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In an applied field such as education we have always maintained that a theory doesn't have much value (beyond generating research proposals) unless it can ultimately guide practice, and hopefully policy. We also maintain that there is no such thing as a "perfect" identification system and any system is always a series of compromises that must take into account state rules and regulations, political realities (e.g., parent pressures, under representation of low-income and minority groups), practical issues (e.g., time and costs of testing), and of course the conception(s) of giftedness and the programming models) that guide the services for which students are being identified. In this chapter, we first discuss a number of considerations that must be taken into account when designing an identification system for a school, district, or even a state. The step-by-step system that is described here is an attempt to address as many of these considerations as possible, but we must also state up front that the system presented in this chapter is based on the Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness. Further, it is designed for programs that focus mainly on creative productive giftedness as delineated in the Enrichment Triad Model. The system does, of course, provide a major pathway for the highest achieving students but it also "opens the door" for participation by students who show potential for high performance through one or more nontest criteria that may not be adequately assessed by cognitive ability or achievement tests. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

In this final essay, we summarize some of the main themes of this special issue of the Roeper Review dedicated to the scholarly and educational contributions of Marcia Gentry. Our goal is to provide a broad sweep of her contributions: Specifics can be found in the individual articles. We cover as themes (a) the term “gifted,” (b) identification, (c) abilities, (d) opportunity, (e) twice-exceptionalities, (f) gifted programs, and (g) systemic failures, followed by our brief conclusions. Marcia was one of the truly great contributors to the field of gifted education, and her legacy will live long after her untimely death. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

"The gifted and talented constitute one single homogeneous group and giftedness is a way of being that stays in the person over time and experiences." We believe there is no more potentially dangerous and false myth than the one above. Let us, therefore, begin this response with the following resounding statement: There is no single homogeneous group of gifted children and adults, and giftedness is developmental, not fixed at birth. Our current federal definition suggests that gifted and talented students are indeed a diverse group of individuals, students with varying abilities and potentials in one or many domains. This widely accepted federal definition of giftedness (Ross, 1993) highlights students’ intellectual, creative, and/or artistic areas; unusual capacity for leadership; or excellence in specific academic fields. This definition discusses outstanding talents present in children and youth from all cultural groups, across all economic strata, in all areas of human endeavor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

This qualitative study was conducted to investigate the social and cultural characteristics of gifted and talented students and their perceptions of the educational factors that have contributed to the development of their gifts and talents. Twelve Puerto Rican English Language Learner (PR-ELL) students who are identified as gifted and attend a full-time academy for gifted and talented students were selected for the study. Both ethnography and comparative case methodology were used as the participants completed a questionnaire with 67 questions and then were interviewed and observed in their school. Students' cumulative records were also reviewed and analyzed. Interesting findings emerged in the study as participants identified the following characteristics that would identify them as gifted and talented: high potential, motivation, commitment, perseverance, self-confidence, maturity, and hard work. The participants believe that they work harder, expend more effort in their academic studies, take school more seriously, and have more enthusiasm for learning than students from other cultures who are identified as gifted and talented. They also reported that their parents encouraged their children to work hard and do well in school. All students agreed that the Gifted & Talented Academy they attended and their teachers provide them with a rigorous, enriched curriculum. The participants also indicated that they loved being challenged and encouraged by their parents and teachers to work hard and excel. They enjoy being exposed to new curriculum and learning new content, as opposed to the lack of challenge they experienced in their previous schools. This research contributes to new understandings regarding the characteristics of PR-ELL gifted students, family characteristics and educational factors that support and sustain high academic achievement; however, additional research is needed relative to the identification and characteristics of gifted ELL students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

The original article on The Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness appeared in a 1978 edition of the Kappan. Although it was originally rejected by the journals in gifted education, it has now become the most widely cited article in the field. Over the years, I have updated the article three times to include new research and changes in identification and programming that have taken place in the field over the years. The original article and subsequent follow-ups have been cited approximately 3,000 times in national and international journals. The most important point in the chapter is that our field needs to make differentiated provisions for both high-achieving students and what I have described in this chapter as creative productive giftedness. These two types of giftedness are not mutually exclusive, but it is important to recognize that creative and productive people represent the kind of giftedness found in people who have changed the world in both large and small ways. The chapter presented here is the most recent update. I am proud of the influence all of the Three-Ring articles have had because they show that a field can change its mind regarding long held beliefs about the nature of giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

