Journal for the Education of the Gifted

The Routledge International companion to …, 2009

This chapter addresses whether the dominant conception of'gifted and talented'is justified by psychological research and what effects holding this conception has for learners. It argues that both the research base and practical and moral considerations should lead ...

New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 1982

There has been a revolution in psychology, a revolution that has changed the way we think about intelligence and its development. This revolution is usually identified with the monumental contributions of Jean Piaget and his colleagues at the University of Geneva (see or Gardner, 1972, for summaries). It will be my purpose in this chapter to examine the ideas of Piaget and others who have studied general intellectual development for suggestions about how to reconceptualize research on two more specific aspects of human behavior, giftedness and creativity. As part of this process, it will be necessary to depart from some traditional ways of describing intellectual development, modifying the Piagetian framework to better accommodate the specific problems of giftedness and creativity. Until now research on giftedness has almost exclusively come out of the psychometric tradition, where the focus has been on studying how and why gifted individuals are different from other people. Within the psychometric tradition giftedness has generally been considered synonymous with high IQ. Intelligence (and creativity as well) is seen as a quantity that is essentially This chapter was prepared with the help of a grant from the Spencer Foundation, H. Thomas James, President. Lynn T. Goldsmith of M.I.T. and Peter B. Read of the Social Science Research Council provided helpful suggestions and comments on earlier drafts. 31 D. Fcldman (Ed.).

International Studies in Sociology of Education, 2014

Gifted education is leading an interdisciplinary paradigm shift moving education out of its historic role of entrenching systemic inequities. It is a crucible for pioneering investigations of optimal human development and provides a vehicle for increasing social equity. We review changing conceptions of intelligence, motivation and creativity, and consider current findings on processes that affect the development of high ability. We discuss the role of context and neuroscience as they apply to understanding the development of giftedness. We describe changing emphases in gifted education, focusing on the shift from categorical homogeneity to developmental diversity, concluding that giftedness and talent are best understood as dynamic, fluid, domain-specific and context-sensitive processes. Finally, we consider implications for educational practice: How do these changes impact definition, prediction, identification, programming, psychosocial practices and teacher development, opening up opportunities for optimal learning, development and fulfillment across the population, and across the life span?

1996

This book and video are based on a symposium on ways to foster giftedness in children in kindergarten through third grade. Emphasized throughout are DISCOVER projects, federally funded research and development projects to assist Arizona educators in identifying and planning programs for gifted children from diverse cultural, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds. Chapter 1 profiles model DISCOVER classrooms, young gifted learners, and their teachers. A list of materials for a multiple intelligences learning center is provided. Chapter 2 explains the multiple intelligences model of giftedness and the DISCOVER program. Chapter 3 explains 20 developmentally appropriate practices, including: age-appropriate practices; individually appropriate curriculum; acceptance of diversity; humane, supportive, flexible, and responsive environments; a whole child perspective; active, interactive learning; learner-centered, teacher-facilitated curriculum; integrated curriculum; challenging learning activities and experiences; extensive planning; intrinsic motivation; supportive guidance and discipline; authentic assessment; community-based programs; parent involvement; and collaboration. The S. W. Schiever and C. J. Maker Continuum of Problem Types is presented and applied to the study of cycles in seasons and weather. Appendices provide: a list of symposium participants, a transcipt of the symposium video, and abstracts of DISCOVER projects. The video shows symposium participants addressing issues of talent identification, teacher preparation, and curriculum. Ways that young children who are gifted or talented can be nurtured at school and at home are demonstrated. (Contains 32 references.

2013

Giftedness, or the existence of remarkable natural talents, is believed to occur once in every hundred individuals, and exceptional giftedness once in every ten thousand as per current definitions. The phenomenon of giftedness has caught the attention of psychologists, pedagogists, educationists, and neuroscientists, from the mid-19 th to the 20 th centuries. Giftedness research is the basis of various specially developed tests and programmes the world over. These tests and programmes are intended to identify gifted children and to encourage them to develop their talents and realise their potential, as well as to handle the social and emotional issues that may arise from their differentness. Giftedness has been defined in many ways, pointing to the complexities associated with its identification. Inevitably, special programmes for the gifted draw as much criticism as applause, triggering debates on elitism vs. equity in education. The present review of literature of giftedness research attempts to outline the phenomenon of giftedness in children in its various manifestations, the methods of evaluation and tests in current use, the need for gifted programmes and their efficacy, the developmental trajectory of giftedness, the social and emotional issues accompanying giftedness, and the impact of the socio-cultural environment, educational intervention options for gifted children are also discussed.

American Psychologist, 2000

Five issues about giftedness are discussed. First, the origins of giftedness are explored. The view that gifiedness is entirely a product of training is critiqued. There is indirect evidence for atypical brain organization and innate talent in gifted children: Many gifted children and savants have enhanced right-hemisphere development, language-related difficulties, and autoimmune disorders. Second, the intense motivation of gifted children is discussed. Third, it is argued that gifted children have social and emotional difficulties that set them apart. Fourth, evidence for the often uneven cognitive profiles of such children is presented. Finally, the relationship between childhood g(ftedness and "domain" creativity in adulthood is discussed. Few gifted children go on to become adult creators because the skills and personality factors required to be a creator are very different from those typical of even the most highly gifted children.

