Reexamining “Gifted and Talented” in Music Education

What Is Gifted and Talented?

The phrase gifted and talented is used often in everyday language, but what might it mean for music educators? If one were to survey people on the street, they might describe a G&T student as someone who knows a lot of facts, is intensely interested in books, and does well in school. This common definition of gifted and talented was the first modern conception of the term proposed by educational researcher Lewis Terman in the 1920s. ³ Using IQ tests and observations, Terman identified students who were well adjusted and successful in school. In other words, in some ways, the students Terman identified as G&T were prematurely adult. Terman’s research with these students helped create the idea of children on a continuum. On one side, “below average,” “troubled” children, on the other, “bright,” successful children, with “average” or typical students in the middle.

Terman’s ideas of gifted and talented individuals as well-adjusted, successful students remains the common conception today. While Terman launched the idea of gifted and talented that is common in the popular imagination today, research on this population has evolved to become more nuanced and be inclusive of a variety of gifts and talents. Current research looks at an expanded list of cognitive characteristics of G&T students as well as a number of unique social and emotional needs of G&T students.

Cognitive Characteristics

Current research suggests that Terman’s definition of G&T was too narrow and failed to identify different types of gifts and the ability of people to develop their gifts and talents. Gifted and talented educators and researchers Joseph Renzulli and Sally Reis, for example, have expanded the definition of gifted and talented beyond just scoring high on IQ scores. ⁴ Instead of identifying G&T’s essential traits, Renzulli and Reis focused on behaviors. Although some students might demonstrate G&T traits without conscious instruction or encouragement by a teacher, Renzulli and Reis believe that gifted behaviors can be developed in certain students at certain times and in certain circumstances. ⁵ In an effort to help students, they designated three important behaviors used to identify G&T students—they demonstrate above-average abilities, creative thinking, and strong task commitment.

First, Renzulli and Reis suggest that the student’s above-average abilities might be in one or more academic subjects, such as art, science, music, or others. They suggest that G&T is not an overall trait but rather that students can have above-average ability in certain areas or “domains.” For example, they might excel in the area of visual arts but not in other subjects. Students can be taught to improve their abilities in specific domains and in general. ⁶

Second, Renzulli and Reis consider the demonstration of creative thinking as another behavior of G&T students. These individuals show the ability for novel thinking by combining ideas that commonly do not go together and devising unusual but interesting solutions to problems. ⁷

Third, G&T behaviors include strong task commitment, meaning they are motivated to begin and finish projects. Possessing strong task commitment demonstrates that a student is curious and has the internal drive to learn and create. Importantly, task commitment and curiosity need not be demonstrated through schoolwork. Sometimes students might be bored and unmotivated by assignments. Instead, they may be highly motivated to take on self-directed projects at home like making movies, composing music, inventing objects, or researching topics. This conception of G&T by Renzulli and Reis suggests that it is not unilaterally measured by IQ tests or a single trait but comprises behaviors that are multifaceted and displayed in a variety of ways. ⁸

Socioemotional Needs

In addition to reconceptualizing G&T as a multifaceted set of cognitive abilities and behaviors, researchers have begun to question the idea that G&T students are always well adjusted and successful at school. Instead, researchers have suggested that G&T students have unique social and emotional needs and challenges. ⁹ For example, as early as the 1940s, educator Leta Hollingworth found that G&T students are socially vulnerable and may require counseling for needs particular to giftedness. ¹⁰ Their prodigious vocabularies and sometimes unusual interests can alienate them from their peers.

