Intelligence
NAGC (National Association for Gifted Children) defines gifted children as children who display extraordinary levels of competence or aptitude in a single domain or varied domains. Aptitude is defined as an outstanding ability to read and learn. Competence is defined as graded performance wherein the child is in the top 10 % of the nation. Domains can be varied, ranging from mathematics, language, music, sports, painting, dance, etc. (http://www.nagc.org).
The development of a gift or talent in a child is a lifelong process. It is identified in young children initially through a rapid rate of learning, an actual achievement in a domain and performance tests. Achievement and motivation level in a domain of the child’s choice is a measure of giftedness as children mature and move into adolescence and adulthood. There are various external factors that affect the motivation and achievement as the children progress. Factors that inhibit achievement could be limited opportunities, physical or learning disabilities, emotional or motivational problems. Factors that aid and enhance giftedness could be the availability of opportunities; proper parental and domain related expert guidance, emotional and motivational guidance and finally the ability of the child to absorb setbacks and go from strength to strength with perseverance.
For centuries across various cultures, the achievement notion of talent and giftedness has been studied and importance has been given to talented and gifted children. According to the web dictionary, gifted children are those with exceptional ability in academic subjects. Talented children are those with exceptional ability in
2
visual arts, performing arts, sports, or music. This paper focuses on gifted children and giftedness is cognitive in nature and is detected through intelligence tests. One such intelligence test that is used in school districts across the US is the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
The development of a gift or talent in a child is a lifelong process. It is identified in young children initially through a rapid rate of learning, an actual achievement in a domain and performance tests. Achievement and motivation level in a domain of the child’s choice is a measure of giftedness as children mature and move into adolescence and adulthood. There are various external factors that affect the motivation and achievement as the children progress. Factors that inhibit achievement could be limited opportunities, physical or learning disabilities, emotional or motivational problems. Factors that aid and enhance giftedness could be the availability of opportunities; proper parental and domain related expert guidance, emotional and motivational guidance and finally the ability of the child to absorb setbacks and go from strength to strength with perseverance.
For centuries across various cultures, the achievement notion of talent and giftedness has been studied and importance has been given to talented and gifted children. According to the web dictionary, gifted children are those with exceptional ability in academic subjects. Talented children are those with exceptional ability in
2
visual arts, performing arts, sports, or music. This paper focuses on gifted children and giftedness is cognitive in nature and is detected through intelligence tests. One such intelligence test that is used in school districts across the US is the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for