placed in a regular class find it “impossible to have the support and intellectual challenge of their peer group unless such peer groups are consciously planned” (p. 236), showing that ability grouping is important to support challenge. Strong academic effects for gifted students who were grouped were noted by Rogers (2007), who also stated that the more time gifted students spend with intellectual peers, the more positive the academic and social effects will be."(Thompson, 2021)

Changes over time

 The last couple of weeks have seen us looking at changes over time to communication.

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

We looked at the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg and how it made books (and therefore reading and writing) more accessible for all. Before the printing press books were handmade and so rare and expensive, meaning only those with wealth generally had access to books. 

We looked at how advances in writing techniques had changed - from quill and ink, to ball-point pens, to voice to text. We wondered what might be next and some creative children came up with their ideas. Many were keen to try making a quill and writing with it too. 

Looking at changes over time can add depth and complexity to learning and thinking.

LONG DISTANCE COMMUNICATION

We looked at the history of communication in NZ - this short video from MOTAT sums up the main points. 

We looked at some old telephones and the changes that had happened just in the last 50 years, and wondered about future communication. 

We had a debate on whether mobile phones should be banned in high schools - great skills for students learning to look at two sides of a debate and learning how to give reasons and be convincing. There were some strong feelings on both sides, and we looked at listening respectfully to others opinions / points of view and taking turns to respectfully voice our own opinions and give convincing reasons for those opinions. 

Debating can add depth and complexity to thinking - looking at different perspectives, and ethics. It also utilises and enhances verbal and reasoning skills.