An element of Dabrowski’s Theory is overexcitabilities. This element is all too often evident with gifted learners. Overexcitabilities are reactions to stimuli within the environment and often come across as extreme emotions of joys or sorrows. “Individuals who are endowed with overexcitability perceive reality in a different, more intense, multifaceted manner” (Mendaglio, 2008, p. 24). For these students, life is experiences more intensely, especially in the areas of intellect, emotion, and imagination. The thinking processes and rationales for gifted students require both an understanding of how the overexcitabilities may be displayed for different students, as well as, how to encourage and support students through those overexcitabilities.
A gifted learner’s overexcitabilities are often not understood and can easily be dismissed. However, students experiencing these overexcitabilities bring unique challenges for teachers, as their intensity can come across as attention disorders, excessive questioning, and heightened emotions due to awareness and concern of larger societal and global issues (Mandaglio, 2002). Teachers must provide a supportive learning environment in which students learn to navigate their experiences, manage their emotions, and maximize their potential. Teachers have to realize every gifted …show more content…
According to Winebrenner (2012), this can be accomplished through the use of flexible grouping, knowing and using the students’ preferred learning style, use of probing questions by the teacher and the students, and providing various levels of complexity. Based on what is known about the student, the teacher should allow students varied opportunities “to make sense of [the content] before it becomes theirs” (Tomlinson, 2001, p. 79). unifying the content is the main goal of learning, as students truly understand and make the knowledge their own by making connections to the real
A gifted learner’s overexcitabilities are often not understood and can easily be dismissed. However, students experiencing these overexcitabilities bring unique challenges for teachers, as their intensity can come across as attention disorders, excessive questioning, and heightened emotions due to awareness and concern of larger societal and global issues (Mandaglio, 2002). Teachers must provide a supportive learning environment in which students learn to navigate their experiences, manage their emotions, and maximize their potential. Teachers have to realize every gifted …show more content…
According to Winebrenner (2012), this can be accomplished through the use of flexible grouping, knowing and using the students’ preferred learning style, use of probing questions by the teacher and the students, and providing various levels of complexity. Based on what is known about the student, the teacher should allow students varied opportunities “to make sense of [the content] before it becomes theirs” (Tomlinson, 2001, p. 79). unifying the content is the main goal of learning, as students truly understand and make the knowledge their own by making connections to the real