This document provides motivational ideas and strategies for gifted students from Alan Haskvitz, a highly decorated teacher. It discusses defining and addressing underachievement in gifted students. It suggests intrinsic rather than extrinsic rewards, appealing to students' interests, allowing choice, and relating lessons to students' lives. It emphasizes learning by doing, creating timelines and organizers, empowering students, and setting high expectations for both students and teachers.

1. Gifted Students:
Motivational Ideas
The Future Belongs to the
Learners
NOT
The Learned

2. By
Alan Haskvitz, classroom teacher
•
National Teachers Hall of Fame
•
Named 100 Most Important Educators in World
•
USA Today All American Educator
•
Reader’s Digest Hero in Education
•
NCSS Middle Level Teacher of the Year
•
NCSS National Exemplary Program
•
Learning Magazine Professional Best American Teacher Award
•
Cherry International Great Teacher Award
•
George Washington Freedom Foundation Award
•
State/National Awards in economics, technology, environment,
agriculture, economics, art, service learning, journalism, English, history,

3. My articles
https://carfamily.wordpress.com/category/teaching
http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/auth
/
Gifted education
http://www.teachers.net/gazette/AUG08/haskvitz/
Email
reacheverychild@yahoo.com

5. Definition of
Underachievement•
Underachievement is a behavior and thus can
change over time.
•
Underachievement is content and situation
specific.
•
Gifted children who do not succeed in school
are often successful in outside activities.
•
Underachievement is in the eyes of the
beholder.

6. What, Me Worry?
•
Highly gifted kids will often adopt a pattern of
avoidance of hard work when they have never
learned to work hard.
•
Many gifted kids haven't had to work very
hard to do well, but that starts to change as
they get older.
•
They may have gotten away with avoiding
things they don't do well.
•
Another thing to consider is that many gifted

7. Intrinsic Rewards
Extrinsic Rewards result in a
“What’s in it for me” attitude.
Intrinsic Rewards result in the
building of self-esteem
Rewards need to promote long
term behavior change. They do not
need to be related to achievement.

8. Not all gifted are the same

9. Ideas that work
Put away that rubics cube. Why? Only one
goal.
Short term. What is the learning involved?
Cover material in more depth
Do less
Use a variety of methods
Appeal to their negative nature
Get them on your side.

10. Motivation can be
related to methods
Alter the curriculum, but don’t change the objective
Accept different proofs of knowledge
You need to realize that good words can be “bad words”
Fear of success
Always value talking to student and asking opinions

11. Gifted students in most cases are
good test takers have the ability to
remember things more quickly, but
they aren't gifted in the sense that
they have a gift. What they have is
a different way of learning, and
even that may reflect only one part
of the curriculum such as music, or
math.
They can more easily
retrieve data.

12. So
Apply
Learning
Solve Problems
Do Something
Push Outside Comfort
Zones

13. Dealing with Problems
Use indirect
approach
If you see a student having a
problem, visit other students
before and after your visit.
Use Lost Scout
Approach
How did they get lost?

14. Achievement is Not
Motivation
It's important to remember that
while you may get a student to do
homework it may not be
motivating to the child.
They need to learn where the
material is leading. They need to
see the path.

15. Make it Meaningful
Teach them speed reading
Teach them how to write by showing them the
structure writers use. End First
Give them the answer and they produce the question
Relate to their life
Make it “fun”

16. Competition
>Turn it to your
advantage
>Importance of team
work
>Help others be better
>Avoid “The Best”
It Teaches Avoidance

17. Learn by Doing
Set Baselines
Prove that you know this
How would you teach this
to others
Use variety of
intelligences/methods

18. Calendar
Don’t underestimate value of
large calendar
and
Timeline
(what they learned)

19. Learning
Timeline
Today I learned
Motivating as they look back
AND
Helps them organize their
thoughts
AND
Enables them to see direction

20. Create own
learning
aids
1. Use cards (discard)
2. Use Cornell note taking
3. Invent secret note
taking system
4. Write their own
textbook
http://www.bookemon.com/read-book/198980

21. Getting Them Organized
Battle Plan for the Day
Three Transfers
Linking

22. Use Linking
Make connections across
curriculum
Ongoing
Large sheet of paper
Daily upgrades
Reflections

23. Teachers
should be an
example
Publish, Research, be Active
It is motivating for students to be
proud of their teacher

24. Don’t
Don't put up student
examples
Don’t isolate students
Don’t compare their work
Don’t judge creativity

25. Quotes
Any gifted child can potentially get in real
trouble because of the way they are
handled.
Itzhak Perlman
Genius without education is like silver in
the mine. – Benjamin Franklin
Each time we steal a student's struggle,
we steal the opportunity for them to build
self-confidence. They must learn to do
hard things to feel good about
themselves. – Sylvia Rimm
You can never hold a person down
without staying down with him. – Booker
T. Washington

26. High Interest Sites
https://www.awesomestories.com/
https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/PEOPLE-and-ANIMALS-in-MEDIEVAL-E
The first recorded trial - in 824 - took place when moles did something wrong in
the Valley of Aosta (near today's Italian-Swiss border). Found guilty, the
offending moles were excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
E. P. Evans, in his 1906 book entitled The Criminal Prosecution and Capital
Punishment of Animals, tells us that judging animals extends back in time to
ancient Greece. Even inanimate objects - such as a fallen pillar - could become a
criminal defendant. The point of the cases was to investigate how terrible events
had come about.
Awesome Stories is the best source of material for motivating gifted students
based on content and diversity.