Some research suggests that G&T students might also be intense people whose social interactions might irritate others. They often have what psychologist Kazimierz Dabrowski calls “overexcitabilities.” ¹¹ G&T students might be perceptive about the world around them, and because of this, they might have what some people consider intense and inappropriate responses to stimulation. Dabrowski suggests they might have overexcitabilities in five areas: psychomotor, sensual, intellectual, imaginational, and emotional. They might, for example, be deeply affected by what they see as unethical acts like animal cruelty and be unable to “let go.” They might be overly shy or require constant psychomotor or sensual input, like strenuous physical activity or loud sounds, that others might find overstimulating. Their creative abilities might cause them to daydream or “zone out.” They might appear to be impulsive, blurting out ideas, talking over others, and engaging in other seemingly antisocial behaviors, or they may come across as stubborn and have difficulty collaborating with others.

Sometimes G&T students are aware of their overexcitabilities and difficulties with peers and begin to have low self-esteem. ¹² Though they are aware of their difficulties, they may not know how to change their behavior. In some cases, these needs are labeled as disabilities. These students are often called “twice-exceptional,” or 2e. ¹³ Perhaps paradoxically, some 2e students have above-average abilities in some areas but also have autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, dyslexia, or other learning challenges.

The results of these behaviors and traits and low self-esteem might lead to poor performance in school. Their daydreaming might cause them to miss important information. Their creativity and above-average intelligence might cause them to find assignments boring, and their difficulties with peers can create stress. As a result, G&T students might begin to retreat from school and “underachieve,” as some G&T educators call it. ¹⁴ School may not provide opportunities for them to use their gifts, and they might simply not try, may tune out, or, in some cases, become disruptive. ¹⁵

The research on social and emotional needs paints a more complicated picture of the concept of G&T beyond the simple definition of “smart and well adjusted” first suggested by Terman. While some G&T students might thrive in traditional school settings, others might be vulnerable. Their gifts might be in other areas that are not measured by IQ tests. They may not, perhaps paradoxically, be successful in school. They might become bored and underachieve. They may not be well adjusted, and they might struggle to create relationships with others. They could have overexcitabilities, come across as overly sensitive and opinionated, or act “inappropriately” socially and therefore might struggle to connect with peers and even with teachers. Figure 1 lists some possible traits (both those typically seen as positive and those often regarded as negative) found in many G&T students.

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Figure 1

Possible Traits and Behaviors of Gifted and Talented Students

Some of these “positive” and “negative” traits mirror each other. For example, the seemingly positive trait of intense curiosity and novel thinking might also lead to the seemingly negative behavior of asking too many questions at inappropriate times. In this way, positive and negative traits and behaviors can be closely linked.

This list of positive and negative mirror traits listed in Figure 1 might help explain the actions of studious Emily and distracted Cameron at the beginning of the article. The nuanced conceptions of G&T might suggest that both Emily and Cameron could be labeled as a G&T student, although this may not be as obvious with Cameron. Emily conforms to the commonly held conception: She is well adjusted, succeeds in class, performs well, and has an affinity for music that she demonstrates through performance. However, Cameron, too, might be G&T. He shows strong task commitment by spending much time researching about fidget spinners and creativity through the unusual tricks he creates. However, Cameron demonstrates some of the seemingly negative traits as well. He is impulsive and blurts out answers. He is disorganized; he does not follow classroom procedures. He has difficulty with his peers; the other students have grown tired of his disruptions and what they see as his continued odd behavior. Because of this, Cameron is vulnerable. Without sensitivity to this vulnerability, Mr. Pearson might overlook Cameron’s abilities and potential.

Identifying G&T Students

The expansive conception of G&T suggested by current research might address some common and justified critiques of conceptions of G&T. Research has suggested that teachers are biased in whom they identify as G&T. ¹⁶ They disproportionately identify students who conform to teachers’ ideals of smart and well behaved. ¹⁷ For example, Emily is more likely to be identified as G&T than Cameron is. In addition, research suggests that teachers disproportionately identify students as G&T who are white and come from middle or high socioeconomic classes. ¹⁸ As a result, the criticism is that G&T exacerbates inequalities in society; it provides resources to those who are already successful in school, leaving those who need additional help without any extra supports. ¹⁹

