The Institute of HeartMath understands that gifted students, defined by the original federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act as those "who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields," need attention, caring and services like any student population in the educational system. As stated in the law, which has, since the Bush Administration years, come to be known as No Child Left Behind, these are students "who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities."
The law’s language notwithstanding and despite nearly a century and a half of acknowledgement in the U.S. of the necessity for dedicated efforts to meet the needs of high-achieving students, securing recognition and resources has been a struggle and today there is still no direct federal funding for gifted education services, though slow progress toward that end has been made in recent decades and lawmakers in many states support it. There is, however, some indirect federal funding such as money from the Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act of 1988 – it has repeatedly been renewed since then – which authorizes limited federal money for research and grants to help establish the need for and to promote gifted education programs and services.
There are a handful of national organizations, chief among them the nonprofit National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), advocating for and providing services to gifted students, their parents and educators in the field, as well as the many state associations and private and nonprofit groups that support gifted education, which often is called GATE – gifted and Talented Education.
Gifted children, which the NAGC notes often display "asynchrony" – disparate intellectual, emotional, and physical rates of growth or development – remain underserved in 2007 and that is why the Institute of HeartMath’s heart-based programs are so important, because they offer these students, their teachers and counselors, learning programs and technology that are so applicable to their exceptional needs and which can bring balance and harmony – mentally, emotionally and physically – into their lives.
Facts at a Glance:
It’s estimated there are over 3 million gifted students in the U.S.
Gifted students make up about 5% of elementary and high school populations.
A common source of stress among gifted students arises from frustration over less-than-perfect results.
Gifted students and their parents’ heightened levels of sensitivity, perfectionism and expectations that they perform at high levels contribute to general and test anxiety.
Research shows that "overexcitabilities" – increased sensitivity, awareness and intensity – are found more often among the gifted than the rest of the population.
Who Needs HeartMath Research-Based Programs?
All gifted students
Teachers who work with gifted students
Counselors and mentors of gifted students
How HeartMath Can Help Gifted Students
Gifted students are susceptible to anxieties, including test anxiety, and stress as much as other students, regardless the type of educational program or school setting, often because of their own perfectionism. This stress and anxiety can be caused by asynchrony. Examples are gifted children who, when placed with older, nongifted children, feel they don’t fit in, or those who worry over being labeled as "too smart."
The HeartMath System teaches heart-based emotional understanding and self-regulation skills that can help gifted students remain balanced as they learn at accelerated rates. They will take these emotional-management skills beyond the classroom, into family and social environments, where they are equally needed. HeartMath has researched the physiology of learning, stress and test anxiety in students and conducted many scientifically based educational studies over the last 19 years and the findings apply to learners at all achievement levels. Please click the following link to learn more about Institute of HeartMath Research.
TestEdge®: Gifted students are as susceptible to test anxiety as other students. In fact, research findings indicate that the gifted student may experience anxiety more often or intensely. Educators of gifted students can help them by integrating TestEdge into learning programs. Learn more about TestEdge®.
TestEdge® Interactive CD Learning Programs: Many gifted students are in general school populations and may not be receiving specialized instruction or attention. Their parents often are their most effective advocates and can make meaningful contributions to their children’s learning experience in the home. Gifted students love the video lessons, flash animations and interactive exercises in the program. Learn more about TestEdge® Interactive CD Learning Programs.
emWave® PC/Mac Stress Relief System: Computer-based learning and skill-building is appropriate for gifted students at school or in the home. They’ll readily grasp how emotions such as tension, anxiety, irritation and anger create irregular heart-rhythm patterns, which they can view on a computer monitor, and negatively affect health, brain function, performance and overall well-being. In contrast, they’ll see that when they experience positive emotions such as appreciation, care, joy and love, their heart-rhythm patterns are more ordered and coherent.
Learn more about emWave® PC Stress Relief System or to purchase emWave PC / emWave Mac.
emWave® Personal Stress Reliever: Gifted students who learn emotion self-regulation skills with training in TestEdge and/or with the emWave PC/Mac will love the benefits of shifting to a coherent, stress-free state – "the zone" – by using this cell phone-sized, handheld device that can go anywhere. Small enough to fit in a pocket, the emWave PSR is unobtrusive and fun to use.
Learn more about emWave® Personal Stress Reliever or to purchase emWave PSR.
A Research Story from a Teacher of Gifted Students
NOTE: This story is excerpted and condensed from Amanda Travis Simon’s Action Research: Effects of Recognition and Coping Strategies Related to Stress and Test Anxiety in Gifted 4th Graders. Clicking here will take you to a page where you can download a PDF of the study and complete story.
Post-assessment results from this study show overall levels of anxiety decreased in the sample population of 21 students. On average, the sample improved by 15.6 points, or 26%. As a result of the positive findings, 175 gifted students are now part of a program utilizing TestEdge and the emWave PC/Mac to reduce test anxiety.
"On a personal level, I currently have a 5th grade son who is gifted. As a student, this child has been in a full-time gifted school for three years and has consistently been a straight A student … often winning awards for academic excellence. When this child was invited to serve on a panel discussion at a gifted conference, he engaged in dialogue with a psychologist that revealed things previously unknown to me. Included in the interview were self-reported feelings of test anxiety, including nausea and sweating, even a bloody nose.
Prior to this experience, I honestly paid little attention to stress and test anxiety in my son and in my gifted students. Unaware of the signs and effects, it often went completely ignored and unrecognized. Once made aware of such experiences by my son, the concept of stress and test anxiety among my gifted 4th grade students became the focus of this research project. At that moment, I realized that ignoring the affective needs of some students in my classroom with regard to stress and test anxiety was irresponsible. …
It is my belief that these exceptional students can benefit from learning to identify feelings, both emotional and physical, associated with test anxiety and stress management. It is also my belief that by teaching, modeling, and practicing skills and interventions, gifted students can begin to identify and reduce the negative effects associated with such anxiety. … Components of TestEdge, a program utilizing specific test taking strategies, provided students with visuals of what is physiologically occurring with responses to stress or anxiety. Such methods allowed me to teach my students to alter their thinking and identify and cope with stressors. This helped them perform to their potential, rather than to be hampered by the negative effects test anxiety can have on brain function.
A great deal of emphasis was placed on the Freeze-Frame technique, a five-step process to aid in dealing with stress and anxiety. Students were taught to (1) recognize the feeling of stress, (2) shift the focus from "brain to heart" by taking deep breaths, (3) make an effort to appreciate and focus on a positive emotion, (4) ask what action would lessen stress, and (5) notice a change in the way of thinking and how one is feeling about the situation (McCraty, 2005). Students were reminded of such strategies before testing situations both orally and with visual aids and posters throughout the room."
Funding Tips for Educators:
School and school district personnel interested in purchasing Institute of HeartMath® programs and products will find a variety of useful information about HeartMath, funding and grant applications through the following link: click here.
Learn how to apply to become a recipient of the IHM Heart-Based Education Sponsorship Fund on the following page: Heart Based Education Sponsorship Fund.
Click the following link for information about grants under the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act: Jacob K. Javits Act.
