While Seattle has paused its plan to close its gifted and highly capable schools, it’s also rolling out a hybrid model for teaching gifted and talented students. This approach, sometimes called differentiated learning, aims to provide additional academic challenges to gifted and talented students.
Since it’s a new program, there are bound to be some bumps in the road. That means your highly capable or gifted and talented student may not get the support they want or need. And even students already in a gifted and talented program may need more to stay engaged with the material. That’s where a tutor can help.
How Tutoring Can Support Your Student
When people think of hiring a tutor, they often think of getting help in a subject they’re having difficulty with or for test prep, and some people use tutors to help them with homeschooling. However, tutors can also support gifted and talented students inside and outside the classroom.
Keep Students Engaged
Highly capable or gifted and talented students may grow bored with school subjects quickly because they already know the material or they’re able to finish it quickly. Even “stretch” exercises may not keep gifted and talented students engaged and challenged in the classroom.
Tutors can meet your student where they’re at, offering them additional challenges beyond “busywork” that will give them the intellectual and academic stimulation they crave. What’s more, a tutor can strategize with your student to help them engage more deeply with their coursework and stay invested in their learning.
Provide Student Support
Being a highly capable or gifted student doesn’t necessarily mean excelling in every class or subject. Some students are gifted in the arts while others demonstrate an aptitude for math, but the opposite may not be true. However, highly capable or gifted and talented students may feel ashamed they’re not who they’re “supposed” to be or, in older students, suffer from imposter syndrome. When this happens, they may be reluctant to ask for help when they need it.
Developing a trusted relationship with a tutor gives the student someone they can reach out to for extra support and encouragement when they need it and without the fear of judgment or being embarrassed by “not getting it.”
How to Choose a Tutor for Gifted and Talented or Highly Capable Students
Choosing a tutor for a highly capable or gifted and talented student is different than searching for a tutor who can help your child with math, science, or language arts. Here’s what to look for in a potential tutor.
Experience
Any tutor should have experience as a tutor or teacher. And while a good tutor should be able to work with any student, not every good tutor — or even great tutor! — is the right fit for your gifted and talented student. In addition to asking about their tutoring experience, ask about their experience working with gifted and talented students. What strategies do they use to promote classroom engagement, and what kind of work do they give to challenge gifted and talented students?
It’s also critical to ask how they select the material. Working with a gifted and talented student isn’t only about the grade level the student is in, but how well the student performs and their interest level in the material.
Flexibility
Tutoring a gifted and talented student is different from tutoring a student who needs academic coaching. Gifted and talented students have already mastered the material and need new challenges, but not all challenges are equal. Some topics may be more interesting to your student or offer better challenges than others.
Connecting with a tutor who empowers your student to take the lead and choose what to work on often brings the best results. While the tutor should structure the lesson and provide guidance, dictating what a gifted and talented student should focus on defeats the purpose of hiring a tutor in the first place.
Define Your Goals
Finally, it’s important for you to have clear goals when you hire a tutor for your gifted or highly capable student. Are you trying to ensure your child is challenged academically, or are you trying to help them master the material faster so they can advance to a higher level or even skip a grade? The right tutor can help you achieve your goals.
Supporting Gifted and Talented Students
A tutor can provide a gifted and highly capable student with the academic support and intellectual challenges they need to stay engaged with learning. While it’s important to connect with the right tutor, once you’ve made that connection, your student will soar.
The tutors at Emergent Education can support highly capable or gifted and talented students in Seattle across a range of academic subjects. From kindergarten to 12th grade, our team can offer your student the challenge they need. Contact us today for a free consultation and learn how Emergent Education can support your gifted and talented student.