The research on G&T we reviewed might help teachers begin to account for some of these biases and critiques. Music teachers might start to see students’ gifts not in reference to how well they behave or complete assignments but whether they demonstrate above-average ability, task commitment, and creative thinking—including inquisitiveness and novel thinking—as Renzulli and Reis define G&T. Teachers might look for evidence of these traits outside of school since students may not have the opportunity to demonstrate these qualities in classrooms. Similarly, seemingly negative traits like daydreaming, overexcitability, difficulty with peers, impulsivity, and even boredom in class or rehearsal might be seen not as signs of a below-average student but rather possible evidence that a student is gifted and his or her educational needs are not being met. When approached this way, G&T can be a tool not simply to reward students who already do school well, which is sometimes also a factor of biases associated with race and class. ²⁰ Instead, it is a form of special education; it can be a strength-based approach to help students who struggle and are not meeting their full potential in school.

In addition to the biases in identifying G&T students, another critique is that G&T is elitist because it separates students, providing resources to a selected “elite” group of students. As gifted and talented educators Peters, Kaufman, Matthews, McBee, and McCoach argue,

The traditional model of gifted education proceeds as follows: Identify “gifted” students, using one or more tests of intelligence, achievement, or creativity, and provide programming. But why is the gifted label necessary to provide programming? . . . If a student has mastered all of the content that is about to be presented, should the decision regarding how or whether to appropriately educate him [or her] in that subject area revolve around whether he [or she] has been labeled as gifted? ²¹

If a student is not being challenged, then teachers should modify curriculum, regardless of whether the individual can be labeled as G&T or not. Because of this, they conclude, “the concept of giftedness is not necessary to reach the goal of challenging all learners.” ²²

Because of this critique, music educators need to be aware of how they use these labels. Gifted and talented is helpful only if teachers use it to empower all students, not inhibit them. It is important that teachers not use these labels to put students in hard categories and to privilege some students as talented while dismissing others as average or below average. Instead, in addition to the formal designation of students as G&T, the concept of G&T might be understood as a set of behaviors that can also be fostered in all students. The concept, then, can be more inclusive and used to help teachers see the gifts of every student, regardless of whether they receive the label of G&T. If the student struggles in school academically or socially, this conception of gifted and talented might help explain these difficulties and allow teachers to focus on the student’s strengths to help the individual succeed, regardless of label.

Gifted and Talented in Music

As we noted previously, G&T research has evolved to understand giftedness as not an overall trait but that students might have gifts in specific domains but not others. What, then, does gifted and talented look like in the domain of music? Like G&T in general, musical giftedness has some commonly held conceptions. Perhaps a popular conception of musical giftedness is the prodigy who is a superb performer with advanced technique and expressive playing or a composer who writes expressive music.

However, the conception of G&T in the domain of music has become more expansive. Davis, Rimm, and Siegle provide some clues that a child is musically gifted:

One clue is that the very young child is enthralled by musical sounds. . . . A core musical ability is sensitivity to, and an innate understanding of, musical structure—tonality, key harmony and rhythm—and the ability to hear expressive properties (timbre, loudness, articulation, phrasing). Such sensitivity, combined with a strong “musical memory,” allows the prodigy to remember music, play it back vocally or with an instrument, and even transpose and improvise with the music. ²³

Key within these traits is sensitivity to music. This includes intense interest in music, an intuitive knowledge of its parameters, the ability to hear expressive properties of sounds, and a strong musical memory. Children may demonstrate this sensitivity through the ability to perform with expression or compose musical ideas. However, students might also display this through how they talk about music, their intense responses as they listen to music, or expressing unusual or creative observations about music. Figure 2 lists some characteristics and behaviors associated with musically gifted students. ²⁴

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Figure 2

Characteristics of Musically Gifted Students

To return, again, to the opening vignette, both Emily and Cameron might demonstrate giftedness in music. Emily’s strong performance and notation reading abilities might demonstrate sensitivity to music. However, Cameron demonstrates his musical sensitivity and creativity differently; he plays well by ear and imagines a different ending to the composition when he suggests that they add drums. Cameron’s musical sensitivities and creativity might be difficult to notice because he expresses them in ways that appear to be socially unacceptable by playing at inappropriate times and yelling out. Again, Cameron’s G&T traits might be hidden by other G&T characteristics that are disruptive to the classroom, and his teachers might be less apt to label him as G&T and meet his educational needs.

