Teacher+nomination

=Teacher nomination=

Teachers may nominate students as gifted based on observation of behaviours in their own class. It may be useful to be aware of some common characteristics of gifted mathematics students to look for during the observation process.

Advantages

 * Students is observed in various learning situations.
 * Performance can be compared with other students.
 * Can be effective when rating scales (discussed below) are used.

Disadvantages

 * Students displaying negative characteristics that are sometimes symptomatic of giftedness may be disregarded.
 * Since the majority of teachers are white, middle-class and mono-cultural minority cultural groups may be less likely to be nominated (Bevan-Brown, 2009).
 * Low expectations of Mäori students further reduces the chance of identifying these students (Bevan-Brown, 2009).
 * Teachers may correctly identify more male students than female students (Kissane, 1986).

Education regarding these disadvantages may lessen their effects.

They may also be lessened through the use of rating scales. These scales provide a list of characteristics of gifted students and allow teachers to structure their observation. Some schools choose to modify the scales for their own use.