Children can exhibit their gifted abilities at any stage of their development. Petani

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Introduction Children can exhibit their gifted abilities at any stage of their development. Petani, Kashahu and Miocic (2018) state that giftedness refers to a person’s features that allow them to... achieve exceptional results in diverse activities. The implementation of programs that support the social and emotional development of these gifted children could be beneficial if considered at an early stage of their development. While most theories consider children of a more advanced age, the proposed approach considers children of a younger age. Morris (2019) states that one of the key issues facing gifted children is the fact that the term has not encompassed all individuals who may fall in this category including 2e children, gifted children of color, children of low-income status. The program design focuses on the use of William’s model to aid gifted children in China in developing the skills to remain healthy emotionally and socially. School Background Kindergarten XYZ in Beijing, China, features children of young ages of about 3 to 6 years old and is a private institution. Few teachers at the school are undergraduates with Bachelor’s degrees, such as the principal, and myself while most of the teachers are college graduates. The children are grouped into classes based on their age. As a novice teacher, I have not had the chance to work with gifted children due to a lack of structure to deal with giftedness. Zhang (2017) notes that China lacks the national policy to supported gifted education with only ten institutions having gifted education programs showing that China is not as advanced in gifted education. My class has eighteen students of ages 4 to 5 and who are in kindergarten. The key study areas in kindergarten include health, language, society, science, and art. Based on the kindergarten curriculum, three teachers are assigned per class where classes are taught by two teachers with the third responsible for caring for the children. The children have the typical social and emotional development of that age. At that age children are already developing the emotional intelligence skills that form a crucial part of how they develop in an environment. According to Denham, Zinsser and Bailey (2011), 5-year-old children develop emotional competence including the primary components of expression, knowledge, and regulation. They can express themselves; understand how others are feeling as well as illustrating control over their own feelings. Children at this stage need to learn how to interact with others in a healthy manner as well as learn how to form friendships with others. The children work to improve their speech skills, writing ability, item identification, and creativity. Aside from these school-based skills, these children are learning to become more independent and perform simple tasks for themselves. While there have been very few instances of gifted children at the school, the examples that exist illustrate the need for the program designed in this case. The children use a regular curriculum for kindergarten level education that includes activities such as drawing and recognizing shapes, learning how to count, writing and other similar activities. Currently, there are no strategies used to help children who exhibit signs of giftedness to develop socially and emotionally at the school. However, as noted by Denham, Zinsser and Bailey (2011), “The National Curriculum for Early and Pre-School Education begins with an understanding of the child as a creative being with specific creative and expressive potentials.” Therefore, programs suited to this young cadre of students should be considered as important as interventions implemented at later stages of the student’s development. Model Critique There are different models to curriculum design for gifted and talented students including the Maker Matrix, the Kaplan model, the Maker model, the Williams model and the Autonomous Learner model (Ozdemir & Altintas, 2015). The Williams model is of interest given that there are very few gifted education programs in the country with none in kindergartens. Implementing this model would cater to the social and emotional needs of gifted children who have been neglected in Chinese education. The Williams Model This section describes the William’s model and its use in improving the ability of gifted and talented students to thrive in their school and home environments. The model is based on theories of curriculum differentiation where Ronksley-Pavia (2010) defines the term as making alterations to the curriculum by modifying processes, skills, and content to serve a specific purpose in a child’s development. Curriculum differentiation aims to cater for the diverse learning approaches that students have. The William’s model is an interesting choice for future implementation because of its focus on the creativity of individual students as well as providing practical strategies that can help students flourish; a model which is especially useful for children in pre-school. The Williams model is focused on three key dimensions. The first dimension includes the typical subject matter contained in school curriculums specifically the K-12 curriculum content (NTG Department of Education, 2016). The second dimension includes the eighteen strategies that the educator implements based on the Williams model. The eighteen strategies are discussed briefly in section 2 below. The final dimensions include the eight behaviors described as avenues of creative thinking. The Williams model is a cognitive and affective model where four behaviors of the model are cognitive and include