Supporting G&T Students

If G&T students might be vulnerable and their abilities might not be immediately apparent, how might music teachers support them in the classroom? Music teachers might create a safe and rewarding experience by identifying students’ strengths, communicating with other adults to find out the unique needs of students, differentiating instruction, and seeking out enrichment opportunities. Figure 3 summarizes and provides possible strategies to support G&T students in these ways.

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Figure 3

Ways Music Teachers Can Support Gifted and Talented (G&T) Students

Identifying Students’ Strengths

As the vignette and the research reviewed here suggest, identifying G&T students is not as simple as selecting the students with the highest grades or standardized test scores. While there are no gifted and talented tests, many researchers and school districts have created ways to formally identify G&T students. This might include combinations of teacher nominations, scores on IQ tests and other standardized tests, and checklists, inventories, or rating scales “that evaluate various personality, motivational, creative, and intellectual characteristics of giftedness.” ²⁵ This might include a combination of teacher input, observable behaviors, aptitude measurements, achievement test (both general and domain specific), student input, parent input, and/or looking at student work (like a portfolio). Sometimes schools administer creativity measurements to supplement these tests. The most common among these is the Torrence test of creativity. ²⁶ In music, teachers might use music educator Peter Webster’s creative thinking test to measure students’ music creativity. ²⁷ Although it was not created to and is not typically used to formally identify musically gifted and talented students, it might be another set of data that may help music teachers identify gifted and talented students.

However, what is more important for music teachers than formally identifying students and creating hard boundaries between “G&T” and “average” students is becoming sensitive to students’ abilities. Music teachers might be perceptive to the traits that we outlined previously, including creative thinking. Music teachers might observe, for example, whether a student asks big questions in class or demonstrates novel thinking. Music teachers might also look to see if students have strong task commitment both in and out of school. A student might underachieve in school but have a passion for non-school-related activities, including video games, popular music, or hobbies. To identify all students who have strong task commitment, the teacher must look beyond whether the student is self-motivated in the classroom alone and does school well.

Communicate with Others

While observation is a good first step, identification should not be completed by a music teacher alone. Instead, the music teacher might also communicate with other adults to gather more information. If there is a G&T program, it is important that music teachers consult the G&T teachers or enrichment specialist in their districts. They will have knowledge on particular students’ strengths and areas that need improvement as well as much knowledge about general G&T traits. They will also help music teachers form instruction that will meet the needs of G&T students.

Talking to other adults might also be useful. Parents and guardians will have insights into their child’s behavior outside of school. They might be able to provide information that might suggest school is not meeting the student’s needs. In addition, administrators and other teachers might have information on students that music teachers might not observe in their classes. Administrators and other teachers might be able to show how a student excels in other subjects, like science or physical education. This information might begin to reveal in what ways students might have abilities that are not immediately apparent in music.

While it is important to gather information from other adults, sometimes music teachers might be the first to notice a student’s abilities and might need to be advocates. For example, the student’s abilities might be only in the domain of music. There might not be official and unofficial support of these students because the vast majority of students in the United States are not served by gifted and talented programs. ²⁸ As a result, other professionals in the building might not be aware of students’ abilities. Similarly, parents might not be aware that their child is gifted. In addition, because of the vulnerable nature, underachievement, and difficulties with social interaction, students might find themselves encountering continued difficulties in school, and other adults might only see their negative attributes. It sometimes takes the keen observations of one teacher who then advocates for that student to change his or her relationship with school.

