I'm wondering I guess is if gifted learners are just more, like most kids are curious and gifted learners just tend to be more curious, or if it's like a Venn diagram, with gifted learners and traditional learners having mostly unique qualities and some overlap?
My take is that gifted learners tend to be qualitatively different, especially when you get to the higher LOG. I will try to explain my understanding, but I'm afraid this will get tedious and jargon-y!
The first article that I linked to, found that 50% of the gifted in their study identified as either INFP, INTP, ENFP, or ENTP. Whereas, those types comprised only 15% of their normative group (the general population has a similar percentage.) One thing in common between those four types, is that each has Extraverted Intuition as their dominant or auxiliary cognitive function. From Wikipedia: "Ne finds and interprets hidden meanings, using “what if” questions to explore alternatives, allowing multiple possibilities to coexist. This imaginative play weaves together insights and experiences from various sources to form a new whole, which can then become a catalyst to action."
Compare that to the 4 most common types identified in the US population: ESTJ, ESFJ, ISTJ, ISFJ. Each of these has Introverted Sensing as either their dominant or auxilliary cognitive function. From Wikipedia: Si collects data in the present moment and compares it with past experiences, a process that sometimes evokes the feelings associated with memory, as if the subject were reliving it. Seeking to protect what is familiar, Si draws upon history to form goals and expectations about what will happen in the future.
After comparing those cognitive styles, I come to the conclusion that many (but not all) gifted students aren't just more curious than NT students; they are curious in a different way. While a typical NT student might be collecting apparent data and comparing it to a similar past experience, a gifted student might be digging below the surface, asking what-if questions, imagining new possibilities, making connections to other areas of knowledge, etc.
The second article goes into the fact that many students, especially SJ's, will do what they've been asked without much fuss. A Perceiver student is more likely to object to things that seem pointless or "not right" for them. Specifically, TP students will lose respect for the teacher and will probably put as little effort as possible into getting assignments done; FP students will argue and feel deeply misunderstood and offended by assignments that don't have value to them.
