Learning Characteristics of Gifted Children

· Keen power of observation; sense of the significant
· Highly verbal
· Questioning attitude, intellectual curiosity; often has great intrinsic motivation or is a self-starter
· Power of abstraction, conceptualization, ability to pull ideas and information together; enjoyment of intellectual activity
· Interest in cause-effect relations, ability to see relationships
· Reads actively
· High degree of task commitment
· Shares unusual interests
· Interested in everything at once
· Takes risks
· Describes experiences from unusual point of view
· Has keen verbal humor
· Gets bored easily
· Daydreams noticeably
· Gets involved in complex discussions
· Not confined by sex-role stereotyped behaviors
· Introspective--self critical--self checking
· Creativeness and inventiveness, looking for new ways of doing things. Interest in creating, brainstorming, or open-ended thinking
· Generally acts like an older child
· Uncooperative about doing routine learning tasks
· Often takes leadership roles in group activities
· Spends time observing prior to participation in activity
· Tells elaborate stories about personal experiences
· Expresses concern and knowledge about world problems
· Expresses moral concerns about others
· Effectively resolves interpersonal problems
· Persistent about everything
· Uses extensive detail in drawings and descriptions
· Pays little attention to details of living
· Fantasizes freely
· Learns efficiently, mastering ideas with one or two examples

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