What Do The Gifted Need
Adapted from: Feldhusen: Excellence in Education the Gifted

Experts in gifted education agree that gifted children need special education services such as:

1. Enrichment
Best understood as opportunities to study additional topics not covered in the regular educational program.
2. Acceleration
Opportunities to study new material that is typically taught at a higher grade level than the one in which the child is currently enrolled.
3. Individualization
Presentation of new learning tasks at the next higher level of difficulty
4. Remediation
In the context of gifted education, this approach is focused on building up a student’s weak area while allowing them to “fly” in the area of strength.
5. Identification of Special Talents
Emphasis on identification of special talents and to do all that is possible to foster those special talents to the greatest degree possible.
6. Social/Emotional Needs
A focus on the social-emotional needs of gifted students because their giftedness may cause personal and/or academic problems.
7. Research
Students need to become familiar with the skills of historical, descriptive, and experimental research as tools for future learning and thinking.

Feldhusen reports that experts in the field of gifted education recommend these services, but the disagreement among the experts is the direction these services should take.