fluency, flexibility, elaboration, and originality while the other four are affective in nature and include complexity, risk-taking, imagination and curiosity (Kerr, 2009). The cognitive elements originate from the common elements used to identify and categorize creative thinking while the affective aspects arise from the typical characteristics of creative individuals (Williams, 1986). The mix of both cognitive and affective thinking skills is therefore a major characteristic of the model and aims to foster the children’s ability to develop creatively. The model is designed to work within the confines of the curriculum subject but to implement these unique strategies to encourage the eight processes identified above. Strategies within the Williams Model A brief explanation based on information from Williams (1986) is included in this section. i). Paradoxes: Students are expected to review ideas and try to prove their rationale through proof. ii). Attribute Listing: Based on developing analytical skills, this strategy focuses on the creation of attribute lists concerning an item or topic. iii). Analogies: Students conduct comparisons between objects or topics. iv). Discrepancies: The students should develop new ideas following a particular reading as well as being challenged to consider unknowns. v). Provocative Questions: Learners are encouraged to ask questions that require some level of analysis to gain more information or understand a specific element. vi). Examples of Change: Aid students to develop alternative scenarios to understand the constant changes in the environment. vii). Examples of Habit: Students learn about patterns, trends, and habits. viii). Organized random search: Learners are provided with a particular scenario and have to the answer of what they would have done as well as provide justifications for the same. ix). Skills of search: Children learn how to conduct research on specific topics or issues. x). Tolerance for ambiguity: Students are exposed to situations that could have variable outcomes to illustrate that there are things that do not have clear resolutions. xi). Intuitive expression: Students are encouraged to listen to their own intuitions. xii). Adjustment to development: Students are encouraged to learn from past errors through examples provided by the educators. xiii). Study creative people and process: Children are exposed to individuals with creative histories as well as the elements that make them unique. xiv). Evaluate situations: Students are taught how to review situations and identify the outcomes and their importance. xv). Creative reading skill. xvi). Creative listening skill xvii). Creative writing skill xviii). Visualization skill Model Strengths The main strength of the Williams model is that it encourages creativity in students and especially helps gifted children to explore their imaginations. The model encourages children to question, analyze, formulate, and compare ideas. It allows students to explore their imagination in creating new ideas as well as developing processes that encourage them to view subject matter in different ways. This strength is principally important for the targeted preschool students as it focuses on two of the most crucial aspects of preschool education; imagination and creativity in children. Strategies such as creative reading, writing, and listening skills in addition to visualization help students to grow creatively. Dere (2019) notes that creativity is the basis of preschool education where children learn to express themselves as well as explore their own ideas. The Williams model therefore focuses on the core of preschool education which is to encourage inventiveness in children. For preschool education in China, this is especially important to encourage individuality in young children and help them to develop their own identity as they have to conform to strict educational expectations in later life. There is a high focus on math and science in Chinese education yet creative arts are not considered as important. Allowing preschoolers to have the chance to develop their imaginations would therefore be of great benefit in China and would help the students to discover talents that they may not have been aware of before. The Williams model encourages divergent thinking in children which has several benefits in the student’s learning experience. Runco and Acar (2012) explain that the primary aspects of divergent thinking include fluency, originality, flexibility and elaboration. Individuals who are capable of divergent thinking can come up with original and unique ideas, can incorporate different concepts in their reasoning, and have many ideas. The creative benefit of the Williams model means that the children are able to develop their ability in divergent thinking. Subsequently, this improves their overall social and creative development as they are able to think independently. The Williams model can further help educators to identify individuals with giftedness potential. Studies have revealed that individuals who demonstrate divergent thinking also exhibit high creative potential (Runco & Acar, 2012). Aside from creative development, the Williams model prompts children to develop curiosity about their environment, ideas, and even themselves. Strategies such as provocative questions encourage students to develop questioning attitude which in turn helps them to learn even more from the curriculum and the environment. This advantage is relevant for preschoolers as it speaks to their social and emotional development. According to a UNICEF report on the best practices in educating preschoolers, one major recommendation is to appeal to children’s imagination and curiosity by creating entertaining and educational material (Kolucki & Lemish, 2011). Jirout and Klahr (2012) note that curiosity is a crucial part of a child’s cognitive development and therefore affects their view of the world around them. The Williams model therefore stimulates curiosity in children and enhances their awareness. One of the strengths of the model is that it considers the development of the gifted student as a whole; it is holistic. The model structure comprises of strategies that promote development in the cognitive and affective areas of learning as described previously (Kerr, 2009). By considering the key subjects taught in school curricula in relation to the eighteen practical strategies described above, the model offers a comprehensive approach. Therefore, in its holistic approach, educators can rely on the model as a means of encouraging creativity in students. Further, it is comprehensive enough to apply to both gifted students and the entire school population therefore nurturing talent or exceptional performances in the widest group of students. The comprehensiveness of the educational model is particularly effective for the Chinese education system given that it can be applied to many schools with minimal alterations or effort from the educators. It is a suitable model to integrate gifted education with the current education model in China as it serves the purpose of identifying gifted students while also encouraging gifted students to perform better. The model is also highly flexible as it can be adapted to cater to a wide variety of students and their learning styles. Williams (1986) notes that the model provides for 864 possible interactions within which student can be catered to. This figure comes from the multiplication of the subjects in school curriculums with the eighteen strategies proposed in the model. The flexibility of the model means that a wider group of students can use the differentiated curriculum to improve their overall performance. The flexibility afforded by the model further ensures that children of different levels of giftedness and talent can be considered rather than simply focusing on individuals who show obvious exceptionality. For the preschoolers in China, this flexibility is especially important as these children are usually in the early development phase meaning that there is a high chance of variability in the way in which they learn. The ability to enhance higher order thinking in students is another positive aspect of the Williams model. Strategies within the William’s model such as provocative questions and discrepancy encourage higher order thinking as per Bloom’s taxonomy (NTG Department of Education, 2016). Bloom’s taxonomy as a multi-faceted model that categorizes thinking processes into different levels whereby of the six levels recognized, the three highest include analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The Williams model therefore encourages students to think deeply and analyze the subject matter provided to them in the curriculum. This benefit ensures the student develops critical thinking skills that are helps to improve their performance academically while also building their self confidence in their ideas and beliefs. Students are encouraged to challenge the current ideas and generate their own therefore developing as creative individuals. The Williams model also follows the process-product model that requires collaboration between the educator and the student to enable the students to develop problem solving. According to VanTassel-Baska (1986), the process-product model involves, “Consultation and independent work dominate the instructional pattern, culminating in student understanding of the scientific process as it is reflected in selective exploration of key topics.” Problem solving is a critical life skill that is applied to schoolwork and life in general. Preschoolers would benefit greatly from this interaction with educators as it allows them to develop ideas independently, receive feedback from the educator and adjust until the student is well trained in that specific process. Another advantage is the fact that the Williams model relies heavily on visual arts which in turn stimulate the avenues of creative thinking. Ronksley-Pavia (2010) explains that these elements include the cognitive behaviors that are being encouraged in the students. The use of visual arts is an especially effective way to communicate with and educate younger children. Children are more likely to respond to learning if it involves visual elements that are educative and entertaining. UNICEF explains that visual art can be used to communicate with children at their level while also helping them to achieve the social, academic, and emotional development goals (Kolucki & Lemish, 2011). For preschoolers, use of visual arts through the visualization strategy can help to hold their attention, improve their memory and enhance their imagination. Model Weaknesses A potential weakness of the model is that while it has both cognitive and affective elements, it does not consider the potential social and emotional struggles that gifted children go through. While the differentiated curriculum is beneficial for enhancing the ability of individual students, it is important to consider that there are a variety of other factors that can affect a gifted student. In specific, gifted students have affective needs specifically due to their above average abilities. According to VanTassel-Baska and Stambaugh (2008), gifted students may suffer from affective issues such as social issues and perfectionism which affects their overall performance. The Williams model does not have strategies that help students deal with these issues. Essentially, the Williams model considers only the continual improvement for students and does not