The Hidden Struggles of Gifted Learners
Imagine a student who aces tests without cracking a book, or a child who seems to absorb new info like a sponge. Gifted children often amaze us with their quick understanding and big vocabularies. It’s tempting to think these wunderkinds automatically know how to learn anything put in front of them. Spoiler alert: they don’t! In fact, being smart is not enough to guarantee learning success. Research reminds us that “study skills are not inherently known; they are learned.” (1) Even the brightest students need to be taught how to learn effectively. And for gifted and neurodiverse students (including those with ADHD, dyslexia, autism, or other learning differences), mastering the process of learning can be just as crucial as mastering content.
Helping gifted learners thrive
In this post, we’ll explore why clever kids can struggle without the right strategies, and how an innovative approach is changing the game. We’ll sprinkle in a bit of humor (because learning should be fun, right?), and a lot of insight into helping gifted learners thrive. Whether you’re a teacher, a parent, a school leader, or a researcher, read on – you might be surprised how much effort, strategy, endurance, and adaptation it takes to turn raw intelligence into real learning.
To become a peak performer in learning, strategies are essential; no matter how smart a student may be.
The Gap in Learning Resources for Gifted Student
Traditional education focuses on what to learn and rarely on the process of learning
Gifted students are often seen breezing through schoolwork while others labor over it. From the outside, it might look like they have learning all figured out. Why, then, do so many gifted kids hit a wall later on? One reason is a glaring gap in teaching them how to learn. Traditional education focuses on what to learn (math facts, historical dates, scientific formulas) but rarely on the process and strategies of learning. This gap is especially pronounced for gifted and high-ability learners. Because these kids do well on their own early, schools often assume they don’t need help learning how to study or organize knowledge – an assumption that can backfire badly.
No need for strategies? A huge misjudgement
Consider this: many gifted students coast through elementary school without ever needing to develop good study habits. Their excellent memory and quick processing speed act like a cheat code that lets them get by without note-taking or review sessions (2). As a result, they may “fail to develop the self-management skills that other students master” (3). In the early grades, skipping homework or studying doesn’t hurt them much – until the work actually becomes challenging. Then suddenly our young genius finds themself confused, overwhelmed, or unmotivated, because they never learned how to learn when learning wasn’t easy.
The Collaboration Between Two Innovators
How enduri’s Platform Supports Gifted Learners
Facing this gap in learning resources, two innovators decided to do something about it. Me – Christa Wüthrich, an experienced education journalist and the founder of enduri, teamed up with Simone Ruckli, the founder and head of Arborana (a private school in Switzerland for gifted children), to craft a solution (4). They had a simple question: “Do gifted children automatically know how to learn?” (Answer: nope!) Christa and Simone’s collaboration set out to give gifted and neurodiverse students the tools they were missing – in a format that’s engaging, adaptive, and effective. In short, they set out to revolutionize learning strategies instruction, and enduri was born from this partnership.
Integrating Learning Strategies into Everyday School Life
So, what exactly does endur do? In a nutshell, enduri is an interactive learning platform that teaches students how to learn, using personalized strategies and a bit of fun. It’s like a personal trainer for your brain’s learning muscles. The platform helps student identify their strengths, set goals, and practice a variety of learning techniques (5). All of this is delivered through short videos, interactive exercises, and reflective prompts that keep students engaged (and occasionally chuckling).
Real-World Application: enduri in Daily Learning Routines
Learning strategies: a as cool “power-ups” for any learner!
At Arborana School, enduri has become a fixture of daily life. It’s used in various ways: as a self-study aid at home, as a guided activity during lessons, or even as a quick go-to when a student is stuck and needs a new approach. Students might say, “I’ll try a different strategy from enduri,” much like they’d grab a different tool from a toolkit. Teachers have observed a transformation in student attitudes. Learning strategies aren’t seen as a remedial crutch anymore, but as cool “power-ups” for any learner.
Encouraging Risk-Taking and Resilience
One real-world result of using enduri is that students become more comfortable with risk-taking in learning. Gifted kids, who are used to always being right, sometimes fear failure or avoid hard tasks that don’t come instantly. enduri is helping change that mindset. The platform gently rewards risk-takers – not with gold stars for getting 100%, but with positive feedback for trying a new method or sticking with a challenge. If a strategy they tried didn’t work perfectly, that’s okay; students are coached to reflect and refine, not give up.
Why Intelligence Alone Isn’t Enough for Lifelong Learning Success
How Platforms Like enduri Provide the Missing Piece in Gifted Education
If there’s one takeaway here, it’s that intelligence alone isn’t enough for lifelong learning success. Raw brainpower might make a student a trivia champ or help them breeze through early grades, but learning is a process, not a party trick. It takes effort, strategy, endurance, and adaptation to truly excel and keep growing.
Conclusion: Helping Gifted Learners Unlock Their Full Potential
The good news is that we’re no longer in the dark ages when it comes to gifted education. Today, we understand that learning to learn is a teachable, learnable skill set of its own. And this is exactly the missing piece that platforms like enduri are providing in gifted education. enduri and similar innovations act as thebridge between potential and achievement – turning book-smart kids into confident, self-directed learners.
Ready to see this in action? We invite you to explore Arborana’s experience with enduri – it’s a real-world example of how empowering “learning to learn” can transform students. And if you want to equip your own students or children with these skills, sign up for enduri and give it a try.
Sources:
- Study Skills Development: The article “Late for lessons: 10 things we wish we’d learned at school” from The Guardian discusses essential life skills that are often overlooked in traditional education, emphasizing the importance of teaching students how to learn effectively.
- Gifted Students and Study Habits: The piece “They Aren’t Taught How to Study and I Think That Really Sucks” highlights the challenges gifted students face when they haven’t developed proper study habits, underscoring the necessity of explicit instruction in study skills.
- Neuroscience of Learning: The study “Evidence-Based Higher Education – Is the Learning Styles ‘Myth’ Important?” examines the concept of learning styles and emphasizes the need for evidence-based approaches in education to enhance learning outcomes.
- Arborana Collaboration with enduri: Details about the partnership between Arborana and enduri can be found on enduri’s official website: “enduri’s Founder Reveals the Journey That Started It All.
- Metacognition and Learning Strategies: The article “What Does It Really Mean to Learn?” from The New Yorker delves into the concept of learning and the importance of metacognitive strategies in the learning process.
