Teaching an Artistic Child (The Creative Child)

The image of the creative student which led to Dr. Kingore’s work.

I have a student and a child of my own who are artistic. They doodle. They draw. They daydream and create fun scenarios in their heads to each question I asked. Despite this internal interaction, it was difficult to get an interaction between the student and myself. I knew I need some more information and turned to the internet. I was deeply discouraged when Google continuously changed my ‘artistic’ student to ‘autistic’ student. My research and quest were frustrated quickly. I was agitated and gave up when Google refused to meet my demands!

I spent quite a bit of time reflecting on my issues and attempting to find a solution for my creative students. How does a teacher help a student to learn using their strengths? One day while teaching a class, one of my students, a visual learner, asked if there were a picture to represent what we were discussing. I flipped open Google and search for images. Only then did it occur to me to look for information about teaching creative children by searching for images.

I, gratefully, found the works of Dr. Bergie Kingore, PhD. through an image. She worked on comparing the gifted learner, high achieving learner and the creative learner. I have attached her table of comparison below.

This simple table has made all the difference for me in how I approach my home-schooled, creative son as well as my creative students. Teaching has not necessarily become easier, but my understanding and patience has increased exponentially which makes me a better teacher in all situations.

Sources:

Kingore, B. (2004). High Achiever, Gifted Learner, Creative Thinker. Retrieved from http://www.bertiekingore.com/high-gt-create.htm