Plato, one of the ancient Greek thinkers, conducted the first known studies on superior intelligence. Plato, in his work titled The Republic, to be the "copper-like class" (slaves), the "bronze-like class" (artisans, merchants and craftsmen), the "silver-like class" (warriors, elite craftsmen) and the "gold-like class" (future ruling philosophers). He divided people into four groups. Plato argued that people who belong to the golden class are genetically gifted, have strong memories, are sound and reasonable in judgment, and that these people can be successful in managing society. Later, many scientists did research on this subject and intelligence tests emerged as a result of these researches. In 1905, Binet developed the first known intelligence test. This test measures people's inherited intelligence as well as logic, practical intelligence, common sense, and skills in daily life. Binet distinguished the concepts of intelligence and education in his studies and emphasized that intelligence is a more complex structure. In 1912, Stern introduced the concept of IQ (Intelligent Quotient), which means intelligence division, to the literature. Then, a study called Genetic Studies of Genius was conducted under the leadership of Lewis Madison Terman with the participation of 1528 gifted people, which started in the 1900s and expected to continue until 2020. 672 of the participants are girls and 856 of them are boys. Among these children, whose average age is 12, the average IQ of the boys was 151.5, while the average IQ of the girls was 150.4. This study not only contributed to the literature, but also led to an increase in the importance given to education. In 1969, Sydney Marland began writing a report on the gifted. As a result of this report, the American government has produced training programs and projects for the gifted. Marland's report highlights that giftedness is multifaceted. In the 80s, Sternberg explained human intelligence with analytical, practical and creative intelligence interacting with each other. In recent years, the concepts of verbal intelligence, mathematical intelligence, visual intelligence, musical intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, social intelligence, bodily intelligence and naturalistic intelligence that we are all familiar with. It was brought to the literature by Gardner. When looking at the history of the concept of giftedness, although it was considered as a one-sided concept at first, it later became versatile. For example, Terman does not evaluate giftedness only with the level of intelligence, but instead focuses on people who are talented in different fields. Literature, art, leadership can be examples of these fields.
What are the Symptoms of Giftedness?
Early developmental characteristics of gifted people in literature;
- Focusing ability and long attention span
- Sleeping less
- Being active
- Recognizing relatives from the first months
- Being over-reactive to stimuli
- Strong memory
- Fast learning
- Rapid language development from the first months
- Great interest in books
- What, why and how asking questions repeatedly
- Transferring old information to new situations
- Skill for humor
- Contrary to popular belief, being helpful and sharing instead of grandiose
- In games being a leader
- Finding creative games
- Quickly bored and engaging in new pursuits
- General Characteristics of Gifted Individuals;
- Perfectionism
- Leadership quality
- The tendency to have problems with authority
- Asynchronous development
- Being curious, asking a lot of questions
- Broad interest having areas of interest
- High concentration
- Don't get bored
- Quick learning
- Superior language ability and self-expression
- Getting along better with adults, not peers
- Being a good observer
- Analyzing, building relationships
- Solving ability
- Academic achievement
- A broad imagination
- Innovativeness
- Creativity and productivity
- A talent for humor
What Steps Can Parents Who Think Their Child Is Gifted?
First of all, intelligence tests can be done from the age of 2 years. Intelligence tests can be administered by an expert who is authorized to administer the test. intelligence tests; Wechsler intelligence scale for children-IV (WISC-IV), Wechsler intelligence scale for children i (WISC-R), Stanford-Binet intelligence scale, Cognitive assessment system (CAS), Leither test. A child with an IQ of 120 can be considered gifted. It is important that children who are identified as gifted go through a multi-faceted education appropriate for them. Today, these trainings are called workshops. These studies can be on subjects such as science-experiment, astronomy and space science, extraordinary thinking, drama, visual arts, gastronomy, genetics, intelligence games. It is important that these children are also supported at home by their parents. Help can be obtained from activity books written on this subject. Although giftedness is an innate privilege, it is very important to support it with education.
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