provide mechanisms to help educators to deal with gifted students who are struggling in their school environments as a result of external pressures. Another disadvantage of the Williams model is that by design, Williams considered older children as the best recipients of this approach. Some of the strategies identified in the model are more suited toward children with a better knowledge base in order to be effective. For example, skills such as attributes and study of creative people can be a challenge for children in preschool who have not yet learned how to distinguish some ideas due to their ages. A teacher wishing to utilize the Williams model for younger children must alter the lessons within the same strategies in order to achieve the positive results connected to the model. Plan for Change Hosseini (2014) explains that to become a creative teacher, it is necessary to modify the curriculum and present it in an innovative manner that interests and excites children. The program is designed as a set of activities to be conducted throughout the school year to encourage change and promote talent development in the school. Activity 1: Field Trip Description A field trip to the bakery where the children can engage in a baking activity is the first activity for this design. The activity should involve the children making their own choices on the flavors, colors, and types of baked goods that they want to prepare (cookies or cupcakes). They will also be provided with a variety of decorative material to customize their finished products. For ease of implementation, the students will be provided with a set list of items they can choose from and customize to fit their own aesthetic. The teacher will then provide assistance to students who may struggle on the preparation processes if necessary. Otherwise, the students should work independently with minimal intervention. After the exercise the teacher can ask students to list some of the steps they did to prepare for their baked goods. At this stage, the teacher can intervene by providing relevant and age-appropriate vocabulary to help students complete these lists. Strategies and Tools Two strategies from the Williams model are applicable for this activity: intuitive expression and attributes. By asking the students to list the steps that they went through, they gain the ability to think about how processes lead to a specific outcome. They can understand the different parts that make up things and develop the ability to analyze these characteristics (Williams, 1986). Similarly, by asking the students to make their own choices, the activity enables the students to trust their own instincts and develop an awareness of what they like and what they do not like. Development Areas The activity targets the cognitive development of children including the dimensions of student behavior as explained in the Williams model which include flexible, original and elaborative thinking. The students will be able to develop their ability to come up with unique and clever ideas as well as enhance their ability to elaborate. For gifted students, the activity allows them to explore their creativity in a fun and relaxed environment. For average students, the activity provides an avenue for talent development. In addition, the activity enhances the students’ independence and confidence in making decisions. Activity 2: Interesting People Description The second activity is a classroom activity designed to help the preschoolers to identify interesting or creative elements in objects or people. The teacher will ask the students to name their top three favorite cartoon characters and ask them to explain what they like most about the character. The children should give at least one reason for each of their choices. The children will then identify three differences between their cartoon characters and how these differences affect the way they act in the cartoon. Finally, the children will then be provided with materials to draw or illustrate their ideal cartoon character. This activity is an independent task which the students can undertake on their own with minimal assistance. Strategies and Tools This activity focuses on strategies such as evaluating situations, study of creative people and processes, intuitive expression, visualization and analogies. When the children name their characters, they are expressing their feelings about a certain issue. By the children explaining why they like the characters, they are exploring their ability to justify their own choices. In addition, by asking the students to identify differences, they are able to compare the characters and engage their minds in terms of analysis. Finally, by creating a drawing the children are able to visualize and express their ideas with confidence. Development Areas The activity targets both cognitive and affective development of the child. In specific, it develops the imagination of the child as well as enhancing their fluent and original thinking abilities. By completing this activity, the mind of the child is fully engaged with processes that are associated with developing creative potential. They are able to generate more ideas, analyze their choices, as well as demonstrate the uniqueness of each individual. For gifted students, this activity will allow them to express themselves in imaginative ways. Activity: What am I? Description This activity will include playing a game of what am I? with the children. The teacher will lead the activity where children will ask to pick an animal which they would like to be and provide the teacher with this information prior to the class. The students will be instructed to keep their choices as secret until the class begins. Following this, the children will then be asked to give