Educational Options for Highly Gifted Students

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Summary

Resources

 

©2004 Mary Codd
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Additional Educational Resources

Has your child's education included any of the following?
[Tutors] [Mentors] [Distance Learning] [Summer Programs] [College Classes]

additional resources

Tutor(s) In which subjects?

Forty-seven children were working with at least one tutor. Subjects listed included: Math (20), Foreign and/or Ancient Language (17), Music (14), Science (8), Language Arts (8). Also mentioned: physical education, and art

Mentor(s) In which areas of interest?

Thirty-five children were working with at least one mentor. Subjects listed included: Science (10), Math (7), Music (8), Computers/programming (4), Foreign or Ancient Language (3). Also mentioned: photography, music, art, sewing, acting/drama, technical theater, karate, history, religions, philosophy, social theory, political science, culture, opera, storytelling, chess, and dance.

Distance Education and Online Courses

Forty-two children used distance education and/or online courses at least once. Programs included: JHU CTY (12), EPGY(32), Letter Links (1), BYU (2), U of MO (6), UNL (3), VSG (1), Other (22).

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Summer Programs
summer programs

Thirty-one children attended at least one summer program. They included: JHU CTY (8), SIG (4), Other (28).

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College Classes
college options

College Classes - On campus, but as a non-matriculated student:

Twenty-six children attended at least one college class on campus as a non-matriculated student. Twenty-nine different colleges or universities were mentioned. The average age of attendance was 12 for the first class on campus, with the youngest child being 7, and the oldest being 15. A wide range of classes were listed, including:

Human Anatomy and Physiology, Astronomy, Earth Science, Music Theory and Composition, English, Critical Thinking, a few education classes and 2-D computer Animation, Government 1 and 2, Composition and Rhetoric 1 and 2, Psychology, Music Appreciation, Philosophy, Economics, Adult Ed non-credit in astronomy, Computer Programming Techniques, Writing, English: Creative Writing, English: Fiction; English: 20 C. Women Writers, English: Poetry, English: Advanced Poetry, African American Studies, Sociolinguistics, English: Problems in the Interpretation of African American Poetry, English: Fellows Seminar, Sociology: Race & Ethnic Studies, English: Independent Study in Poetry, English: Experimental Writing, Comparative Perspectives on Slavery, Race, and Emancipation, German, Honors Astronomy, Honors Astronomy Lab, Honors Biology, Calculus 1st semester, Physics, Zoology, College Writing, Mass Media Writing, Advanced College Writing, Non-Calculus Physics, Psychology, Sociology, Western Thought (philosophy), C++ programming, Sociology, Literature, Communications, Drama, Game Theory, Multivariable Calculus, Physics (Mechanics), Graph Theory, Hypergraphics - audition, Advanced Linear Algebra, Analysis in a Single Variable, Introduction to Programming Systems, Analysis III (Integration Theory & Hilbert Space), Algorithms and Data Structures, History, Scene Painting, Japanese, Biology 1 & 2, General Chemistry 1, Honors General Chemistry 2, Intermediate Algebra, Writing, Music, Pre-calculus, English: Introduction to Drama, Calculus 2, and Elementary Music Theory.

Online College Classes:

Nine children took college classes on-line, with eight colleges or universities mentioned. The average age of attendance was 12 for the first class on-line, with the youngest child being 8, and the oldest being 16. A wide range of classes were listed, including:

Pre-Algebra, Pre-calculus, Calculus, Latin 1, Preparation for University Writing, Linear Algebra; Multivariable Differential Calculus, Algebra II, College Algebra and soon to take Trig, Genetics, and Philosophy.

Special early college entrance program specifically for gifted students:

Two children started college fulltime at 10 and 15 years old with early entrance programs for gifted students.

College, as a fulltime matriculated student:

Nine of the 109 students in this survey have started attending college fulltime. The average age as a matriculating student is 14 , with the youngest child being 11, and the oldest being 17. (One student's age was not noted.)

Eight of the students have declared a majors, they include:
Biology, Political Science, Elementary Education, double major: Math & Computer Science, History, Biology/Pre-Veterinary, Physics and Math, and Engineering Science. The one that was still undecided on a major said, "maybe Linguistics."