The Enrichment Triad Model was developed in conjunction with the Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness discussed in Chapter 3 of this book. This model, which is essentially a learning theory, is primarily designed to serve as a practical guide for promoting what I referred to in Chapter 3 as creative productive giftedness. It was originally published as articles in a two-part series and subsequently a short book. Both of these models were greeted with a fair amount of skepticism in the gifted education community because they disagreed with prevailing trends about the conception of giftedness, a focus on advanced lesson-learning approaches to developing giftedness, and the belief that higher level thinking skills were the exclusive province of gifted students only. The Three-Ring and Triad models, however, "got legs," and as they grew in popularity over the years, I gained new insights about issues related to practical strategies for implementing the three types of enrichment around which the Triad Model is organized. This chapter is an updated version of the original work on Triad and a compilation of the original theory plus various conceptual and practical additions that have been added over the years. The chapter serves as an overview rather than as a practical guide for implementation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

This recently written chapter is designed to set the stage for a better understanding of the chapters that follow in this section of the book. As will be pointed out, epistemology, the study of knowledge creation and use, was a topic examined by ancient philosophers and is reflected in modern educational templates for learning such as Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. I was surprised that no articles in the gifted literature had addressed this topic. It wasn't until recent years that I realized different types of knowledge are the "grist for the mill of mind." Understanding different levels of knowledge helped me to better recognize the argument made in the following chapter about the importance of focusing special programs on creative and productive giftedness. This work also reflects my growing fascination with the importance that technology is now playing for learners of all ages and the easy accessibility to the wide world of knowledge that young people now have through the Internet. An examination of the three levels of knowledge discussed in this chapter and the importance of blending them together will strike some readers as "common sense," and this is exactly what I intended. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

In the early 1970s when I began work on the Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness, I embedded the rings in a houndstooth background that represented the interaction between personality and environment. In recent years, further research and theory development coupled with a growing concern in the field related to social and emotional development has led to a new dimension of my work on characteristics that calls attention to a series of six co-cognitive factors that are discussed in this chapter. A comprehensive review of the literature and a series of Delphi technique studies led to the development of an organizational plan for studying these six components and 13 subcomponents. Factor analysis identified these clusters of discrete but interrelated traits. I refer to these as co-cognitive factors because they interact with and enhance the cognitive traits that we ordinarily associate with the development of both high achievement and creative productive manifestations of giftedness. This new initiative was prompted by a longstanding concern about the role that gifted education should play in preparing persons with high potential for ethical and responsible leadership in all walks of life. Investments in this type of social capital benefit society as a whole because they help to create the values, norms, networks, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation geared toward the greater public good. Striking evidence indicates a marked decline in American social capital over the latter half of the century just ending. National surveys show declines over the last few decades in voter turnout and political participation, membership in service clubs, church-related groups, parent teacher associations, unions, and fraternal groups. These declines in civic and social participation have been paralleled by an increasing tendency for young people to focus on materialism, self-intelligence, narrow professional success, and individual economic gain. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

This chapter provides a summation of four subtheories developed over approximately five decades. Although my early work on Subtheory I (the Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness) and Subtheory II (the Enrichment Triad Model) gained more attention than I ever expected, I began to feel that there were still characteristics and programming opportunities that needed to be added to the overall search for factors that contribute to total talent development. This concern, coupled with my own belief that programs for our most able young people should: (1) promote a sense of social justice and the use of one's gifts to make positive contributions to society, and (2) provide experiences in the development of strategies for acquiring self-regulation skills, using time and resources wisely, taking action, and managing change. And, of course, I wanted to come up with ideas that interacted with rather than replaced Three-Ring and Triad. The result was several years of research and development that led to Subtheories III and IV that are discussed in this chapter. I refer to the traits discussed in Subtheories III and IV as co-cognitive factors because they interact with and enhance the cognitive traits that are ordinarily associated with the development of human abilities. A number of researchers have suggested that constructs of this type, including social, emotional, and interpersonal intelligence, are related to each other and are at least partially independent from traditional academic measures of human abilities. I invite readers to draw their own conclusions about whether or not these four interactive subtheories promote what I describe as a fully functioning self-actualized individual. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

This chapter explores gifted students with learning disabilities as a unique population who are at special risk for social and emotional issues because of their incompatibility of extraordinary talent with significant learning problems. Topics discussed include the interaction of giftedness and learning disabilities; identification, social and emotional characteristics, and implications for the education of gifted students with learning disabilities; and educational interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: create)