the classroom some clues of what they are in a guessing game until all the students are identified. Next, the students can participate in an activity of research where the teacher will provide a list of age appropriate attributes of each animal and ask the children to link the different characteristics with the specific element. The teacher can provide assistance in terms of explaining the different characteristics to students especially if they are uncommon facts. Strategies and Tools This activity utilizes the strategy of visualization, attributes and skills of search. The children are able to view themselves as these animals and therefore consider the elements that make them that particular animal. The use of the guessing game enables the children to think critically and use their problem solving skills effectively. The use of the list of attributes further links to the Williams model in how the students can understand the current knowledge concerning a particular animal. ; Development Areas The activity prepares the children to take part in risk taking where they must guess and present their ideas to the rest of the class. It also aims to stimulate the number and frequency of ideas so that the child’s mind is constantly engaged. From a creative perspective, it allows children to demonstrate their ability to think widely. This also encourages curiosity in the children as they will want to know more about the animals that their classmates come up with especially among gifted children. In addition, the aspect of visualization enhances the child’s imagination and helps them to develop an interest in the natural world. Conclusion In implementing this plan as a novice teacher with an undergraduate degree, it will be a beneficial study for preschool educators in China as well as demonstrate a practical way of implementing gifted education programs in China. Implementing the model will aid me in identifying gifted students as well as offering them the support they need to be socially and emotionally healthy. The activities described can be modified to enhance the experience of the children and should be conducted twice a school year with the subject matter altered to discuss the most recent topic. The activity is also applicable for children at different stages of preschool and caters to both the gifted and the average students in the classroom. The plan also demonstrates how entertainment and curriculum can be combined to provide the best learning experience for a preschooler. For example, the activities enhance the ability of the children to problem solve, learn about the natural world, develop self-awareness and self-confidence. It is evident that the Williams model of curriculum differentiation can be applied to younger students with little modification. The students will benefit from the multi-faceted approach that enhances their curiosity, imagination, and self-confidence. The Williams model therefore remains as one of the most effective in encouraging talent development in children. References Cosden, M., Elliot, K., Noble, S. & Kelemen, E. (1999). Self-understanding and Self-esteem in Children with Learning Disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 22, 279-290. Denham, S.A., Zinsser, K. & Bailey, C. (2011). Emotional Intelligence in the First 5 Years of Life. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. Dere, Z. (2019). Investigative the Creativity of Children in Early Childhood Education Institutions. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 7(3): 652-658. Hosseini, A. (2014). The Effect of Creativity Model for Creativity Development in Teachers. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 4(2): 138-142. Jirout, J. & Klahr, D. (2012). Children’s Scientific Curiosity: In Search of an Operational Definition of an Elusive Concept. Development Review, 32: 125-160. Kerr, B. (2009). Encyclopedia of Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent. London: Sage Publications. Kolucki, B. & Lemish, D. (2011). Communicating with Children: Principles and Practices to Nurture, Inspire, Excite, Educate and Heal. UNICEF. Morris, D. (2019). Episode 29: Gifted Girls- Socil Connections and Self-Care at School. Retrieved August 5, 2019 from https://www.mindmatterspodcast.com/home/2019/4/3/episode-29-gifted-girls-social-connections-and-self-care-at-school NTG Department of Education. (2016). The Williams Model. Appendix 10. Ozdemir, A. & Altintas, E. (2015). The Effect of Differentiation Approach Developed on Gifted Students. Anthropologist, 19(3): 613-625. Petani, R., Kashahu, L. & Miocic, M. (2018). Gifted Children and the Transition from Kindergarten to Elementary School. 11th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation. Ronksley-Pavia, M.L. (2010). Curriculum Differentiation: A Practical approach, Mindscape, 30(2): 4-11. Runco, M. & Acar, S. (2012). Divergent Thinking as an Indicator of Creative Potential, Creativity Research Journal, 24:1, 66-75. Van Tassel-Baska J., Stambaugh T. (2008) Curriculum and Instructional Considerations in Programs for the Gifted. In: Pfeiffer S.I. (eds) Handbook of Giftedness in Children. Springer, Boston, MA Van Tassel-Baska, J. (1986). Effective curriculum and instructional models for talented students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 30(4), 164–169. Williams, F. (1968). Teacher Competency in Creativity. The Elementary School Journal, 68(4): 199-205. Williams, F. (1986). The Cognitive-Affective Interaction Model for Enriching. In Eds. Joseph Renzulli, Systems and Models for Developing Programs for the Gifted and Talented, Connecticut, Creative Learning Press, Inc. Zhang, Z. (2017). Gifted Education in China. Cogent Education, 4. [Show More]

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