Working with gifted preschoolers

Support and development of giftedness in preschool-age children is put into practice in Russia by “Gifted child” program (L.Venger, O.Diachenko. N.Veraksa), established in 1995. This program is meant for intellectually gifted children of five to seven years of age (the program lasts for two years). The main purpose of educational work is to provide development of intellectual abilities (abilities of visual modelling, symbolic mediation, sensory abilities and transformation abilities (dialectic abilities). The program consists of 10 sections that include classes aimed at development of the respected intellectual abilities:

1. Familiarization with spatial relationships
2. Logical thinking elements development
3. Development of speech and familiarization with literature
4. Formation of basic mathematical notions
5. Preparation for teaching literacy
6. Designing
7. Preparation for role-playing games
8. Familiarization with nature
9. Familiarization with basic physical phenomena
10. Fine arts

Physical training and music were not included in this program. However, they need to be taught, but without an emphasis on development of intellectual abilities. Classes are conducted by a teacher in groups of 10-12 children; each class lasts 20-30 minutes.

For example let’s look at a class in symbolic mediation development (action of enobjectivation) for the children of five. Pupils are shown a schematic picture of a man and are asked to complete it during collective discussion. A teacher asks children questions like: “Is it a boy or a girl?”, “What colour is his/her hair?”, “Where he/she is heading?”, “What is that that he/she has in his/her hands?”, etc. At the end of this class children come up with detailed plot and construct an image of a man on the basis of the initial schematic picture.

The realization of the program had started in late 90’s under the guidance of N.E. Veraksa and A.I. Bulicheva on the site of several Novouralsk (Russia) kindergartens. Presently, children of four years of age and older are admitted to gifted children groups.

During its implementation the program was sufficiently broadened. Thus, project activity proved to be one of the most successful ideas. A teacher’s main task is to make a child a subject of educational process. For this matter, the program includes a special course – project activity. Project activity is a process of solving tasks of certain social value that are posed by a child alone or by a group of children. There are two types of projects: cognitive (aimed at distinguishing certain characteristics of particular situation) and creative (aimed at making of creative product). For example, a cognitive project is when preschoolers explore the history of their home street. With an aid of a teacher they define primary sources of information - local inhabitants, family members, museums, books. In such a way, children with assistance from grownups collect information and arrange it afterwards, for example, in a form of an album. Constructing a nestling box is an example of creative project. In this case children discuss possible designs and ways of construction, search for building materials and finally fulfill their idea.

The fact that a teacher only initiates a project but keeps away from defining its content or ways of realization is the key of project activity. As a result, children become engaged in active interaction with the world around and primarily with their family members and peers all of which facilitates their integration into the system of social relations. Naturally, grownups may assist in designing project’s results, but the key task for them is to arrange social presentation of the finished product (in forms of kindergarten exhibition, preschooler’s performance in front of their peers and grownups, as well as schoolchildren and inhabitants of local district). Only this can give preschoolers a sense of their social significance, therefore give them an impulse for realization of their future ideas. Researches of prof. Veraksa have shown that inclusion of children with relatively high level of cognitive skills development into project activity after two years is able to draw their index of mental development near that of gifted children.