Effective Teaching Strategies for Gifted/Learning-Disabled Students With Spatial Strengths

112 High-ability students with spatial strengths and verbal deficiencies rarely have the opportunity to demonstrate their gifts in American high schools. Many of the tests used to identify gifted students or judge achievement in students value performance speed over the careful and reflective thinking that is characteristic of learners with spatial strengths (Gallagher & Johnson, 1992). For example, college admission tests (such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test [SAT] and the Graduate Record Exam [GRE]) are traditionally used to determine entrance to undergraduate and graduate programs but do not assess spatial ability (Gohm, Humphreys, & Yao, 1998). The emphasis on mathematical and verbal abilities on college admissions tests and other high-stakes testing may cause high school personnel to emphasize these areas when teaching and advising students. As a result, individuals identified as having spatial gifts or talents are disproportionately undereducated and underemployed relative to their ability level when compared with equally gifted individuals with strengths in mathematical and verbal areas (Gohm et al.). Individuals with high spatial abilities are more likely to drop out of school, are working in larger proportions in traditional blue-collar occupations, and hold a smaller proportion of credentials at every educational level beyond high school (Gohm et al.; Humphreys, Lubinski, & Yao, 1993). The underemployment and undereducation of gifted students with spatial strengths is of concern because they are ideal candidates to become America’s future engineers, scientists, and innovators. Many occupations associated with cognitively demanding educational tracks rely on spatial reasoning such as engineering, cartography, architecture, physics, chemistry, and medical surgery (Gohm et al.; Humphreys et al.; Shea, Lubinski, & Benbow, 2001). Spatial ability is closely related to visual thinking but is not a single entity; consequently, there is no one specific pattern of characteristics that will manifest itself in children with spatial gifts (Dixon, 1983; Olson, 1984). Combinations of the traits described vary widely from individual to individual, yet there are some common behaviors that will be seen in these individuals who process information visually. Children who manipulate images in their minds excel at activities such as puzzles, mazes, map Effective Teaching Strategies for Gifted/Learning-Disabled Students With Spatial Strengths