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Parent comments regarding Additional Resources:

  1. The University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program (UMTYMP) doesn't EXACTLY fit into any of the program categories above. It is a specialized secondary math program for highly able middle-school-aged students who test into the program and participate for up to five years of highly accelerated instruction. The third, fourth, and fifth year of UMTYMP provide college credit but this program is part-time and thus not strictly an early-entrance program. More information about the program can be found at http://www.itcep.umn.edu/umtymp/
  2. A parent whose child has used tutors for Math, Science, Language Arts, Spanish; EPGY for online courses; on campus college classes in Astronomy, Earth Science, Music Theory and Comp.; and an online college pre-algebra course said: "Well, I guess I don't actually Homeschool him myself, but I do coordinate and manage his education."
  3. Has attended college classes and lectures on occasional basis, not as enrolled student. At age 10 audited 4 credit Asian Studies course.
  4. Investigate talent search programs and enrichment programs at an early age. HG+ kids who are held in traditional education programs often become bored and need experiences outside of school that will hold their interest. Saturday enrichment programs may not address their academic abilities, but will often come closer than what they are doing in school, and will offer them the opportunity to explore ideas/concepts not offered within the traditional academic environment.
  5. Community based education seems to work very well for highly gifted children. Search the community for teachers, tutors, mentors, classes,lessons and more. Dialogue with people about their understanding of gifted children. Be courteous and willing to educate others. My 9 year old son (now 10)wanted to take an honors Euclidean Geometry course but the teacher was hesitant to take a student so young. I e-mailed him and dialogued with him and he allowed my son to take it and found out quickly that the younger students in the class were very motivated and understood a great deal more than he thought they would.
  6. We afterschool in Japanese, French, and (additional) math. My daughter spreads her afterschooling over all 7 days of the week, doing 2 subjects each day, with 1 on Saturday. This means she does Japanese 5 days, French 4 days, and math 4 days. A key for her has been to offer a variety of tools for study. Each day she has a choice based on her schedule and her mood. As a young child, classes at the local science museum were a big interest for her. They were the first ones to ask us if we were sure she was in the right class - she seemed to know more than others. That was right before she did her grade skip.
  7. She will be starting Running Start next year. It is open to HS juniors and seniors in WA state. It's a dual enrollment HS/college program -- students can attend community colleges or a couple state universities. The state/school district pays for the courses as long as the student is under 18, needs more credits to graduate from HS, and qualifies academically. There is NO lower limit age-wise. However, the student needs to have HS credits that put them at junior HS standing and be WA state residents. Families have to provide transportation and purchase books, pay lab fees, etc. Ideally, the student graduates from HS with an associate's degree as well. She'll be starting at 13. Luckily, from other activities, she's familiar with the campus.
  8. The Uni of New South Wales (www.unsw.edu.au) has an early entry program for gifted kids, but with no special support offered once they enter. www.ola.edu.au offers a full bachelor's degree and some postgraduate studies online, with no entry requirements (including no age limits) or pre-requisites whatsoever. It's been ideal to introduce my sons to college level work. OLA will also take students from all over the world.
  9. We had difficulty with the Johns Hopkins summer program in LA; I signed my son up for a class for which he has great enthusiasm, Ancient Civilizations. He found out the other kids were there because their parents made them go (prestige), and what's more, it was right after the school year ended so they didn't want to be there. Also, he already knew all about the topic! Moral?: think about choosing a class in which you're not an expert. Community college students in our area are not necessarily interested enough in their classes to warrant our attendance there. My son's reason for taking such classes would be to have discussions with other people with a passion to know things (besides always me)! The Laurel Springs program is very flexible for bright kids and I highly recommend it. As opposed to the U.s of Nebraska and Missouri and BYU, there's actually a teacher there who e-mails back and forth with you to give you input. (Not just automated grading) DS took several honors high school classes and enjoyed them. His teacher adjusted her requirements for course completion when she saw he didn't need to do all of it. Still searching for perfect solutions.
  10. Our child went to college as an Early Entry student, in a program for high school students that have taken what their high school has to offer in a subject and need more. (They must have a "B" average in high school, or if homeschooled, have a good ACT OR SAT score.) He took Chemistry in the Environment and Society at 10 yrs. (which they said was an exception), Calculus I and II at 11 yrs., and he is currently in Calculus III at 12 yrs. (Only through persistence did we get him in, as the admissions dept. was not welcoming. The profs. were welcoming.) He also has taken classes at the community college as a dual enrollment student. They let high school students take classes after taking the CC's assessment tests. There was some token protest at him being 11 or 12 yrs. (they say students should be 16), but it was not too difficult to get him in anyway. The important part is having teachers that are willing and/or glad to have him in class. At 12 yrs. he has taken Intro to Biology, Microbiology, and is currently in College Chemistry. I decided I did not want to reproduce science labs at home when the CC has perfectly good equipment and he does well there. I believe that when a child is ready for college level material he should be allowed to try it. (It really lit up my 10 yr. old son's eyes.) Since we have nearby colleges, going in person worked for us. He gets work done in a more timely manner in classes he attends, than in UNL's ISHS (distance education), which is self-paced and can be put off till tomorrow.

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