In this chapter, research from the last two decades concerning gifted and talented male and female adolescents is summarized, with particular attention paid to how gender, giftedness, and adolescence interact. Current research is summarized about academically talented adolescents in areas such as test differences; abilities and beliefs about abilities; the effects of stereotyping; peer, parent, and teacher influences; and career choices. Some prior conclusions are reaffirmed, present contradictory research evidence is discussed; older findings are reviewed in light of new information; questions are raised about the importance, significance, and broader applicability of prior conclusions; and future research is suggested about the interaction of gender, adolescence, and giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

This chapter describes a qualitative, comparative case research study conducted with 15 eminent women who have contributed important and creative work across multiple disciplines. These scholars, scientists, artists, innovators, historians, and psychologists range in age from their mid-40s to their mid-60s. Each is regarded as being in the top-tier of creative work in her discipline and has received multiple awards, honors, and accolades. Their paths to eminence demonstrate that their creative productive giftedness results from a combination of their abilities, interests, motivation, and focus, as well as their determination to excel in their creative work, and make a positive difference. Over time, all of these eminent women gained knowledge about their abilities as well as self-confidence, leading to enhanced self-perceptions as they developed their creativity, abilities, interests, and forged ahead with future plans. Their personality characteristics enhanced their creativity productivity, with demonstrated determination, motivation, creativity, leadership, love of their discipline, and decisions to take and thrive on risks. Their creative drive developed as a result of their passion for their work, and their motivation to make positive change and improve their disciplines. Each of the women studied acknowledged her high levels of creative productivity and giftedness, and each could explain her drive and creative processes. This study contributes and enhances earlier work by the author on talented and eminent women, finding that they have a great passion for their work and their diverse and meaningful personal lives, as they purposely shape their extraordinary journeys to creative work and eminence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: book)

Interest in gifted women has continued in the three decades since Carolyn Callahan published one of the first articles about this topic in the context of gifted education in 1979. Indeed, during the last three decades, books and multiple articles have been published about gifted girls and women by Karnes, Kerr, Rimm, Reis, and others. This chapter probes the reflections of gifted women in the field of gifted education in an effort to identify their perceptions of their contributions, challenges, and beliefs about giftedness and talents in girls and women. Reis (1998) defined talent development in women as occurring when women with high intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership ability or potential achieve at in an area of choice and make what they define as personally meaningful contributions to society. Reis identified several factors that contribute to this conception of giftedness and talent in women including: abilities (intelligence and special talents), personality traits, environmental factors, and personal perceptions, such as the social importance of the use of one's talents to make a positive difference in the world. Each of these factors contributes to what Gruber called "self-mobilization", characterized in some talented women by the development of belief in self, a desire to develop one's talents, and a sense of destiny enabling one to make conscious decisions to develop talents, often with little support and against many obstacles. Each of the women profiled in this chapter displayed these characteristics, working many hours over years of sheer effort as they successfully used their talents to make a difference in this field. This chapter highlights both their stories and their personal reflections on their journeys. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

The study of gifts and talents and how various innate abilities interact with one’s environment, personality, educational opportunities, family support, and life experiences has fascinated psychologists, educators, and parents for decades. Many are intrigued with the reasons that one child with remarkably high potential born into a particular family in a particular environment grows up to become a neurosurgeon while a child of similar intellectual potential who lives in the same community and attends the same schools decides to drop out of high school. What have researchers and scholars learned in the past few decades about the nature of talent development and intellectual giftedness? What general concepts are widely accepted about intellectual giftedness? How is it defined and how can it be developed? What combinations of genetic abilities and talents interact with one’s personality and environment to produce intellectual giftedness? In this chapter, these questions, none of which can be answered simply, are discussed and current research about intellectual giftedness is summarized. As the research reviewed in this chapter points out, core concepts about giftedness relate to the diversity of expression of gifts and talents, as there are no more varied groups of people than those labeled intellectually gifted. Those labeled gifted as children and/or adults are found in every ethnic and socioeconomic group and culture. They exhibit an unlimited range of personal and learning characteristics and differ in effort, temperament, educational and vocational attainment, productivity, creativity, risk taking, introversion, and extraversion. We begin our review of research related to intellectual giftedness with a discussion of these themes, summarizing highlights about research on intellectual giftedness in the United States, including some work that is considered seminal, and presenting an overview of what we believe to be some interesting and potentially important theories to date. We conclude the chapter with some interesting new research-based trends related to emerging ideas in defining and developing academic gifts and talents. It is important to understand, however, that scholars and researchers continue to debate definitions of giftedness, how intellectual giftedness develops, and the characteristics of diverse groups of high-potential youth that will help educators and psychologists to identify and nurture intellectual gifts and talents. To illustrate the challenges associated with both defining and identifying giftedness in students, four brief case studies are introduced. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