The Gifted Child in Peer Group Perspective, 1987

Being Gifted in the Culture of Childhood This chapter focuses on the theoretical links betwen two psychological constructs that are vitally associated with positive adjustment throughout the lifespan: intelligence and social competence. The intent here is to consider the proposition that individuals endowed with exceptional intellectual abilities should logically be expected to excel in the formation and maintenance of social relationships. Within the context of this deliberation, several conceptualizations of giftedness will be analyzed in terms of their implications for peer relations. The four chapters that follow examine several different types of research that provide information useful in accepting or refuting this proposition. The prevalence of two types of myth impede objective reasoning about the social relations of the gifted. The first of these is the assumption that bright people are destined to be social outcasts. It is interesting to trace the history of this idea-and, later on, of its converse-in the evolution of beliefs about intelligence and giftedness. This premise may derive from the well-known life stories of famous artists, which have captured the attention of psychoanalysts, biographers, novelists, and the general public. The sufferings, loneliness, and scorn suffered by many upon whom history has bestowed posthumous reverence are well-known. Many believe that these cases are representative of the experience of eminent individuals. The lives of prominent people in other walks of life have received less attention. The social and emotional world of the gifted scientist, statesman, or carpenter mayor may not be as troubled. In any event, the products of their gifts inherently bear fewer scars of any loneliness or emotional pain. Therefore, if they do suffer from isolation--or derive inspiration from it-they are more likely to do so privately. Loneliness is more readily ascribed to a great painting than to a master craftsman's furniture. Although they are not as widely known, similar case studies have been B. H. Schneider, The Gifted Child in Peer Group Perspective © Springer-Verlag New York Inc. 1987 J Terman did not use statistical tests of significance as we now know them. Furthermore, many of his interpretations were clearly colored by his previous conclusion that "gifted children at all ages are less likely than controls to overstate their knowledge." (Terman, 1925, p. 425)

2010

Each of these July 2010 papers was written to fulfill requirements for a degree in Gifted Education. They are explicitly written in narrative form, grounded in my experience as well as in academic theory and practical application. As they are intended to convey knowledge gained, there is not a lot of new material within them, though I do drift into my own opinions along the way.

2008

Preface.- Psychology, Psychologists and Gifted Students.- History of Giftedness: Perspectives from the Past Presage Modern Scholarship.- The Social World of Gifted Children and Youth.- The Role of the Family in Talent Development.- Conceptions of Giftedness.- Identification and Nurturing the Gifted from an International Perspective.- Identifying and Providing Services to Twice Exceptional Children.- Underachievement Syndrome: A Psychological Defensive Pattern.- Assessment of Giftedness in School-Age Children Using Measures of Intelligence or Cognitive Abilities.- Gifted Identification beyond the IQ Test: Rating Scales and other Assessment Procedures.- Clinical Practice with Gifted Families.- Counseling the Gifted.- Creativity.- Gender and Giftedness.- Recruiting and Retaining Under-Represented Gifted Students.- Ethical and Professional Practice Issues in the Provision of Educational Services to Gifted Students.- Helping Gifted and Talented Adolescents and Young Adults: Make Informed...

2010

High Ability Studies, 2012

In our commentary, from the very start, we welcome the opportunity to face the inefficacy of the currently existing educational paradigm gifted people. For many years, we have verified and supported the difficulties of a paradigm whose philosophy and anthropological foundation are incapable of guaranteeing the promotion and development of gifted people's potential. It is now urgent to review, as the author has done, the results of an educational practice and a traditional research that have not met the experts' expectations (Lipsey & Wilson, 1993). This proposal is timely because gifted people's education should be in tune with education in general, the paradigm of which (institutional, administrative, instructional and personal) has given way to the new paradigm of inclusive education (Banathy, 1984), and it should somehow reflect their coincidence, especially with regard to their common roots, goals, and guidelines. Obviously, both paradigmsthe paradigm of inclusive education and the paradigm of systemic educationare closely related because they share the same unit of educational analysis; a unit of analysis that no longer focuses on the subject but on the learning community, as demanded by inclusive education, or on the context, as required by systemic education. Based on new and successful paradigms, both proposals could achieve the results that the currently existing paradigm has not yet managed to attain. Besides being timely, this proposal is also necessary because, from this perspective, gifted people's results and the trust placed in the people who may one day be the social, scientific, and political leaders of society would not only improve, but the gifted people would also benefit by achieving a more realistic personal selfimage and, especially, by developing their whole potential. However, if the systemic vision is overly emphasized or exaggerated, the contexta central and configurative element of giftednessmay emerge, and the subject may once again be overlooked, as has occurred so often throughout the history of psychology and of education. The context must be underlined, as must the subject's interaction with the context, but not to such an extent that the subject's image and characteristics are weakened. Thus, for example, when, according to systemic

2019

Research into giftedness in early childhood has been a neglected area in gifted education studies, there being until relatively recently only a handful of older studies carried out in the USA (Gottfried, Gottfried, Bathurst, & Guerin, Gifted IQ. Early developmental aspects. The Fullerton Longitudinal Study. Plenum Press, New York, 1994; Robinson, Identifying and nurturing gifted, very young children. In: Heller KA, Monks FJ, Passow AH (eds) International handbook of research and development of giftedness and talent. Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1993; Roedell, Socioemotional vulnerabilities of young gifted children. In: Whitmore JR (ed) Intellectual giftedness in young children. The Haworth Press, New York, 1986). Over the last two decades, in the Asia-Pacific area research into giftedness and gifted education in the early years has become an area of relative strength. Some major areas of investigation have been gifted development from

2005

At a recent conference, a clinical psychologist who works with gifted students engaged the first author in an exciting and challenging conversation. As we discussed specific research and case studies involving gifted children, we realized that we were talking almost exclusively about the importance of context in defining and addressing giftedness. During the rest of the conference, we noticed the role of context in talent development in every session we attended.

Gifted and Talented International, 2007