Twice Exceptional Students

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Twice Exceptional Students

• Students Who Are Gifted and Learning Disabled

By Holly Aitken and Stacey Arksey
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Our Article

• Using Learning-Strategies Instruction With
  Students Who are Gifted and Learning Disabled
• Amy Bisland
• Gifted Child Today Magazine (Summer 2004)
• From the Professional
• Development Collection

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Who are Twice Exceptional Students???

• A unique group of individuals who are both gifted
  and learning disabled (although thought of as
  mutually exclusive, it is now accepted that
  students can possess a high level of intelligence
  while also having a learning disability)
• Many students in this group remain unidentified
  because their gifts mask their difficulties,
  making it impossible to know how many Twice
  Exceptional students there are
• Regardless of prevalence, there are Twice
  Exceptional students who have unique needs that
  must be met
• Over the past three decades public and
  professional awareness of Twice Exceptional
  students has increased however, these students
  have been overlooked and underserved in the
  classroom
• Many boards/districts, do not have
  identification, screening, and serving procedures
  outlined for these students. Therefore, a unique
  group of students in our schools remain
  unidentified and are being prevented from
  reaching their true academic potential

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The Different Groups of Students Who Are Gifted/LD

• Group One Students who are Identified as Gifted,
  but have Subtle Learning
  Disabilities
• Easily identified as gifted because they
  demonstrate high IQ or high achievement
• Exceptional verbal skills, but poor spelling and
  handwriting
• Students are disorganized and sloppy
• As they advance through school, the gap between
  what is expected and their actual performance
  widens
• Usually never identified as learning disabled
  because they typically perform on grade level or
  above
• Group Two Students Whose Gifts and Disabilities
  Mask One Another, Leaving Them Unidentified for
  Either Category
• Students high intelligence works to compensate
  for their disability, even as that disability
  prevents their high intelligence from shining
• Most teachers do not notice either exceptionality
• Students typically function at grade level
  however, as coursework becomes more demanding,
  students will need accommodations to prevent
  further academic difficulties
• Group Three Students Who are Identified as
  Learning Disabled, but are also Gifted
• Known for what they are unable to do, rather than
  what they can do
• Sometimes placed in specialized classes for
  learning disabled students because their
  disability prevents them from achieving at their
  potential based on intelligence alone
• More severe learning disabilities than the other
  two groups
• Underestimation of their abilities and never
  receive services for their exceptional abilities

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Characteristics of Twice Exceptional Students
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Instructional Strategies

• Self-efficacy and independence of learning are
  key areas that should be
• stressed in preparing Gifted/LD students for the
  future
• How Teachers can Help Gifted/LD Students
• Allow students to work on computers and use
  tape-recorded books
• Peer tutoring
• Un-timed and Oral Tests
• Cooperative Activities
• Allow students to select from a variety of
  products to show mastery, rather than
  pencil-paper tests
• Continuing instruction in basic skills
• Focus attention on strengths, rather than
  weaknesses
• Consider student interests in designing the
  curriculum to alleviate focus and attention
  problems
• Specialized counseling to improve behaviour,
  increase self-esteem, and develop positive
  interpersonal relationships, which can lead to
  increased academic performance
• Give students specific strategies to help them
  overcome their learning problems like coping
  strategies, study skills, self-advocacy, and
  curricular modification techniques

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Implementing Learning Strategies

• Implementing learning strategies instruction
  within the classroom will assist students who are
  Gifted/LD
• Each individual strategy is actually a
  compilation of several small steps that can be
  used as an instructional routine to complete
  assignments
• Guides students to independent learning by giving
  student the tools they need to keep up with the
  content demands themselves
• Especially Important for Gifted/LD students
  because they have the intellectual capacity to
  process large amounts of information, but often
  lack the skills to remember and apply that
  information on their own
• Through learning strategies instruction they are
  empowered to take control of their own learning,
  allowing their performance to match their
  potential
• Need instruction in strategies that relate to the
  academic area affected by their disability
• Begin by determining instructional goals
  (students should be involved in this process
  because they feel control over their own
  learning)
• In selecting the correct strategy, teachers
  should consider the overall outcome desired (many
  strategies are available but the best strategy is
  the one that is most appropriate to the students
  learning needs)

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Eight Step Process for Teaching Learning
Strategies

• Pretest students to find areas of weakness and
  obtain a commitment from student to master a
  learning strategy
• Introduce the new strategy to the student
  verbally (many times a mnemonic device is used to
  assist students in remembering each step in the
  strategy)
• Model the Learning Strategy by narrating aloud
  while performing the strategy (teachers should
  prompt students to perform gradually more and
  more of the thought process themselves)
• Guide the student through verbal rehearsal of the
  steps involved. This should continue until the
  student has fully memorized the steps in the
  correct sequence
• Allow the student time for controlled practice
  and feedback (this should be done using material
  that is below grade level). Teacher feedback
  should be structured in a way that students have
  a model for later self-evaluation
• Give student opportunities for advanced practice
  and feedback, using advanced or on-grade level
  material (Shift from simply learning the strategy
  to applying it). Teachers should begin to fade
  instructional prompts and cues
• Assess to see if the students has successfully
  acquired the new learning strategy
• Finally, talk to the student about where, when,
  why, and how the student can use the strategy.

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Types of Learning Strategies and Why to Use Them
with Gifted/LD Students

• Memorization Strategies
• - Examples are LINKS, mnemonics, LISTS, and FIRST
• - Allows students to utilize their strength areas
  of creativity and visual memory
• Organization Strategies
• - Examples are the Two-column strategy or LINKS
  strategy
• - Allows students to organize their notes and
  become less distracted
• Written Expression Strategies
• -Examples are DEFENDS, paragraph organization,
  and sentence structure
• - Allows students to write clear and
  well-organized paragraphs and essays
• Learning Strategies Instruction utilizes
  students strengths while still accommodating
  their disability. This is extremely important if
  students are to reach their academic potential.

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Strengths of the Article

• The layout of the article is very well ordered,
  and straightforward to read
• Nice headings
• The argument makes sense and is logical
• The article is interesting, informative, and is
  something new
• The text is appropriate for educators, the
  intended audience
• The text allows us to understand Gifted/LD
  students and gives advice on how to help these
  students
• Systematic Instructions on how to integrate
  learning-strategies into the classroom
• The article builds a very strong response in the
  reader, as it talks about helping ALL students
  reach their full academic potential

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Weaknesses of the Article

• Author is very biased about how the learning
  strategies will help gifted/learning disabled
  students
• Some points are ambiguous (percentage of children
  who are Gifted/LD changes from 10 to 4 to her
  being unsure)
• Not as much evidence for the arguments as we
  would have liked, but it is a fairly new research
  topic
• The text does not really present many opposing
  points of view
• Deals mainly with strategies for Intermediate or
  Senior Students
• More case studies or examples would have made the
  article even more interesting

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Relating the Article to Practicum

• A third grade student had an identified learning
  disability in Reading, but he was gifted in
  Mathematics however, he was not tested for
  giftedness because his disability masked his
  giftedness
• Another, third grade student was gifted in oral
  language and analytical thinking, but had a
  learning disability in reading, which made him
  very frustrated and stressful. He was also a
  perfectionist who did not like testing
  situations, which further characterized him as
  gifted/LD

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QUESTIONS

• Our Question to You Have you taught students who
  you believe could be gifted/LD? If so, explain
  why you feel this way and what they are currently
  identified with.
• Do you have any questions for us???

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