The successful are gifted students who learn well and achieve high marks on all activities and tests. The successful student is very self-motivated, however many people often feel that this means that the successful student can work on her own the majority of the time. This often leads the successful student to become bored with school and just do enough to get by without much effort on her part.
The challenging student is very bright, but may display behaviors that are inappropriate for a classroom. This can include being sarcastic, disrupting the class or not following the teachers directions. In a sense, this is the "smart aleck" who has not learned the proper social skills. This is attributed to the fact that his achievements have not been recognized, therefore creating a frustration in the student. These challenging students are often at risk for further inappropriate behaviors if intervention has not taken place at an early age.
This type of gifted child is one who tries to hide the fact that she is gifted to fit in with her peers. This usually occurs in middle-school age kids, as she tries to find an identity for herself that will be accepted among others. She is still able to excel, however she chooses not to generate the same quality of work she may have once demonstrated.
Many people often limit the definition of gifted children to academics, but according to Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, that is not always the case. There are students who perhaps excel in another area, such as music or sports. If the definition of gifted is to excel in something, then students who stand out in music and sports should be considered among the gifted as much as the academically inclined.