Gifted Characteristics and High Achievers: What's the Difference?
What is the difference between children who have gifted characteristics and those who are high achievers? Is it really significant?
For every teacher who has students with high levels of intelligence, some of the answers are obvious, while other differences are more subtle.
Characteristics of gifted children tend to drive many teachers and parents crazy. These types of children can be highly emotional, have very strong feelings without the maturity to appropriately display them and are very critical of themselves and others.
There are also a variety of levels of intellectual giftedness that must be considered.
Children who are high achievers are often the ones who are mistakenly thought of as being gifted when they really aren't.
They tend to be the teacher pleasers, and statistically show better grades, maturity and emotional wellness.
The Differences Between Gifted Children and High Achievers
Below is a table that details some of the differences you may see between students with gifted characteristics and high achievers (or "bright kids").
Remember: just as no two kids are the same, not all gifted children or high achievers will show all of these characteristics.
But when you do see characteristics of gifted students, you must differentiate their learning.
| Gifted Children | High Achievers | | Highly curious | Knows the answers | | Has wild, crazy ideas | Has good ideas | | Plays around, yet can test well | Works hard to achieve high scores | | Detail oriented | Answers the questions | | 1-2 repetitions for mastery | 6-8 repetitions for mastery | | Prefers older children or adults | Enjoys peers | | Makes inferences | Grasps the meaning | | Extremely intense | Receptive and willing | | Creates new designs | Copies information accurately | | Manipulates information | Absorbs information | | Excellent guesser | Excellent memorizing skills | | Likes complexity | Enjoys sequential information | | Is keenly observant | Alert and on-task | | Highly self-critical | Pleased with own efforts | | Asks the hard questions | Knows all the answers | | Works beyond the group | Works in the top group | | Enjoys learning new things | Enjoys school | | Rebels against routine | Enjoys routine | | Becomes the class clown | Conforms to accepted behavior |
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