Characteristics of Advanced and Enrichable Learners

In addition to high test scores and advanced course level placement, some general characteristics that typify such a learner is:

• An early reader with good comprehension
• Learns basic skills quickly with less practice
• Asks several ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions in a single conversation
• Works independently for longer periods of time than peers on one or more topics
• Responds well to teachers, parents, and other adults
• Is an original thinker who seeks new and unusual associations among seemingly unrelated objects, ideas, or facts
• Thrives in problem situations
• High level of curiosity about objects, ideas, situations, or events; displays a questioning attitude and actively seeks information
• Expresses opinions and ideas and often exhibits spirited disagreement
• Keen powers of observation with an eye for important details
• Reads a great deal on his/her own, preferring text written for older students
• Likes structure, organization, and consistency in learning environment
• Has a large storehouse of information regarding a variety of topics
• Exhibits an intrinsic motivation to learn, find out, or explore
• Has a longer attention and concentration span than peers on one or more topics

Educator and author Joseph Renzulli considers three factors important for the development of gifted behavior: student has an above average ability, possesses creativity, and is committed to working through and completing tasks

Within the above average abilities, Renzulli makes a distinction between general abilities (like processing information, integrating experiences, and abstract thinking) and specific abilities (like the capacity to acquire knowledge or perform an activity).

By creativity, Renzulli understands the fluency, flexibility, and originality of thought, as well as an openness to experience, sensitivity to stimulations, and a willingness to take risks.

He understands task commitment as motivation turned into action (like perseverance, endurance, and hard work, but also self-confidence, perceptiveness, and a special fascination with a specific subject). Renzulli argues that without task commitment, high achievement is simply not possible.

Only when characteristics from all three rings work together can high achievement or gifted behavior be possible.

Students who are enrichable might exhibit intense interest in just one topic or subject for a period of time. As those interests expand, students may be considered advanced learners who have more of the above characteristics and may have more than one area of strength.

Students may also move back and forth between these categories, and care must be taken not to miss students who come in bored with conventional academics (and therefore having unimpressive achievement metrics), but are still enrichable or advanced learners.

Source: Renzulli, Joseph S. & Reis, Sally M.: The Schoolwide Enrichment Model - Second Edition; Creative Learning Press, Mansfield 1997 (p. 5-14)