Mind the Gaps

Many years ago my oldest daughter was cruising along at school. She learned quickly and sometimes read a book under the table when things were re-taught or when repetition was involved. As was inevitable, she sometimes also tuned out new information but was able to use her reasoning ability to work out what she might have missed. As well as being highly able reader, she was also good at maths. Her confidence in her maths ability was shaken however when she suddenly found she was making mistakes with subtraction. How could this be happening? Her knowledge of number combinations was sound and she had been getting them right, so it was initially a bit of a mystery as to what was going on.

Fortunately she was in a small class and her teacher had the foresight and the time to observe her as she worked and did discover what was going on. Somewhere along the line, my daughter had ‘missed’ a crucial piece of information which made subtraction different to addition. Order mattered! While in addition you can add the numbers top to bottom or bottom to top, this is not the case with subtraction. You must subtract the bottom number from the top one…….. this gap in her understanding hadn’t shown up right away because initially the subtraction sums had been simple, the larger number was on top and no borrowing was required. It was not until things got more complicated that the gap became apparent.


I am often reminded that just because a child is gifted it doesn't mean they have mastered every skill, or know 'everything'. It is tempting to think if they understand a complex concept, they will know how to do other things, if they know so much about outer space that they will also know how to write a research question and present the information ..... There have been a few times I have wondered, based on the comments made by a teacher, whether some people might believe a gifted child comes pre-loaded with knowledge, in the same sort of way your computer comes with some programs already loaded, and you simply insert a disc to load more.

It is quite possible for a gifted child to have gaps in their knowledge or learning. The important thing to remember is that these gaps are likely to be filled much more quickly than is usual (as the pace with which such children learn is much faster than typical). It is also possible to see skills develop unevenly, for a 6 year old to read and copmrehend like a 10 year old, but to have hand writing or spelling typical of a 6 year old.

It is also quite possible for a gifted child to have a learning dysfunction or preferred earning style which makes learning some things more difficult for them. It is important to realise that these kids are often really good at hiding these weakenesses.

Being the teacher of a gifted child means constantly scaffolding and feeding their appetite for new ideas and big concepts. It also means being constantly on the lookout for anomalies or discrepancies which might hint at gaps or problems, some of which may have been there for a long time. It can help to think about learning as a wall of bricks. If one is missed out earlier, the strength of the wall above is affected and eventually it shows up.

Do be sensitive though if you discover gaps. Don't tell a child "you should already know this". They probably already know that! It does however provide a great opportunity. To track back and discover the gap can make a real difference to the child. If these was ever a way to enhance the relationship between a gifted child and their teacher, this is a great one.