During the last few decades, an increasing number of psychologists have become interested in gifted and talented students, and the reasons they underachieve or excel in school and, subsequently, in life. While some research has focused on this population, comparatively little has been conducted on the ways that psychologists can help male and female gifted students to achieve well both in and out of school, and find challenging work, as well as contentment in their personal lives. In this chapter, research from the last few decades concerning giftedness and gender is summarized, with special attention paid to how psychologists can help intervene for positive outcomes for both girls and boys. When we refer to academically gifted and talented students, we include those who have been identified as academically gifted and talented, high achieving, or very creative. In this chapter, current research is summarized relating to gender differences in ability, achievement, belief in self, social and emotional factors, socialization factors including teacher and parent influences, and barriers to the development of giftedness in males and females. The chapter concludes with some suggested strategies for talent development in both gifted boys and girls, and the psychoeducational and clinical implications of the interaction between gender and giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

The research reviewed in this chapter highlights the complex choices made by talented girls and women as well as the belief that the outcomes of these choices are profound, both in the women's individual lives and for society at large. Over the last two decades, the author has studied talented girls and women from all domains across their life spans and have answered some questions, but introduced even more (Reis, 1987, 1995, 1998, 2001). The decision to identify this diverse group as talented or eminent rather than gifted stems from their collective preferences for these descriptors. Some of the complex reasons that fewer talented women with high potential achieve a high level of eminence and the characteristics of those who do are summarized in this chapter. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: create)

In an ideal world researchers and educators could collaborate to compile a definitive and exhaustive list of characteristics of gifted learners, which then could be used to guide identification, teaching strategies, and curriculum selection for this population. Unfortunately, no such list can or should be created, for one of the unifying themes in research on characteristics of gifted learners is, in fact, the great diversity among them. Gifted and talented learners are not a homogeneous group; to the contrary, they are varied and unique. Despite this diversity, research suggests that there are a handful of traits that may occur with greater frequency in gifted learners than in the general population. In this chapter, some of these characteristics are discussed, with the caveat that it is not the intention to provide a checklist by which students may be identified as either "gifted" or "not gifted." Rather, the intent is to provide educators with an overview of characteristics that may be present in some gifted and high-ability students, and to illustrate how these characteristics may vary based on a variety of factors, including gender, sociocultural group, the presence of a hidden or overt disability, age, and whether a student is achieving or underachieving. By discussing the heterogeneity associated with gifted and talented learners, this chapter may be useful to educators attempting to look beyond rigid stereotypes to more diverse and flexible conceptions of giftedness in a broad spectrum of children and young adults. To begin, the following illustrative case studies are presented. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

What will be the turning points in the education of gifted and talented students in the next several decades? As we complete the first decade of the new century, it is appropriate to reflect on the extraordinary changes and advances that have occurred in the last several decades in our field. Consensus on the turning points of the past century may be difficult to reach and admittedly, this perspective is filtered through the lens of one American woman who has spent the majority of her professional life in this area. The turning points suggested as a focus for the next several decades include the following: (1) expanding conceptions of the multidimensionality of giftedness and talent development, (2) eradicating the continued absence of challenge for gifted and talented students, (3) making a difference for underserved populations, (4) changing our focus from ways to identify gifted students to the ways we develop gifts and talents, and finally, (5) applying 'gifted' education pedagogy to talent development, with a focus on strengths, not deficits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

This chapter explores the relationship between delinquency and gifted children. Topics discussed include the prevalence of delinquency among gifted children and adolescents, the prevalence of giftedness among delinquent youth, possible reasons for the under-representation of gifted youth among delinquents, criminal logic, and what causes some gifted youth to be violent. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: create)

This chapter discusses whether gifted children are socially accepted and respected and how this varies with children's ages, specific school environments, and the extent of their giftedness. It also discusses what these gifted students can do to cope with their differences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)