Gifted Lithuanian Children Received Attention From Israel: They Will Be Taught According To Jewish Methodology

Gifted is an open learning environment in which teachers and educators help children grow intellectually and emotionally. Currently seven special programs are being launched to educate gifted children in grades 3 and 11. An IQ test methodology is also organized to determine the IQ of a child in order to develop an individualized education plan for each one, based on your abilities. During the program, participants receive psychological consultations, winter and summer camps, consultations and seminars for parents.

Gifted children need an extra challenge

“Mark knew the alphabet, the number, one and a half. At the age of three he already read and knew the flags of the world, the capitals of the countries. From the beginning, the son has been able to understand and absorb new information quickly, ”says Laura, the mother of one of the children participating in the program. She maintains that when school started, the curriculum assignments did not challenge Mark to achieve results, and all of the teaching materials were easy to master or already familiar. In this way, the mother realized that it was boring to do homework at the educational institution and that an additional challenge was very necessary, which would provoke curiosity and a desire to deepen, be interested, learn.

“I believe that educating a child at the right time and using the right tools is the best gift that parents can give their children. It’s great that there are enterprising people in Lithuania who are interested in the challenges of gifted children and seek to create a community where like-minded people can meet, share ideas, seek communion, create, get to know each other, ”said Laura, thanking to the organizers.

In their comments, parents shared the impressions and difficulties they face in raising gifted children; For example, learning in an ordinary school where the child is already familiar or too easy to learn, wants an additional challenge that stimulates interest and encourages further learning.

“We are glad that our son can be among like-minded children, talented children whose attitude towards science and aspirations coincide. After all, a bird cannot clip its wings, it must fly. So too for a gifted child: there is no lack of access to knowledge, must improve, ”wrote the participant’s mother, Ieva, who is determined to take the child even from Kretinga.

There is great interest in Lithuania

Lithuanian gifted project coordinator Dileta Tindžiulienė says that as soon as the selection was announced, there was great interest in the program in Lithuania: parents and teachers from Vilnius, Klaipeda, Trakai, Marijampole, Visaginas and other cities called, asking rhetorically why no one in the country had paid attention to the talents. childhood.

“The program has demonstrated a lack of focus on the education of gifted children. How important it is that teachers are prepared to recognize and properly educate these children. Every day we are faced with the idea that there are no gifted children, but believe me, they really are. Only the focus on her education so far has been quite fragmented. They need help: to understand themselves, to make friends with the environment, to give them everything we can. Focus on the child, but not on the general curricula, because they are not suitable for them ”, explained the project coordinator.

Vytautas Magnus University cooperates in this project with the Israeli company IP Capital and the internationally recognized Ron Vardi Training Center of Rishon Lezion, which develops the cognitive and creative competencies of talented children. The Gifted program has been running in Israel for more than three decades.

The consequence of bad education is gifted children who do not like school

According to the psychologist of the program, the professor of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the VMU, dr. Jurga Misiūnienė, gifted children, like everyone else, have a need to receive a quality education that corresponds to their level of abilities; Just as we remember children with below average abilities and create an environment adapted to them, we in turn must take the gifted into account.

“If the program of one or more school subjects is too easy and does not represent a cognitive challenge for the child, then it does not stimulate the child’s development need, does not satisfy his curiosity, suppresses the motivation for learning and does not create the conditions to acquire new knowledge and skills. This environment does not encourage the child to realize his potential in learning activities. We often have a consequence: talented children, whose level of achievement is low, they do not like school, they begin to misbehave, “he emphasizes the psychologist.

According to the specialist, it is likely that a gifted child who grows up in an insufficiently stimulating environment will not become a gifted adult. In contrast, a child who is potentially not among the 2-5 percent most talented during the school year, but who strives to learn and has a stimulating environment, may have high crystalline intelligence when he reaches maturity and becomes a talented adult.

“Therefore, recognizing the talents of a child is important not to call a child gifted, but to understand what kind of environment a child needs to develop their full potential,” concludes Dr. J. Misiūnienė.

The psychologist explains that the gifted children program is useful for its consistency, a clear selection of gifted children, and a constant transition to their education, which is very thorough. The program focuses on logical thinking, teaching children to learn independently and in teams, integrating a variety of subjects. It is also important that the selection is based on an integrated approach to assessing aptitude, unlike in schools, where gifted children are generally only identified by grade.

Branches are planned to open in Vilnius and Klaipeda

This fall, the program offers seven modules for third and eleventh grade students. Third grade students can choose two modules from the following: smart math, scientific inquiry, creative self-expression, and personal height. Eleven students can choose from three: digital mathematics, research in geography and history, modern botany, emotional competencies, and potential management. Professors not only from Vytautas Magnus University, but also from Israel will work with the eleventh grade students.

Also in the winter and summer camps, participants will be able to further deepen their knowledge of mathematics, biology, foreign languages, art, geography, history, chemistry, physics and other disciplines. Psychological consultations will be offered, gifted children will be identified, consultations and seminars for parents will be organized. Researchers will conduct research on the education of gifted children, and teachers and directors of educational institutions will be offered professional development, during which they will be able to develop the skills necessary for the education of gifted children.

Children selected for the program can participate in it as long as they want, until graduation. In the future, it is planned to open more branches for gifted in other Lithuanian cities: Vilnius, Klaipeda. It is also planned to offer the program to other age groups next year.