Differentiate Instruction

Identifying students’ strengths and communicating with other adults will help music teachers adjust their teaching. Differentiating instruction can help these students succeed and provide them a challenging and rewarding environment. One common strategy is to compact curriculum. ²⁹ In curriculum compacting, teachers administer a test prior to a unit to determine if the student already knows the content. If the student does know the content, then the teacher might find opportunities for the student to augment that material or engage in different content. For example, if an ensemble student can already successfully perform the concert music, the teacher could provide him or her modified parts that are more challenging. The teacher might also give that student the opportunity to study a section of the score and lead sectionals. This would allow the student to understand the larger structure of the music beyond his or her individual part.

Music teachers might also give the student the flexibility to engage in self-directed long-term projects. For example, a student may use a notation program to compose for his or her instrument or a small group of instruments. Perhaps the student can research a particular style of music or artist. Students could use software to arrange an existing composition, create music and video, or transcribe and perform a popular song. Teachers might also provide students the opportunity to switch instruments. In all ways of differentiating, the student is not simply given more work but is provided opportunities to do creative work with the autonomy and flexibility to make it his or her own. ³⁰

While students might be compacted out to pursue their own projects or augment their learning of the material by going deeper, there are times when students will also need extra supports. As Cameron in the vignette and research on twice-exceptional students suggest, sometimes these students need help focusing their ideas and working in a conducive manner in class. Music teachers might give these students more direction than other students on social interaction. They might help students learn how to accept others’ ideas in a group composition or other small-group work. Sometimes, the teacher might need to provide more rules and parameters for these students while also giving them more flexibility to be creative. For example, Cameron may need his teachers to provide models for helping him organize his music and subtle cues to redirect his behavior previously discussed and agreed on with Cameron. If students have input on their accommodations, they are more likely to adjust their behavior. In this way, literature on twice-exceptional students might help teachers provide effectively scaffolded instruction for these students. ³¹

While his challenges need to be supported, a student like Cameron also needs his strengths acknowledged. Taking a moment to try out his creative idea for adding percussion at the end not only validates his strengths but also allows the teacher an opportunity to model creative thinking for the class by experimenting with ideas to change the piece. In addition, teachers can ensure that there is a socially and emotionally supportive environment. This means that students are supported to work through any social issues they may have and just as important, reduces the likelihood that they might be ostracized by other students.

Seek Out Enrichment Activities

In addition to differentiated instruction, students might need opportunities to enrich themselves outside of school. Music teachers might help students find and apply for enrichment opportunities. Music teachers are traditionally exceptional at this. They might suggest students receive private instruction, participate in solo and ensemble, apply to composition competitions, and attend music summer camps. These activities might be appropriate enrichment opportunities. However, these activities are not always well suited for G&T students. Some might feel that competitions or performance-focused activities do not allow them the creativity they need or might create social anxiety. Instead, teachers might also look for opportunities for students to intern with music professionals, encourage a student to incorporate music into extracurricular activities, or write music for the school news channel.

When looking for enrichment opportunities, teachers might continually be sensitive to issues of equality, accessibility, and families’ financial needs. If these enrichment activities require funds that the family does not have, teachers might try to find ways to support the student financially. Administrators might help to secure funds for the student or lead the music teacher to find funds in the school or from outside scholarships or other organizations. Without careful attention to these issues, G&T education will not serve these students and only widen inequalities between those who can afford extracurricular activities and those who cannot.

Achieving Their Potential

We have stressed the need for an expanded notion of gifted and talented so that teachers might identify and then aid those particular students. This might be especially important for “underachieving” G&T students and those who struggle socially in schools. Traditionally, these students’ strengths have not been acknowledged, and they are often labeled as troublemakers or lazy. In addition, the educational ideas that come out of the field of gifted and talented education include strategies that teachers can apply to instruction of all students, regardless of label, by supporting them in creating a responsive classroom and providing a challenging environment that helps students meet their greatest potential.