Characteristics of gifted children?
Characteristics:-
1. Physical
(i) They are physically sound and rather better than the normal children.
(ii) Their faces are usually bright.
(iii) They possess vigour and vitality.
2. Intelligence
(i) Their intelligence is high.
(ii) Their ‘g’ factor of intelligence is very strong.
(iii) Some have a very strong group factor or V factor.
3. Inquisitive Nature
They are extremely inquisitive, and quick in understanding.
4. Varied Interests
(i) Their interests are more varied than those of normal children.
(ii) A gifted child of eight may read novels, write long essays, and study such subjects as history, geography, astronomy, grammar, physics and music.
5. Superiority in Academic Work
(i) They are characterized by general superiority in academic work.
(ii) Even in the elementary school, they do their best work on tests of reading and language even they learn to read before entering school.
6. Well Adjusted
As regards character and personality traits they are well-adjusted.
Terman states, “Even in leadership and social adaptability traits in which gifted children are thought to be especially deficient, most studies show gifted children to be somewhat superior to children of the general school population.”
Gifted children characteristics / Creative children
1. High sensitivity
2. Excessive amounts of energy.
3. Bores easily and may appear to have a short attention span.
4. Requires emotionally stable and secure adults around him/her.
5. Will resist authority if it not democratically oriented.
6. Have preferred ways of learning; particularly in reading and mathematics.
7. May become easily frustrated because of his/her big ideas and not having the resources or people to assist him/her in carrying these tasks to fruition.
8. Learns from an exploratory level and resists rote memory and just being a listener.
9. Cannot sit still unless absorbed in something of his/her own interest.
10. Very compassionate and has many fears such as death and loss of loved ones.
11. If they experience failure early, may give up and develop permanent learning blocks.
Gifted children may also withdraw when they feel threatened or alienated and may sacrifice their creativity in order to “belong”. Many children that we test exhibit a high IQ, but they often exhibit “frozen” creativity as well. Often there is an ability to express their feelings initially. We work to assist the child to become open, flexible and to be able to accept failure by developing higher frustration levels.
Some other Characteristics of Creative Children
1. Have active imagination
2. Is emotionally sensitive
3. Generate what if questions
4. Experiments with ideas
5. Is a nonconformist, uninhibited in expression, adventurous
6. Is a risk taker
7. Comfortable not having the correct answer
8. Construct jokes, clever plays on words, ironic observations
Different Approaches to Creativity:-
a) Creativity in terms of process
b) Creativity in terms of product
c) Creativity in terms of mental abilities
d) Creativity in terms of characteristics of a person
Identification of Creative Children:-
Testing techniques:-
1. Guilford and Merrifield test of creativity
2. Torrance Minnesota Test of creative thinking
3. Passi’s battery of creativity tests
4. Baquer Mehdi’s verbal and non-verbal test of creative thinking
Non-testing techniques:-
1. Observation
2. Situational techniques
3. Rating scales
4. Check lists
5. Aptitude tests
6. Interview
7. Personality inventories
8. Projective techniques
Participation in various activities:-
1. Identifying children with academic ability
2. Identifying children with artistic talents
3. Identifying children with mechanical ability
4. Identifying children with scientific ability