27. Recommended
Reading
Environmental, Familial, and Personal Factors
That Affect the Self-Actualization of Highly
Gifted Adults: Case Studies
Doctoral Dissertation
Introduction and Literature Review,
Deborah L. Ruf, Ph.D.

28. Number one way to
reach gifted students:
EMPOWER THEM
Characteristics of gifted children predispose
them to existential distress. Because brighter
people are able to envision the possibilities of
how things might be, they tend to be idealists.
However, they are simultaneously able to see
that the world falls short of their ideals.
Unfortunately, these visionaries also recognize
that their ability to make changes in the world
is very limited. Dabrowski’s Theory and
Existential Depression in Gifted Children

29. Haskvitz's Student
Accomplishments
Selected for Bright Idea Award
by Harvard
Represented the United States
in International Technology
competition in Rome
Worked with Joy Hakim on her
book, The Story of Us
Selected best from 20,000
entries and they testified at the
United Nations on the
importance of environmental
education.

30. Students' work was selected the best from
12,000 entries earned an all expense paid trip
to Washington DC to meet the President.
The National Wildlife Federation selected
program as best from 9000 entries for
students involvement in political action and
the environment.
Student’s integrated work in agriculture was
chosen as one of the top 12 in the nation and
was shared on national television.
Students’ research was published in the
National Middle School Newsletter.
Students passed state environmental
legislation.
Students Piloted the Close-Up Foundations
National Community Service Program.
Graffiti campaign reduced graffiti by 90
percent in the community.

31. Students' work was the centerpiece for the
County of Los Angeles summit called by the
Los Angeles Registrar of Voters and lead to
rewriting of county and state voting forms.
Students' class work has earned trips them to
the United Nations, Washington DC, Tampa,
CNN in Atlanta, Sea World, and Disneyland in
national competitions.
Students won five congressional writing
competitions and over 20 essay and speech
contests.
Students were finalist City of the Future
engineering competition for industrial
creativity.
Students’ work selected by Oregon Trail and
California Oregon Trail group for their sites.
Students' work on environmental friendly
driving techniques featured on DMV website.

32. Differences
•
Bright child
•
Knows the answers
•
Interested
•
Pays attention
•
Works hard
•
Answers questions
•
Enjoys same-age
children
•
Gifted child
•
Asks the questions
•
Extremely curious
•
Gets involved
physically and
mentally
•
Plays around; still
gets good test scores
•
Questions the

33. Differences Part Two
•
Bright Child
•
Learns easily
•
Listens well
•
Self-satisfied
•
Learns with ease
•
6-8 repetitions for
mastery
•
Understands ideas
•
Gifted Child
•
Good at guessing
•
Bored -- already
knew the answers
•
Shows strong
feelings and opinions
•
Highly critical of self
(perfectionist)
•
Is

34. Differences Part 3
•
Bright Child
•
Completes
assignments
•
Is receptive
•
Copies accurately
•
Enjoys school
•
Absorbs information
•
Technician
•
Gifted Child
•
Constructs
abstractions
•
Initiates projects
•
Is intense
•
Creates a new design
•
Enjoys learning
•
Manipulates

35. References
How Do I Know if My Child is Gifted
http://www.tagfam.org/whoisgifted.html
Differences in Gifted, High Achievers
Janice Szabos, Challenge, 1989, Good Apple, Inc.,
Issue 34
Poor Teacher Training: End of Gifted Teaching
http://www.teachers.net/gazette/AUG08/haskvitz/
Making a Difference: Motivating Gifted
Students Who Are Not Achieving
Del Siegle D. Betsy McCoach
Motivating Gifted Studen
http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10648.aspx
Helping Gifted Student
https://carfamily.wordpress.com/2007/02/23/how-to-help-the-gifted-student/

36. Preventing
Cheating

37. Marylou Kelly Streznewski in
her book Gifted Grown Ups:
The Mixed Blessings of
Extraordinary Potential, gifted
people may make up as much
as 20 percent of the prison
population.
http://school.familyeducation.com/gifted-education/criminology/40932.h

38. I asked Mom if I
was a gifted child.
She said they
certainly wouldn't
have PAID for me.
– Calvin (Calvin &
Hobbes)

39. Satire Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr5kWOdkHYA

40. Have a sense of
humor

41. Have a sense of
humor

42. Thank you for coming
Alan Haskvitz
Email
reacheverychild@yahoo.com